Jeremiah 51:9

51:9 Foreigners living there will say, ¹ 

‘We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed.

Let’s leave Babylonia ²  and each go back to his own country.

For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions.

It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.’ ³ 

Jeremiah 51:64

51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments ⁴  I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”

The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. ⁵ 

Psalms 127:1

Psalm 127 ⁶ 

A song of ascents, ⁷  by Solomon.

127:1 If the Lord does not build a house, ⁸ 

then those who build it work in vain.

If the Lord does not guard a city, ⁹ 

then the watchman stands guard in vain.

Isaiah 65:23

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster. ¹⁰ 

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants. ¹¹ 

Habakkuk 2:13

2:13 Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed:

The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;

their exhausting work will be for nothing. ¹² 

[51:9]  ¹ tn The words “Foreigners living there will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the third line. These words are generally assumed by the commentaries and are explicitly added in TEV and NCV which are attempting to clarify the text for the average reader.

[51:9]  ² tn Heb “Leave/abandon her.” However, it is smoother in the English translation to make this verb equivalent to the cohortative that follows.

[51:9]  ³ tn This is an admittedly very paraphrastic translation that tries to make the figurative nuance of the Hebrew original understandable for the average reader. The Hebrew text reads: “For her judgment [or punishment (cf. BDB 1078 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f) = ‘execution of judgment’] touches the heavens, and is lifted up as far as the clouds.” The figure of hyperbole or exaggeration is being used here to indicate the vastness of Babylon’s punishment which is the reason to escape (vv. 6, 9c). For this figure see Deut 1:28 in comparison with Num 13:28 and see also Deut 9:1. In both of the passages in Deut it refers to an exaggeration about the height of the walls of fortified cities. The figure also may be a play on Gen 11:4 where the nations gather in Babylon to build a tower that reaches to the skies. The present translation has interpreted the perfects here as prophetic because it has not happened yet or they would not be encouraging one another to leave and escape. For the idea here compare 50:16.

[51:64]  ⁴ tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”

[51:64]  ⁵ sn The final chapter of the book of Jeremiah does not mention Jeremiah or record any of his prophecies.

[127:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 127. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist teaches that one does not find security by one’s own efforts, for God alone gives stability and security.

[127:1]  ⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[127:1]  ⁸ sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.

[127:1]  ⁹ sn The city symbolizes community security, which is the necessary framework for family security.

[65:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”

[2:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Is it not, look, from the Lord of hosts that the nations work hard for fire, and the peoples are exhausted for nothing?”