God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 50:12
12But your mother will be greatly ashamed. The woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced. Babylon, you will be the least important nation. You will become a parched desert.
Jeremiah 50:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
- New International Version (NIV)your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations— a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.
- English Standard Version (ESV)your mother shall be utterly shamed, and she who bore you shall be disgraced. Behold, she shall be the last of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Your mother shall be deeply ashamed; She who bore you shall be ashamed. Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness, A dry land and a desert.
Context of Jeremiah 50:12
10The Babylonians will become the prize. All who loot them will get everything they want,” declares the Lord. 11“You are happy and excited. You have looted the people who belong to me. You dance around like calves on the grass and neigh like stallions. But your mother will be greatly ashamed. The woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced. Babylon, you will be the least important nation. You will become a parched desert. 13No one will live in Babylon because of the Lord’s anger. It will be completely abandoned. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified and hiss at all its wounds. 14“Take up your positions around Babylon, all you archers with bows. Shoot at it; don’t save any arrows, because the people of Babylon have sinned against the Lord.
Read all of Jeremiah 50Jeremiah 50:12 word by word
בּ֤וֹשָׁה אִמְּכֶם֙ מְאֹ֔ד חָפְרָ֖ה יֽוֹלַדְתְּכֶ֑ם הִנֵּה֙ אַחֲרִ֣ית גּוֹיִ֔ם מִדְבָּ֖ר צִיָּ֥ה וַעֲרָבָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Your motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- shall be soreמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
- confoundedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
- she that bareיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- you shall be ashamedחָפֵרchâphêr · be ashamedH2659
- behold, the hindermostאַחֲרִית'achărîyth · endH319
- of the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- a wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- a dry landצִיָּהtsîyâh · drynessH6723
- and a desertעֲרָבָה‛ărâbâh · plainH6160
Cross-references for Jeremiah 50:12
- Jeremiah 49:2That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah, where the people of Ammon live. It will become a pile of rubble. Its villages will be burned down. Then Israel will take possession of its inheritance, says the Lord.
- Galatians 4:26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
- Revelation 17:5A name was written on her forehead. The name was Mystery: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Detestable Things of the Earth.
- Jeremiah 25:26all the kings of the north, near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms of the earth. Last of all, the king of Sheshach will drink from the cup.
- Isaiah 23:13Look at the land of the Babylonians. These people will be gone. Assyria gave this land to the desert animals. Assyria set up battle towers, stripped palaces bare, and turned these places into ruins.
- Jeremiah 50:35“A sword will kill the Babylonians and everyone who lives in Babylon,” declares the Lord. “A sword will kill their officials and their wise men.
- Jeremiah 25:12“When the 70 years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their crimes, declares the Lord. I will turn Babylon into a permanent wasteland.
- Jeremiah 51:25“I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth,” declares the Lord. “I will use my power against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain.
- Isaiah 13:20It will never be inhabited again, and no one will live in it for generations. Arabs won’t pitch their tents there. Shepherds won’t let their flocks rest there.
- Isaiah 14:22“I’ll rise up against them,” declares the Lord of Armies. “I’ll cut off the name of the survivors from Babylon, its offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord.
- Revelation 18:21Then a powerful angel picked up a stone that was like a large millstone. He threw it into the sea and said, “The important city Babylon will be thrown down with the same force. It will never be found again.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 50:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Your mother - Speaking to the Chaldeans: Babylon, the metropolis, or mother city, shall be a wilderness, a dry land, a desert, neither fit for man nor beast.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Your mother - i. e., Babylon. Confounded ashamed. Or, ashamed blush. Behold - Translate, “Behold she is the hindermost of the nations, a desert, a thirsty land, and a waste:” - the reason why Babylon is to blush. Once the head of gold Daniel 2:32, she is now the lowest of earthly powers.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-20Verses 8-20 The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The divine Judge gave his decision, describing the shame of a defeated Babylon.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Your mother--Babylon, the metropolis of the empire. hindermost--marvellous change, that Babylon, once the queen of the world, should be now the hindermost of nations, and at last, becoming "a desert," cease to be a nation!Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 50
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries