Jeremiah 51:37–43

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^51:37Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there.⁸²

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives.⁸³

^51:38The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey.

They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.⁸⁴

^51:39When their appetites are all stirred up,⁸⁵

I will set out a banquet for them.

I will make them drunk

so that they will pass out,⁸⁶

they will fall asleep forever,

they will never wake up,”⁸⁷

says the Lord.⁸⁸

^51:40“I will lead them off to be slaughtered

like lambs, rams, and male goats.”⁸⁹

^51:41“See how Babylon⁹⁰ has been captured!

See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken!

See what an object of horror

Babylon has become among the nations!⁹¹

^51:42The sea has swept over Babylon.

She has been covered by a multitude⁹² of its waves.⁹³

^51:43The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins.

She has become a dry and barren desert.

No one lives in those towns any more.

No one even passes through them.⁹⁴

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Footnotes

82 Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.
83 Heb “without an inhabitant.”
84 Heb “They [the Babylonians] all roar like lions. They growl like the cubs of lions.” For the usage of יַחְדָו (yakhdav) meaning “all” see Isa 10:8; 18:6; 41:20. The translation strives to convey in clear terms what is the generally accepted meaning of the simile (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [], 358, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [], ).
85 Heb “When they are hot.”
86 The translation follows the suggestion of 707 עָלַז and a number of modern commentaries (e.g., Bright, J. A. Thompson, and W. L. Holladay) in reading יְעֻלְּפוּ (ye’ulléfu) for יַעֲלֹזוּ (ya’alozu) in the sense of “swoon away” or “grow faint” (see 710 עָלַף Pual). That appears to be the verb that the (the Greek version) was reading when they translated καρωθῶσιν (karōthōsin, “they will be stupefied”). For parallel usage cites Isa 51:20. This fits the context much better than “they will exult” in the Hebrew text.
87 The central figure here is the figure of the cup of the Lord’s wrath (cf. 25:15–29, especially v. 26). Here the Babylonians have been made to drink so deeply of it that they fall into a drunken sleep from which they will never wake up (i.e., they die, death being compared to sleep [cf. Ps 13:3 (13:4 ); 76:5 (76:6 ); 90:5]). Compare the usage in Jer 51:57 for this same figure.
88 Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
89 Heb “I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and he goats.” This statement is highly ironic in light of the fact that the Babylonians were compared to lions and lion cubs (v. 38). Here they are like lambs, rams, and male goats which are to be lead off to be slaughtered.
90 Heb “Sheshach.” For an explanation of the usage of this name for Babylon see the study note on and that on for a similar phenomenon. Babylon is here called “the pride of the whole earth” because it was renowned for its size, its fortifications, and its beautiful buildings.
91 Heb “How Sheshach has been captured, the pride of the whole earth has been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!” For the usage of “How” here see the translator’s note on . This is part of a taunt song (see Isa 14:4) and assumes prophetically that the city has already been captured. The verbs in vv. 41–43a are all in the Hebrew tense that the prophets often use to look at the future as “a done deal” (the so-called prophetic perfect). In v. 44 which is still a part of this picture the verbs are in the future. The Hebrew tense has been retained here and in vv. 42–43 but it should be remembered that the standpoint is prophetic and future.
92 For the meaning “multitude” here rather than “tumult” see 242 הָמוֹן 3.c, where reference is made that this refers to a great throng of people under the figure of an overwhelming mass of waves. The word is used of a multitude of soldiers, or a vast army in 1 Sam 14:16; 1 Kgs 20:13, 18 (cf. 242 הָמוֹן 3.a for further references).
93 Heb “The sea has risen up over Babylon. She has been covered by the multitude of its waves.” This is a poetic and figurative reference to the enemies of Babylon, the foe from the north (see 50:3, 9, 51:27–28), which has attacked Babylon in wave after wave. This same figure is used in Isa 17:12. In Isa 8:7–8 the king of Assyria (and his troops) are compared to the Euphrates which rises up and floods over the whole land of Israel and Judah. This same figure, but with application to Babylon, is assumed in Jer 47:2–3. In Jer 46:7–8 the same figure is employed in a taunt of Egypt which had boasted that it would cover the earth like the flooding of the Nile.
94 Heb “Its towns have become a desolation, [it has become] a dry land and a desert, a land which no man passes through them [referring to “her towns”] and no son of man [= human being] passes through them.” Here the present translation has followed the suggestion of and a number of the modern commentaries in deleting the second occurrence of the word “land,” in which case the words that follow are not a relative clause but independent statements. A number of modern English versions appear to ignore the third feminine plural suffixes which refer back to the cities and refer the statements that follow to the land.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,

the haunt of jackals,

a horror and a hissing,

without inhabitant.

“They shall roar together like lions;

they shall growl like lions’ cubs.

While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast

and make them drunk, that they may become merry,

then sleep a perpetual sleep

and not wake, declares the Lord.

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams and male goats.

“How Babylon is taken,

the praise of the whole earth seized!

How Babylon has become

a horror among the nations!

The sea has come up on Babylon;

she is covered with its tumultuous waves.

Her cities have become a horror,

a land of drought and a desert,

a land in which no one dwells,

and through which no son of man passes.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Babylon will be a heap of ruins,

a haunt of jackals,

an object of horror and scorn,

a place where no one lives.

Her people all roar like young lions,

they growl like lion cubs.

But while they are aroused,

I will set out a feast for them

and make them drunk,

so that they shout with laughter—

then sleep forever and not awake,”

declares the Lord.

“I will bring them down

like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams and goats.

“How Sheshak will be captured,

the boast of the whole earth seized!

How desolate Babylon will be

among the nations!

The sea will rise over Babylon;

its roaring waves will cover her.

Her towns will be desolate,

a dry and desert land,

a land where no one lives,

through which no one travels.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Babylon will become a heap of rubble,

a jackals’ den,

a desolation and an object of scorn,

without inhabitant.

They will roar together like young lions;

they will growl like lion cubs.

While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,

and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate.

Then they will fall asleep forever

and never wake up.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams together with male goats.

How Sheshak has been captured,

the praise of the whole earth seized.

What a horror Babylon has become

among the nations!

The sea has risen over Babylon;

she is covered with its tumultuous waves.

Her cities have become a desolation,

an arid desert,

a land where no one lives,

where no human being even passes through.

NLTNew Living Translation

and Babylon will become a heap of ruins,

haunted by jackals.

She will be an object of horror and contempt,

a place where no one lives.

Her people will roar together like strong lions.

They will growl like lion cubs.

And while they lie inflamed with all their wine,

I will prepare a different kind of feast for them.

I will make them drink until they fall asleep,

and they will never wake up again,”

says the Lord.

“I will bring them down

like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams and goats to be sacrificed.

“How Babylon is fallen—

great Babylon, praised throughout the earth!

Now she has become an object of horror

among the nations.

The sea has risen over Babylon;

she is covered by its crashing waves.

Her cities now lie in ruins;

she is a dry wasteland

where no one lives or even passes by.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Babylon will become as a heap of stones,

a lair of jackals,

an object of horror, and an object of hissing,

without inhabitants.

They will roar together like the young lions,

they will growl like the cubs of lions.

At their becoming hot I will set their banquets,

and I will make them drunk,

so that they will fall into a swoon,

and they will sleep an everlasting sleep,

and they will not wake up,” declares Yahweh.

“I will bring them down like young rams to slaughter,

like rams and goats.

How Sheshach is captured,

and the glory of all the earth is seized!

How Babylon has become as an object of horror

among the nations!

The sea has risen over Babylon,

she has been covered by the roar of its waves.

Her cities have become as an object of horror,

a dry land and a wilderness,

a land in which no person lives,

nor does a son of humankind pass through it.

KJV 1900King James Version

And Babylon shall become heaps,

A dwellingplace for dragons,

An astonishment, and an hissing,

Without an inhabitant.

They shall roar together like lions:

They shall yell as lions’ whelps.

In their heat I will make their feasts,

And I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice,

And sleep a perpetual sleep,

And not wake, saith the Lord.

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,

Like rams with he goats.

How is Sheshach taken!

And how is the praise of the whole earth surprised!

How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

The sea is come up upon Babylon:

She is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

Her cities are a desolation,

A dry land, and a wilderness,

A land wherein no man dwelleth,

Neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

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