Jeremiah 50:33

50:33 The Lord who rules over all ¹  says,

“The people of Israel are oppressed.

So too are the people of Judah. ² 

All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners.

They refuse to set them free.

Jeremiah 51:12

51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! ³ 

Bring more guards! ⁴ 

Post them all around the city! ⁵ 

Put men in ambush! ⁶ 

For the Lord will do what he has planned.

He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. ⁷ 

[50:33]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:33]  ² tn Heb “Oppressed are the people of Israel and the people of Judah together,” i.e., both the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. However, neither of these renderings is very poetic. The translation seeks to achieve the same meaning with better poetic expression.

[51:12]  ³ tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”

[51:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”

[51:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Station the guards.”

[51:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”

[51:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “For the Lord has both planned and done what he said concerning the people living in Babylon,” i.e., “he has carried out what he planned.” Here is an obvious case where the perfects are to be interpreted as prophetic; the commands imply that the attack is still future.