Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 51:20
20You are my war club, my weapons of war. With you I will smash nations; with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin.
Jeremiah 51:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
- New International Version (NIV)“You are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms;
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms;
Context of Jeremiah 51:20
18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed. 19Jacob’s Portion is not like these because he is the one who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of Armies is his name. You are my war club, my weapons of war. With you I will smash nations; with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin. 21With you I will smash the horse and its rider; with you I will smash the chariot and its rider. 22With you I will smash man and woman; with you I will smash the old man and the youth; with you I will smash the young man and the young woman.
Read all of Jeremiah 51Jeremiah 51:20 word by word
מַפֵּץ־אַתָּ֣ה לִ֔י כְּלֵ֖י מִלְחָמָ֑ה וְנִפַּצְתִּ֤י בְךָ֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם וְהִשְׁחַתִּ֥י בְךָ֖ מַמְלָכֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- my battle axeמַפֵּץmappêts · war-clubH4661
- weaponsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
- of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- for with thee will I break in piecesנָפַץnâphats · to shatterH5310
- the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- and with thee will I destroyשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
- kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:20
- Jeremiah 50:23How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and smashed! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
- Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger — the staff in their hands is my wrath.
- Isaiah 13:5They are coming from a distant land, from the farthest horizon — the Lord and the weapons of his wrath — to destroy the whole country.
- Isaiah 14:5The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
- Isaiah 37:26Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble.
- Isaiah 41:15See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board, new, with many teeth. You will thresh mountains and pulverize them and make hills into chaff.
- Micah 4:13Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will make your horns iron and your hooves bronze so you can crush many peoples. Then you will set apart their plunder for the Lord, their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
- Zechariah 9:13For I will bend Judah as my bow; I will fill that bow with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece. I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
- Matthew 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.
- Jeremiah 25:9I am going to send for all the families of the north’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘and send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror and scorn, and ruins forever.
- Jeremiah 27:5“By my great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Thou art my battle axe - I believe Nebuchadnezzar is meant, who is called, Jeremiah 50:23, the hammer of the whole earth. Others think the words are spoken of Cyrus. All the verbs are in the past tense: "With thee have I broken in pieces," etc., etc.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Or, Thou art my maul, weapons of war etc. The maul or mace Proverbs 25:18 only differs from the hammer Jeremiah 50:23 in being used for warlike purposes. Omit the “will” in “will I break.” The crushing of the nations was going on at the time when the prophet wrote. Most commentators consider that Babylon was the mace of God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20You: The Lord chose and empowered King Cyrus of Persia to destroy the Babylonian Empire.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. (See on Jr 50:23). "Break in pieces" refers to the "hammer" there (compare Na 2:1, Margin). The club also was often used by ancient warriors.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 51:20
In the dictionaries
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
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries