Jeremiah 51:54-58

Context

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 waves¹ will roar like turbulent² waters.

They will make a deafening noise.³

51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon.⁴

Her warriors will be captured;

their bows will be broken.⁵

For the Lord is a God who punishes;⁶

he pays back in full.⁷

51:57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk,

along with her governors, leaders,⁸ and warriors.

They will fall asleep forever and never wake up,”⁹

says the King whose name is the Lord who rules over all.¹⁰

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all¹¹ says,

“Babylon’s thick wall¹² will be completely demolished.¹³

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy.¹⁴

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.”¹⁵

[51:55] ¹tn 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] ²tn Or “mighty waters.”

[51:55] ³tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given,”

[51:56] ⁴tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”

[51:56] ⁵tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.

[51:56] ⁶tn Or “God of retribution.”

[51:56] ⁷tn 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 Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”

[51:57] ⁸sn For discussion of the terms “governors” and “leaders” see the note at Jer 51:23.

[51:57] ⁹sn See the note at Jer 51:39.

[51:57] ¹⁰tn For the title “Yahweh of armies” see the study note on Jer 2:19.

[51:58] ¹¹sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58] ¹²tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58] ¹³tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58] ¹⁴tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58] ¹⁵tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”