Jeremiah 51:49-53

51:49 “Babylon must fall ¹ 

because of the Israelites she has killed, ² 

just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell

because of Babylon. ³ 

51:50 You who have escaped the sword, ⁴ 

go, do not delay. ⁵ 

Remember the Lord in a faraway land.

Think about Jerusalem. ⁶ 

51:51 ‘We ⁷  are ashamed because we have been insulted. ⁸ 

Our faces show our disgrace. ⁹ 

For foreigners have invaded

the holy rooms ¹⁰  in the Lord’s temple.’

51:52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,” ¹¹  says the Lord, ¹² 

“when I will punish her idols.

Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky ¹³ 

and fortifies her elevated stronghold, ¹⁴ 

I will send destroyers against her,” ¹⁵ 

says the Lord. ¹⁶ 

[51:49]  ¹ tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate what is about to take place. See IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.

[51:49]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn God’s exiled people are told to leave doomed Babylon (see v. 45).

[51:50]  ⁵ tn Heb “don’t stand.”

[51:50]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn The exiles lament the way they have been humiliated.

[51:51]  ⁸ tn Heb “we have heard an insult.”

[51:51]  ⁹ tn Heb “disgrace covers our face.”

[51:51]  ¹⁰ tn Or “holy places, sanctuaries.”

[51:52]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:53]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”

[51:53]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”

[51:53]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”