Jeremiah 51:27-28

51:27 “Raise up battle flags throughout the lands.

Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle.

Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. ¹ 

Call for these kingdoms to attack her:

Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. ² 

Appoint a commander to lead the attack. ³ 

Send horses ⁴  against her like a swarm of locusts. ⁵ 

51:28 Prepare the nations to do battle against her. ⁶ 

Prepare the kings of the Medes.

Prepare their governors and all their leaders. ⁷ 

Prepare all the countries they rule to do battle against her. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 51:1

51:1 The Lord says,

“I will cause a destructive wind ⁹  to blow

against ¹⁰  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 11:14

11:14 So, Jeremiah, ¹²  do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. ¹³  For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.” ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 11:23

11:23 Not one of them will survive. ¹⁵  I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. ¹⁶  A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 11:1

The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 5:26

5:26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.

They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush. ¹⁹ 

They set deadly traps ²⁰  to catch people.

Jeremiah 5:2

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord. ²¹ 

But the fact is, ²²  what they swear to is really a lie.” ²³ 

Jeremiah 36:22

36:22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters. ²⁴  A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him. ²⁵ 

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ²⁶ In the first ²⁷  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ²⁸  spoken through ²⁹  Jeremiah, ³⁰  the Lord stirred the mind ³¹  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ³²  a proclamation ³³  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ³⁴  the following: ³⁵ 

Isaiah 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ³⁶  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ³⁷  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ³⁸ 

Isaiah 13:17-18

13:17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; ³⁹ 

they are not concerned about silver,

nor are they interested in gold. ⁴⁰ 

13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; ⁴¹ 

they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, ⁴² 

they will not ⁴³  look with pity on children.

Isaiah 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ⁴⁴ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ⁴⁵ 

Isaiah 41:25

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ⁴⁶  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ⁴⁷ 

He steps on ⁴⁸  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

Isaiah 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁴⁹  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ⁵⁰ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ⁵¹ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Isaiah 45:5

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ⁵² 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ⁵³  even though you do not recognize ⁵⁴  me.

Isaiah 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ⁵⁵  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ⁵⁶ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Revelation 17:16-17

17:16 The ⁵⁷  ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They ⁵⁸  will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. ⁵⁹  17:17 For God has put into their minds ⁶⁰  to carry out his purpose ⁶¹  by making ⁶²  a decision ⁶³  to give their royal power ⁶⁴  to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ⁶⁵ 

[51:27]  ¹ tn Heb “Raise up a standard on the earth. Blow a ram’s horn among the nations. Consecrate nations against her.” According to BDB 651 s.v. נֵס 1, the raising of a standard was a signal of a war – a summons to assemble and attack (see usage in Isa 5:26; 13:2; Jer 51:12). The “blowing of the ram’s horn” was also a signal to rally behind a leader and join in an attack (see Judg 3:27; 6:34). For the meaning of “consecrate nations against her” see the study note on 6:4. The usage of this phrase goes back to the concept of holy war where soldiers had to be consecrated for battle by the offering of a sacrifice. The phrase has probably lost its ritual usage in later times and become idiomatic for making necessary preparations for war.

[51:27]  ² sn Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz are three kingdoms who were located in the Lake Van, Lake Urmia region which are now parts of eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. They were kingdoms which had been conquered and made vassal states by the Medes in the early sixth century. The Medes were the dominant country in this region from around 590 b.c. until they were conquered and incorporated into the Persian empire by Cyrus in 550 b.c.

[51:27]  ³ tn The translation of this line is uncertain because it includes a word which only occurs here and in Nah 3:17 where it is found in parallelism with a word that is only used once and whose meaning in turn is uncertain. It is probably related to the Akkadian word tupsharru which refers to a scribe (Heb “a tablet writer”). The exact function of this official is disputed. KBL 356 s.v. טִפְסָר relates it to a “recruiting officer,” a sense which is reflected in NAB. The majority of modern English versions render “commander” or “marshal” following the suggestion of BDB 381 s.v. טִפְסָר. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 351) translate “recruiter (scribe)” but explain the function on p. 371 as that of recording the plunder captured in war. The rendering here follows that of TEV and God’s Word and is the nuance suggested by the majority of modern English versions who rendered “appoint a marshal/commander against it.”

[51:27]  ⁴ sn This is probably a poetic or shorthand way of referring to the cavalry and chariotry where horse is put for “rider” and “driver.”

[51:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “Bring up horses like bristly locusts.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “bristly” (סָמָר, samar) is uncertain because the word only occurs here. It is generally related to a verb meaning “to bristle” which occurs in Job 4:15 and Ps 119:120. Exactly what is meant by “bristly” in connection with “locust” is uncertain, though most relate it to a stage of the locust in which its wings are still encased in a rough, horny casing. J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 759) adds that this is when the locust is very destructive. However, no other commentary mentions this. Therefore the present translation omits the word because it is of uncertain meaning and significance. For a fuller discussion of the way the word has been rendered see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:427.

[51:28]  ⁶ tn See the first translator’s note on 51:27 and compare also 6:4 and the study note there.

[51:28]  ⁷ tn See the translator’s note at 51:23 for the rendering of the terms here.

[51:28]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text has a confusing switch of possessive pronouns in this verse: “Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, her governors and prefects, and all the land of his dominion.” This has led to a number of different resolutions. The LXX (the Greek version) renders the word “kings” as singular and levels all the pronouns to “his,” paraphrasing the final clause and combining it with “king of the Medes” to read “and of all the earth.” The Latin Vulgate levels them all to the third masculine plural, and this is followed by the present translation as well as a number of other modern English versions (NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, NCV). The ASV and NJPS understand the feminine to refer to Media, i.e., “her governors and all her prefects” and understand the masculine in the last line to be a distributive singular referring back to the lands each of the governors and prefects ruled over. This is probably correct but since governors and prefects refer to officials appointed over provinces and vassal states it amounts to much the same interpretation that the Latin Vulgate, the present translation, and other modern English versions have given.

[51:1]  ⁹ sn The destructive wind is a figurative reference to the “foreign people” who will “winnow” Babylon and drive out all the people (v. 2). This figure has already been used in 4:11-12 and in 49:36. See the study note on 4:11-12 and the translator’s notes on 22:22 and 49:36.

[51:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I will arouse the spirit of hostility of a destroying nation”; Heb “I will stir up against Babylon…a destroying wind [or the spirit of a destroyer].” The word רוּחַ (ruakh) can refer to either a wind (BDB 924 s.v. רוּחַ 2.a) or a spirit (BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 2.g). It can be construed as either a noun followed by an adjectival participle (so, “a destroying wind”) or a noun followed by another noun in the “of” relationship (a construct or genitival relationship; so, “spirit of a destroyer”). The same noun with this same verb is translated “stir up the spirit of” in 1 Chr 5:26; 2 Chr 21:16; 36:22; Hag 1:14; and most importantly in Jer 51:11 where it refers to the king of the Medes. However, the majority of the exegetical tradition (all the commentaries consulted and all the English versions except NASB and NIV) opt for the “destructive wind” primarily because of the figure of winnowing that is found in the next verse. The translation follows the main line exegetical tradition here for that same reason.

[51:1]  ¹¹ sn Heb “the people who live in Leb-qamai.” “Leb-qamai” is a code name for “Chaldeans” formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. This same principle is used in referring to Babylon in 25:26 and 51:41 as “Sheshach.” See the study note on 25:26 where further details are given. There is no consensus on why the code name is used because the terms Babylon and Chaldeans (= Babylonians) have appeared regularly in this prophecy or collection of prophecies.

[11:14]  ¹² tn Heb “you.”

[11:14]  ¹³ tn The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:14]  ¹⁴ tc The rendering “when disaster strikes them” is based on reading “at the time of” (בְּעֵת, bÿ’et) with a number of Hebrew mss and the versions instead of “on account of” (בְּעַד, bÿ’ad). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:347) is probably right in assuming that the MT has been influenced by “for them” (בַעֲדָם, va’adam) earlier in the verse.

[11:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “There will be no survivors for/among them.”

[11:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” For the rationale for adding the qualification see the notes on v. 21.

[11:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will bring disaster on…, the year of their punishment.”

[11:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying.” The proposed translation is more in keeping with contemporary English idiom. Cf. 1:2 and 7:1 and footnotes there.

[5:26]  ¹⁹ tn The meaning of the last three words is uncertain. The pointing and meaning of the Hebrew word rendered “hiding in ambush” is debated. BDB relates the form (כְּשַׁךְ, kÿshakh) to a root שָׁכַךְ (shakhakh), which elsewhere means “decrease, abate” (cf. BDB 1013 s.v. שָׁכַךְ), and notes that this is usually understood as “like the crouching of fowlers,” but they say this meaning is dubious. HALOT 1345 s.v. I שׁוֹר questions the validity of the text and offers three proposals; the second appears to create the least textual modification, i.e., reading כְּשַׂךְ (kesakh, “as in the hiding place of (bird catchers)”; for the word שַׂךְ (sakh) see HALOT 1236 s.v. שׂךְ 4 and compare Lam 2:6 for usage. The versions do not help. The Greek does not translate the first two words of the line. The proposal given in HALOT is accepted with some hesitancy.

[5:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a destroying thing.”

[5:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.

[5:2]  ²² tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ’akhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT.

[5:2]  ²³ tn Heb “they swear falsely.”

[36:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the autumn house.” Commentators are agreed that this was not a separate building or palace but the winter quarters in the palace.

[36:22]  ²⁵ tc Heb “the fire in the firepot was burning before him.” The translation assumes that the word “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) has dropped out after the particle אֶת (’et) because of the similar beginnings of the two words. The word “fire” is found in the Greek, Syriac, and Targumic translations according to BHS. The particle אֵת should be retained rather than dropped as an erroneous writing of אֵשׁ. Its presence is to be explained as the usage of the sign of the accusative introducing a new subject (cf. BDB 85 s.v. אֶת 3.α and compare the usage in 27:8; 38:16 [in the Kethib]; 45:4).

[1:1]  ²⁶ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these books are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) canonical Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.

[1:1]  ²⁷ sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ²⁹ tc The MT reads מִפִּי (mippi, “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי (bÿfi, “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles.

[1:1]  ³⁰ sn Cf. Jer 29:10; 25:11-14. Jeremiah had prophesied that after a time of seventy years the Jews would return “to this place.” How these seventy years are to be reckoned is a matter of debate among scholars. Some understand the period to refer to the approximate length of Babylon’s ascendancy as a world power, beginning either with the fall of Nineveh (612 b.c.) or with Nebuchadnezzar’s coronation (605 b.c.) and continuing till the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 b.c. Others take the seventy years to refer to the period from the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c. till its rebuilding in 516 b.c.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in v. 5.

[1:1]  ³² tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  ³³ tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.

[1:1]  ³⁴ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[10:26]  ³⁶ tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”

[10:26]  ³⁷ sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.

[10:26]  ³⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.

[13:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “against them”; NLT “against Babylon.”

[13:17]  ⁴⁰ sn They cannot be bought off, for they have a lust for bloodshed.

[13:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and bows cut to bits young men.” “Bows” stands by metonymy for arrows.

[13:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “the fruit of the womb.”

[13:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “their eye does not.” Here “eye” is a metonymy for the whole person.

[21:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ⁴⁵ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[41:25]  ⁴⁶ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[45:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁵⁰ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

[45:5]  ⁵³ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

[46:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[17:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁵⁸ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁵⁹ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”

[17:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “hearts.”

[17:17]  ⁶¹ tn Or “his intent.”

[17:17]  ⁶² tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.

[17:17]  ⁶³ tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”

[17:17]  ⁶⁴ tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”

[17:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “completed.”