Jeremiah 51:48

48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 51:48 in Other Translations

KJV
48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
ESV
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD.
NLT
48 Then the heavens and earth will rejoice, for out of the north will come destroying armies against Babylon,” says the LORD .
MSG
48 Heaven and earth, angels and people, will throw a victory party over Babylon When the avenging armies from the north descend on her." God's Decree! Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile
CSB
48 Heaven and earth and everything in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her. [This is] the Lord's declaration.

Jeremiah 51:48 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:48

Then the heaven and the earth, and all that [is] therein,
shall sing for Babylon
At the destruction of her, rejoicing at it; not at the ruin of fellow creatures, simply considered; but relatively, at the righteousness of God in it, and the glory of his justice, and the deliverance of many by it from tyranny and bondage. This seems to be a figurative expression often used, in which the heavens and the earth are brought in as witnesses, approvers, and applauders, of what is done by the Lord. Some indeed interpret it of the angels, the inhabitants of the heavens, and of the Jews, dwellers on earth; and others of the church of God, in heaven and in earth; which, of the two, seems best; the like will be done at the fall of mystical Babylon, ( Revelation 18:20 ) ; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord;
the Medes and Persians that should and did spoil and plunder Babylon; and who came from countries that lay north to it.

Jeremiah 51:48 In-Context

46 Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the LORD.
49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the LORD in a distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem.”

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Job 3:7; S Psalms 149:2; Isaiah 44:23; Revelation 18:20
  • 2. ver 11; S Isaiah 41:25; S Jeremiah 25:26
  • 3. ver 53,56
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