Discovery BoxJeremiah 51:48-56
Context51:48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will sing for joy over Babylon.
For destroyers from the north will attack it,”
says the Lord. 1
because of the Israelites she has killed, 3
just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell
because of Babylon. 4
51:50 You who have escaped the sword, 5
go, do not delay. 6
Remember the Lord in a faraway land.
Think about Jerusalem. 7
51:51 ‘We 8 are ashamed because we have been insulted. 9
Our faces show our disgrace. 10
For foreigners have invaded
the holy rooms 11 in the Lord’s temple.’
51:52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,” 12 says the Lord, 13
“when I will punish her idols.
Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.
51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky 14
and fortifies her elevated stronghold, 15
I will send destroyers against her,” 16
says the Lord. 17
51:54 Cries of anguish will come from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
51:55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,
and put an end to her loud noise.
Their waves 18 will roar like turbulent 19 waters.
They will make a deafening noise. 20
51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. 21
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken. 22
For the Lord is a God who punishes; 23
he pays back in full. 24
[51:48] 1 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[51:49] 2 tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate what is about to take place. See IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.
[51:49] 3 tn Heb “the slain of Israel.” The words “because of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The preceding context makes it clear that Babylon would be judged for its atrocities against Israel (see especially 50:33-34; 51:10, 24, 35).
[51:49] 4 tn The juxtaposition of גַם…גַם (gam...gam), often “both…and,” here indicates correspondence. See BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 4. Appropriately Babylon will fall slain just as her victims, including God’s covenant people, did.
[51:50] 3 sn God’s exiled people are told to leave doomed Babylon (see v. 45).
[51:50] 4 tn Heb “don’t stand.”
[51:50] 5 tn Heb “let Jerusalem go up upon your heart.” The “heart” is often viewed as the seat of one’s mental faculties and thought life.
[51:51] 4 sn The exiles lament the way they have been humiliated.
[51:51] 5 tn Heb “we have heard an insult.”
[51:51] 6 tn Heb “disgrace covers our face.”
[51:51] 7 tn Or “holy places, sanctuaries.”
[51:52] 5 tn Heb “that being so, look, days are approaching.” Here לָכֵן (lakhen) introduces the Lord’s response to the people’s lament (v. 51). It has the force of “yes, but” or “that may be true.” See Judg 11:8 and BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.
[51:52] 6 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[51:53] 6 tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; and Amos 9:2.
[51:53] 7 tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”
[51:53] 8 tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”
[51:53] 9 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[51:55] 7 tn The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not entirely clear. It probably refers back to the “destroyers” mentioned in v. 53 as the agents of God’s judgment on Babylon.
[51:55] 8 tn Or “mighty waters.”
[51:55] 9 tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given,”
[51:56] 8 tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”
[51:56] 9 tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.
[51:56] 10 tn Or “God of retribution.”
[51:56] 11 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the
