New Living Translation
Jeremiah 51:1
1This is what the Lord says: “I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Babylonia.
Jeremiah 51:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai, A destroying wind.
Context of Jeremiah 51:1
This is what the Lord says: “I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Babylonia. 2Foreigners will come and winnow her, blowing her away as chaff. They will come from every side to rise against her in her day of trouble. 3Don’t let the archers put on their armor or draw their bows. Don’t spare even her best soldiers! Let her army be completely destroyed.
Read all of Jeremiah 51Jeremiah 51:1 word by word
כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה הִנְנִי֙ מֵעִ֣יר עַל־בָּבֶ֔ל וְאֶל־יֹשְׁבֵ֖י לֵ֣ב קָמָ֑י ר֖וּחַ מַשְׁחִֽית׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Behold, I will raise upעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
- against Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
- and against them that dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the midstלֵבlêb · LebH3820
- of them that rise upקָמָיqûm · (Leb)-kamaiH6965
- against me, a destroyingשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
- windרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:1
- Jeremiah 50:9For I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. They will join forces to attack Babylon, and she will be captured. The enemies’ arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!
- Isaiah 13:3I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”
- Amos 3:6When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has planned it?
- Jeremiah 50:24Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the Lord.
- Zechariah 2:8After a period of glory, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.
- Acts 9:4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
- Jeremiah 4:11The time is coming when the Lord will say to the people of Jerusalem, “My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
- Jeremiah 49:36I will bring enemies from all directions, and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. They will be exiled to countries around the world.
- 2 Kings 19:7Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
- Ezekiel 19:12But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the ground. The desert wind dried up its fruit and tore off its strong branches, so that it withered and was destroyed by fire.
- Hosea 13:15Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Thus saith the Lord - This chapter is a continuation of the preceding prophecy. A destroying wind - Such as the pestilential winds in the east; and here the emblem of a destroying army, carrying all before them, and wasting with fire and sword.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1In the midst of them that rise up against me - Or, in Leb-kamai, the cipher for Kasdim, i. e., Chaldaea. This cipher was not necessarily invented by Jeremiah, or used for concealment. It was probaby first devised either for political purposes or for trade, and was in time largely employed in the correspondence between the exiles at Babylon and their friends at home. Thus, words in common use like Sheshach Jeremiah 25:26 and Leb-kamai, would be known to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Babylon's doom; God's controversy with her; encouragements from thence to the Israel of God. (Jr 51:1-58) The confirming of this. (Jr 51:59-64) Verses 1-58 The particulars of this prophecy are dispersed and interwoven, and the same things left and returned to again. Babylon is abundant in treasures, yet neither her waters nor her wealth shall secure her. Destruction comes when they did not think of it. Wherever we are, in the greatest depths, at the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The Lord chose Persia, led by Cyrus, to destroy Babylon in 539 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-641. in the midst of them that rise ... against me--literally, "in the heart" of them. Compare Psa 46:2, "the midst of the sea," Margin; Eze 27:4, "the heart of the seas"; Margin; Mt 12:40. In the center of the Chaldeans. "Against Me," because they persecute My people. The cabalistic mode of interpreting Hebrew words (by taking the letters in the inverse order of the alphabet, the last letter representing the first, and so on, Jr 25:26) would give the very…Read the comment
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
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Commentaries