Jeremiah 51:20–24

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^51:20“Babylon,⁴⁶ you are my war club,⁴⁷

my weapon for battle.

I used you to smash nations.⁴⁸

I used you to destroy kingdoms.

^51:21I used you to smash horses and their riders.⁴⁹

I used you to smash chariots and their drivers.

^51:22I used you to smash men and women.

I used you to smash old men and young men.

I used you to smash young men and young women.

^51:23I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks.

I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen.

I used you to smash governors and leaders.”⁵⁰

^51:24“But I will repay Babylon

and all who live in Babylonia

for all the wicked things they did in Zion

right before the eyes of you Judeans,”⁵¹

says the Lord.⁵²

Read in Logos

Footnotes

46 Or “Media.” The referent is not identified in the text; the text merely says “you are my war club.” Commentators in general identify the referent as Babylon because Babylon has been referred to as a hammer in 50:23 and Babylon is referred to in v. 25 as a “destroying mountain” (compare v. 20d). However, S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 317, n. c maintains that v. 24 speaks against this. It does seem a little inconsistent to render the vav consecutive perfect at the beginning of v. 24 as future while rendering those in vv. 20b–23 as customary past. However, change in person from second masculine singular (vv. 20b–23) to the second masculine plural in “before your very eyes” and its position at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” argue that a change in address occurs there. Driver has to ignore the change in person and take “before your eyes” with the verb “repay” at the beginning to maintain the kind of consistency he seeks. The vav (ו) consecutive imperfect can be used for either the customary past ( §112.dd with cross reference back to §112.e) or the future ( §112.x). Hence the present translation has followed the majority of commentaries (and English versions like , , , ) in understanding the referent as Babylon and v. 24 being a transition to vv. 25–26 (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [], 356–57, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [], ). If the referent is understood as Media then the verbs in vv. 20–23 should all be translated as futures. See also the translator’s note on v. .
47 This Hebrew word (מַפֵּץ, mappets) only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible, but its meaning is assured from the use of the verbs that follow which are from the same root (נָפַץ, nafats) and there is a cognate noun מַפָּץ (mappats) that occurs in Ezek 9:2 in the sense of weapon of “smashing.”
48 Heb “I smash nations with you.” This same structure is repeated throughout the series in vv. 20c–23.
49 Heb “horse and its rider.” However, the terms are meant as generic or collective singulars (cf. §123.b) and are thus translated by the plural. The same thing is true of all the terms in vv. 21–23b. The terms in vv. 20c–d, 23c are plural.
50 These two words are Akkadian loan words into Hebrew which often occur in this pairing (cf. Ezek 23:6, 12, 23; Jer 51:23, 28, 57). 688 סָגָן (sagan) gives “prefect, ruler” as the basic definition for the second term but neither works very well in a modern translation because “prefect” would be unknown to most readers and “ruler” would suggest someone along the lines of a king, which these officials were not. The present translation has chosen “leaders” by default, assuming there is no other term that would be any more appropriate in light of the defects noted in “prefect” and “ruler.”
51 Or “Media, you are my war club … I will use you to smash … leaders. So before your very eyes I will repay … for all the wicked things they did in Zion.” For explanation see the translator’s note on v. . The position of the phrase “before your eyes” at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” and the change in person from second masculine singular in vv. 20b–23 (“I used you to smite”) to second masculine plural in “before your eyes” argue that a change in referent/addressee occurs in this verse. To maintain that the referent in vv. 20–23 is Media/Cyrus requires that this position and change in person be ignored; “before your eyes” then is attached to “I will repay.” The present translation follows J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [], ) and F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [], ) in seeing the referent as the Judeans who had witnessed the destruction of Zion/Jerusalem. The word “Judean” has been supplied for the sake of identifying the referent for the modern reader.
52 Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“You are my hammer and weapon of war:

with you I break nations in pieces;

with you I destroy kingdoms;

with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;

with you I break in pieces man and woman;

with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth;

with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;

with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;

with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;

with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“You are my war club,

my weapon for battle—

with you I shatter nations,

with you I destroy kingdoms,

with you I shatter horse and rider,

with you I shatter chariot and driver,

with you I shatter man and woman,

with you I shatter old man and youth,

with you I shatter young man and young woman,

with you I shatter shepherd and flock,

with you I shatter farmer and oxen,

with you I shatter governors and officials.

“Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

You are my war club,

my weapons of war.

With you I will smash nations;

with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin.

With you I will smash the horse and its rider;

with you I will smash the chariot and its rider.

With 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.

With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock;

with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team.

With you I will smash governors and officials.

“Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

NLTNew Living Translation

“You are my battle-ax and sword,”

says the Lord.

“With you I will shatter nations

and destroy many kingdoms.

With you I will shatter armies—

destroying the horse and rider,

the chariot and charioteer.

With you I will shatter men and women,

old people and children,

young men and young women.

With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,

farmers and oxen,

captains and officers.

“I will repay Babylon

and the people of Babylonia

for all the wrong they have done

to my people in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

He says, “You are a war club for me,

a weapon of battle,

and I smash nations with you,

and I destroy kingdoms with you.

And I smash the horse with you,

and its rider,

and I smash the chariot with you,

and its rider.

And I smash man and woman with you,

and I smash the old man and the boy with you,

and I smash the young man and the young woman with you.

And I smash the shepherd and his flock with you,

and I smash the farmer and his team with you,

and I smash the governors and the officials with you.

And I will repay Babylon,

and all the inhabitants of Chaldea,

all their wickedness that they have done in Zion

before your eyes,” declares Yahweh.

KJV 1900King James Version

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;

And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

And with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman;

And with thee will I break in pieces old and young;

And with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock;

And with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen;

And with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

And I will render unto Babylon

And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea

All their evil that they have done in Zion

In your sight, saith the Lord.

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