Jeremiah 51:8

Jeremiah 51:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
• New International Version (NIV)Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed.

Context of Jeremiah 51:8

6Run away from Babylonia! Run quickly to escape from there! Do not stay there to die along with Babylonia's people. The time has come for the Lord to pay them back for their sins. He will punish them as they deserve. 7Babylon has been like a gold cup of wine in the Lord's hand. The nations of the world had to drink that wine. It made everyone become drunk, and so they all became crazy. But now Babylon will quickly fall. An enemy will destroy it, so weep for it! Find some medicine that will make its wounds better. Perhaps it will become well again. 9The foreign people in Babylon say, “We tried to make its wounds better, but it was not possible to do it. Now we must leave it. We must each go back to our own country. Its punishment will have no end. It will reach as high as the sky!” 10The people from Judah who are in Babylon say, “The Lord has shown that we are his people. Now we must go to Jerusalem. We must tell people in Zion about how the Lord our God has helped us.” ’

Jeremiah 51:8 word by word

פִּתְאֹ֛ם נָפְלָ֥ה בָבֶ֖ל וַתִּשָּׁבֵ֑ר הֵילִ֣ילוּ עָלֶ֗יהָ קְח֤וּ צֳרִי֙ לְמַכְאוֹבָ֔הּ אוּלַ֖י תֵּרָפֵֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
• is suddenlyפִּתְאֹםpith'ôm pith'ôm · suddenlyH6597
• fallenנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• and destroyedשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
• for her; takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• balmצֳרִיtserîy tsŏrîy · balsamH6875
• for her painמַכְאוֹבmak'ôb mak'ôb mak'ôbâh · painH4341
• if so be she may be healedרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495

Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:8

• Jeremiah 51:41‘Now an enemy will take power over Babylon! Everyone in the world praised it as a great nation. But now all the nations will see that it is a disgusting place.
• Jeremiah 50:2‘Tell this news to the nations! Wave a flag to make sure that people listen! Do not try to hide anything. Say this: “Enemies will take Babylon. Bel will become ashamed. Yes, Marduk will be afraid. All Babylon's disgusting idols will be ashamed.”
• Isaiah 21:9And look! Something is coming! It is a chariot that two horses are pulling!’ The rider reports, ‘An enemy has completely destroyed Babylon! All the idols of its people's gods lie in pieces on the ground!’
• Isaiah 47:9But both of those things will happen to you! They will happen suddenly, in only one day. You will lose your children and you will become a widow. All these troubles will come to hurt you. You can use all your powerful magic but you will not stop this trouble!
• Revelation 14:8A second angel followed the first one. He said, ‘God has destroyed Babylon! It is no longer a great city! It has caused people everywhere to do the same bad things as it enjoys. She is like a prostitute who makes men become drunk and have sex in a wrong way. She has caused them to turn away from God.’
• Revelation 18:2He shouted with a very loud voice: ‘God has destroyed the great city of Babylon! She has become a place where demons live. She is a home for every disgusting spirit. She is a home for every unclean bird. She is a home for every unclean and disgusting animal.
• Jeremiah 48:20They will reply, “The enemy has won against Moab and its people are ashamed. So weep and cry out! Stand beside the Arnon river and tell the news. Tell people that the enemy has destroyed Moab.”
• Isaiah 13:6Weep, because the day of the Lord is near. That is the time when God Almighty will destroy his enemies.
• Ezekiel 27:30They will weep loudly because they are very upset about you. They will throw dirt on their heads. They will lie down in ashes.
• Ezekiel 30:2‘Son of man, prophesy to the people. Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Weep and cry aloud, ‘Help! The day of great trouble is coming!’
• Daniel 5:24Because of that, God sent the hand that wrote this message.
• Revelation 18:9When all that happens, the kings on the earth will be very sad. They enjoyed the bad things that people did in that city. They had many expensive things so that they were happy. Now they will see the smoke from the fire that burns the city. As a result, they will cry and they will weep.
• Revelation 18:17But in one single hour God has destroyed all those valuable things.’ All the sailors and the people who travel on ships will also be sad. They include every ship's captain, and everyone who works on ships on the sea. They will stand a long way from the city.
• Jeremiah 8:22Surely there is a medicine in Gilead. There is a doctor there who can make my dear people better. But my people are still ill. Why are they not better?
• Jeremiah 30:12The Lord says this to Zion's people: ‘You have received very bad wounds. Nobody can make you well again.
• Jeremiah 46:11Dear people of Egypt, go to Gilead and find medicine to make you well. But that will not help you. There is no medicine that will make you better.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed - These appear to be the words of some of the spectators of Babylon's misery.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Destroyed - literally, broken, as was the hammer Jeremiah 50:23. The cup, though of metal, is thrown down so violently as to be shattered by the fall. Howl for her - The persons addressed are the many inhabitants of Babylon who were dragged from their homes to people its void places, and especially the Israelites. They have dwelt there long enough to feel pity for her, when they contrast her past magnificence with her terrible fall. Compare Jeremiah 29:7.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Jeremiah predicted the fall of the Babylonian Empire. Even though the Lord was delivering justice, people needed to mourn the event.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-98-9. Her friends and confederates, who behold her fall, are invited to her aid. They reply, her case is incurable, and that they must leave her to her fate. (Is 21:9; Re 14:8; 18:2, 9). balm--(Jr 8:22; 46:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 51:8

• Balm
• Drunkenness
• Medicine

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• Balm
• Device
• Empty
• Hold
• Mount
• Ezekiel
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah (2)

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