Jeremiah 51:11

Jeremiah 51:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
• New International Version (NIV)“Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple.

Context of Jeremiah 51:11

9We would have healed Babylon, but she was not to be healed. Abandon her and let each [captive] return to his own country, For her guilt and judgment have reached to heaven And are lifted up to the very skies. 10The Lord has brought about our vindication and has revealed the righteousness of our cause; Come and let us proclaim in Zion The work of the Lord our God! Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields [and cover yourselves]! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it; For that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance [on Babylon] for [plundering and destroying] His temple. 12Set up a signal on the walls of Babylon [to spread the news]; Post a strong blockade, Station the guards, Prepare the men for ambush! For the Lord has both purposed and done That which He spoke against the people of Babylon. 13[O Babylon] you who live by many waters, Rich in treasures, Your end has come, And the line measuring your life is cut.

Jeremiah 51:11 word by word

הָבֵ֣רוּ הַחִצִּים֮ מִלְא֣וּ הַשְּׁלָטִים֒ הֵעִ֣יר יְהוָ֗ה אֶת־ר֙וּחַ֙ מַלְכֵ֣י מָדַ֔י כִּֽי־עַל־בָּבֶ֥ל מְזִמָּת֖וֹ לְהַשְׁחִיתָ֑הּ כִּֽי־נִקְמַ֤ת יְהוָה֙ הִ֔יא נִקְמַ֖ת הֵיכָלֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Make brightבָּרַרbârar · to purifyH1305
• the arrowsחֵץchêts · arrowH2671
• gatherמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• the shieldsשֶׁ֫לֶטsheleţ · shieldH7982
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath raised upעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
• the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• of the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of the Medesמָדַיmâday · MedeH4074
• for his deviceמְזִמָּהmezimmâh · plotH4209
• against Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
• to destroyשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• the vengeanceנְקָמָהneqâmâh · vengeanceH5360
• of his templeהֵיכָלhêykâl · templeH1964

Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:11

• Jeremiah 46:4Harness the horses, And mount, you riders! Take your stand with your helmets! Polish the spears, Put on the coats of mail!
• Jeremiah 50:9For behold, I will stir up and bring up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country. They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like an expert warrior Who will not return empty-handed.
• Isaiah 21:5They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; “Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar’s court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!”
• Jeremiah 51:27Lift up a signal in the land [to spread the news]! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Dedicate the nations [for war] against her; Call against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; Cause the horses to come up like bristly locusts [with their wings not yet released from their cases].
• 1 Kings 11:14Then the Lord stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of royal descent in Edom.
• 1 Chronicles 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, [that is,] the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile—the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, [where they remain] to this day.
• 2 Chronicles 36:22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
• Ezra 1:1Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
• Isaiah 10:26The Lord of hosts will brandish a whip against them like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the [Red] Sea and He will lift it up the way He did in [the flight from] Egypt.
• Isaiah 13:17Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them, Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].
• Isaiah 13:18Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon]; They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb, Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.
• Isaiah 21:2A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media! All the groaning [caused by Babylon’s ruthless oppressions] I [the Lord] have brought to an end.
• Isaiah 41:25“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer]. And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar, Even as a potter treads clay.”
• Isaiah 45:1This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia], Whose right hand I have held To subdue nations before him, And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them]; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
• Isaiah 46:11Calling a bird of prey from the east, From a far country, the man (Cyrus) of My purpose. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, be assured I will do it.
• Revelation 17:16And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked [stripped of her power and influence], and will eat her flesh and completely consume her with fire.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Make bright the arrows - This is the prophet's address to Babylon. The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes - Of Cyaxares king of Media, called Darius the Mede in Scripture; and of Cyrus king of Persia, presumptive heir of the throne of Cyaxares, his uncle. Cambyses, his father, sent him, Cyrus, with 30, 000 men to assist his uncle Cyaxares, against Neriglissar king of Babylon, and by these was Babylon overthrown.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Make bright - Rather, Sharpen. The Medes Genesis 10:2 were a branch of the great Aryan family, who as conquerors had seized upon the vast regions extending from the Caspian Sea to the eastern borders of Mesopotamia, but without being able to dispossess the Turanian tribes who had previously dwelt there. They were divided into numerous clans, each with its own local chief, the leaders of the larger sections being those who are here called kings.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12The kings of the Medes included Cyrus. He marched against Babylon and overthrew it in 539 BC.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Make bright--literally, "pure." Polish and sharpen. gather--literally, "fill"; that is, gather in full number, so that none be wanting. So, "gave in full tale" (1Sa 18:27). Gesenius, not so well, translates, "Fill with your bodies the shields" (compare So 4:4). He means to tell the Babylonians, Make what preparations you will, all will be in vain (compare Jr 46:3-6). kings of ... Medes--He names the Medes rather than the Persians, because Darius, or…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 51:11

• Persia

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• Medes
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• Mede, Medes, Media
• Device
• Empty
• Hold
• Media
• Mount
• Ezekiel

Commentaries on Jeremiah 51

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings