Yeremia 51:11

51:11 “Sharpen ¹  your arrows!

Fill your quivers! ² 

The Lord will arouse a spirit of hostility in ³  the kings of Media. ⁴ 

For he intends to destroy Babylonia.

For that is how the Lord will get his revenge –

how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple. ⁵ 

Yeremia 51:35

51:35 The person who lives in Zion says,

“May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.”

Jerusalem says,

“May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.” ⁶ 

Yeremia 51:49

51:49 “Babylon must fall ⁷ 

because of the Israelites she has killed, ⁸ 

just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell

because of Babylon. ⁹ 

Yeremia 50:15

50:15 Shout the battle cry from all around the city.

She will throw up her hands in surrender. ¹⁰ 

Her towers ¹¹  will fall.

Her walls will be torn down.

Because I, the Lord, am wreaking revenge, ¹² 

take out your vengeance on her!

Do to her as she has done!

Yeremia 50:17-18

50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep

which lions have chased away.

First the king of Assyria devoured them. ¹³ 

Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones. ¹⁴ 

50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: ¹⁵ 

‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land

just as I punished the king of Assyria.

Yeremia 50:28-29

50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.

They are coming to Zion to declare there

how the Lord our God is getting revenge,

getting revenge for what they have done to his temple. ¹⁶ 

50:29 “Call for archers ¹⁷  to come against Babylon!

Summon against her all who draw the bow!

Set up camp all around the city!

Do not allow anyone to escape!

Pay her back for what she has done.

Do to her what she has done to others.

For she has proudly defied me, ¹⁸ 

the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 50:33-34

50:33 The Lord who rules over all ²⁰  says,

“The people of Israel are oppressed.

So too are the people of Judah. ²¹ 

All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners.

They refuse to set them free.

50:34 But the one who will rescue them ²²  is strong.

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ²³ 

He will strongly ²⁴  champion their cause.

As a result ²⁵  he will bring peace and rest to the earth,

but trouble and turmoil ²⁶  to the people who inhabit Babylonia. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 137:8-9

137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! ²⁸ 

How blessed will be the one who repays you

for what you dished out to us! ²⁹ 

137:9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies

and smashes them on a rock! ³⁰ 

Yesaya 47:6-9

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy; ³¹ 

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. ³² 

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ³³ 

You did not think about these things; ³⁴ 

you did not consider how it would turn out. ³⁵ 

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ³⁶ 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ³⁷ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ³⁸ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ³⁹ 

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ⁴⁰ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ⁴¹ 

despite ⁴²  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 51:22-23

51:22 This is what your sovereign master, ⁴⁴  the Lord your God, says:

“Look, I have removed from your hand

the cup of intoxicating wine, ⁴⁵ 

the goblet full of my anger. ⁴⁶ 

You will no longer have to drink it.

51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ⁴⁷ 

who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’

You made your back like the ground,

and like the street for those who walked over you.”

Yesaya 61:2

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ⁴⁸ 

to console all who mourn,

Yesaya 63:1-4

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁴⁹ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁵⁰ 

Who ⁵¹  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁵² 

who marches confidently ⁵³  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ⁵⁴ 

63:2 Why are your clothes red?

Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? ⁵⁵ 

63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;

no one from the nations joined me.

I stomped on them ⁵⁶  in my anger;

I trampled them down in my rage.

Their juice splashed on my garments,

and stained ⁵⁷  all my clothes.

63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and then payback time arrived. ⁵⁸ 

Yesaya 66:6

66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;

the sound comes from the temple!

It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

Yesaya 66:1

66:1 This is what the Lord says:

“The heavens are my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I will rest?

Yesaya 2:15-16

2:15 for every high tower,

for every fortified wall,

2:16 for all the large ships, ⁵⁹ 

for all the impressive ⁶⁰  ships. ⁶¹ 

Wahyu 6:10

6:10 They ⁶²  cried out with a loud voice, ⁶³  “How long, ⁶⁴  Sovereign Master, ⁶⁵  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”

Wahyu 18:20

18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has pronounced judgment ⁶⁶  against her on your behalf!) ⁶⁷ 

Wahyu 18:24

18:24 The ⁶⁸  blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, ⁶⁹ 

along with the blood ⁷⁰  of all those who had been killed on the earth.”

Wahyu 19:2-4

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ⁷¹ 

For he has judged ⁷²  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ⁷³  poured out by her own hands!” ⁷⁴ 

19:3 Then ⁷⁵  a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. ⁷⁶  19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground ⁷⁷  and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”

[51:11]  ¹ sn The imperatives here and in v. 12 are directed to the soldiers in the armies of the kings from the north (here identified as the kings of Media [see also 50:3, 9; 51:27-28]). They have often been addressed in this prophecy as though they were a present force (see 50:14-16; 50:21 [and the study note there]; 50:26, 29; 51:3) though the passage as a whole is prophetic of the future. This gives some idea of the ideal stance that the prophets adopted when they spoke of the future as though already past (the use of the Hebrew prophetic perfect which has been referred to often in the translator’s notes).

[51:11]  ² tn The meaning of this word is debated. The most thorough discussion of this word including etymology and usage in the OT and Qumran is in HALOT 1409-10 s.v. שֶׁלֶט, where the rendering “quiver” is accepted for all the uses of this word in the OT. For a more readily accessible discussion for English readers see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:422-23. The meaning “quiver” fits better with the verb “fill” than the meaning “shield” which is adopted in BDB 1020 s.v. שֶׁלֶט. “Quiver” is the meaning adopted also in NRSV, REB, NAB, and NJPS.

[51:11]  ³ tn Heb “The Lord has stirred up the spirit of…” The verb is rendered here as a prophetic perfect. The rendering “arouse a spirit of hostility” is an attempt to render some meaning to the phrase and not simply ignore the word “spirit” as many of the modern English versions do. For a fuller discussion including cross references see the translator’s note on v. 1.

[51:11]  ⁴ sn Media was a country in what is now northwestern Iran. At the time this prophecy was probably written they were the dominating force in the northern region, the most likely enemy to Babylon. By the time Babylon fell in 538 b.c. the Medes had been conquered and incorporated in the Persian empire by Cyrus. However, several times in the Bible this entity is known under the combined entity of Media and Persia (Esth 1:3, 4, 18, 19; 10:2; Dan 5:28; 6:8, 12, 15; 8:20). Dan 5:31 credits the capture of Babylon to Darius the Mede, which may have been another name for Cyrus or the name by which Daniel refers to a Median general named Gobryas.

[51:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his temple.” As in the parallel passage in 50:28, the genitival construction has been expanded in the translation to clarify for the English reader what the commentaries in general agree is involved.

[51:11]  sn Verse 11c-f appears to be a parenthetical or editorial comment by Jeremiah to give some background for the attack which is summoned in vv. 11-12.

[51:35]  ⁶ tn Heb “‘The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,’ says the one living in Zion. ‘My blood be upon those living in Chaldea,’ says Jerusalem.” For the usage of the genitive here in the phrase “violence done to me and my relatives” see GKC 414 §128.a (a construct governing two objects) and IBHS 303 §16.4d (an objective genitive). For the nuance of “pay” in the sense of retribution see BDB 756 s.v. עַל 7.a(b) and compare the usage in Judg 9:24. For the use of שְׁאֵר (shÿ’er) in the sense of “relatives” see BDB 985 s.v. שְׁאֵר 2 and compare NJPS. For the use of “blood” in this idiom see BDB 197 s.v. דָּם 2.k and compare the usage in 2 Sam 4:11; Ezek 3:18, 20. The lines have been reversed for better English style.

[51:49]  ⁷ tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate what is about to take place. See IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.

[51:49]  ⁸ tn Heb “the slain of Israel.” The words “because of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The preceding context makes it clear that Babylon would be judged for its atrocities against Israel (see especially 50:33-34; 51:10, 24, 35).

[51:49]  ⁹ tn The juxtaposition of גַם…גַם (gam...gam), often “both…and,” here indicates correspondence. See BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 4. Appropriately Babylon will fall slain just as her victims, including God’s covenant people, did.

[50:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “She has given her hand.” For the idiom here involving submission/surrender see BDB 680 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.z and compare the usage in 1 Chr 29:24; 2 Chr 30:8. For a different interpretation, however, see the rather complete discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 366) who see this as a reference to making a covenant. The verb in this line and the next two lines are all Hebrew perfects and most translators and commentaries see them as past. God’s Word, however, treats them as prophetic perfects and translates them as future. This is more likely in the light of the imperatives both before and after.

[50:15]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The definition here follows that of HALOT 91 s.v. אָשְׁיָה, which defines it on the basis of an Akkadian word and treats it as a loanword.

[50:15]  ¹² tn Heb “Because it is the Lord’s vengeance.” The first person has again been used because the Lord is the speaker and the nominal expression has been turned into a verbal one more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[50:17]  ¹³ sn The king of Assyria devoured them. This refers to the devastation wrought on northern Israel by the kings of Assyria beginning in 738 b.c. when Tiglath Pileser took Galilee and the Transjordanian territories and ending with the destruction and exile of the people of Samaria by Sargon in 722 b.c.

[50:17]  ¹⁴ tn The verb used here only occurs this one time in the Hebrew Bible. It is a denominative from the Hebrew word for “bones” (עֶצֶם, ’etsem). BDB 1126 s.v. עֶָצַם, denom Pi, define it as “break his bones.” HALOT 822 s.v. II עָצַם Pi defines it as “gnaw on his bones.”

[50:17]  sn If the prophecies which are referred to in Jer 51:59-64 refer to all that is contained in Jer 50–51 (as some believe), this would have referred to the disasters of 605 b.c. and 598 b.c. and all the harassment that Israel experienced from Babylon up until the fourth year of Zedekiah (594 b.c.). If on the other hand, the prophecy related there refers to something less than this final form, the destruction of 587/6 b.c. could be referred to as well.

[50:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Therefore thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” The first person is again adopted because the Lord is speaking. For this title, “Yahweh of armies,” compare 7:3 and the study note on 2:19.

[50:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Hark! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple.” For the meaning “Hark!” for the noun קוֹל (qol) see BDB 877 s.v. קוֹל 1.f and compare the usage in Jer 10:22. The syntax is elliptical because there is no main verb. The present translation has supplied the verb “come” as many other English versions have done. The translation also expands the genitival expression “vengeance for his temple” to explain what all the commentaries agree is involved.

[50:28]  sn This verse appears to be a parenthetical exclamation of the prophet in the midst of his report of what the Lord said through him. He throws himself into the future and sees the fall of Babylon and hears the people reporting in Zion how God has destroyed Babylon to get revenge for the Babylonians destroying his temple. Jeremiah prophesied from 627 b.c. (see the study note on 1:2) until sometime after 586 b.c. after Jerusalem fell and he was taken to Egypt. The fall of Babylon occurred in 538 b.c. some fifty years later. However, Jeremiah had prophesied as early as the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (605 b.c.; Jer 25:1) that many nations and great kings would come and subject Babylon, the instrument of God’s wrath – his sword against the nations – to bondage (Jer 25:12-14).

[50:29]  ¹⁷ tn For this word see BDB 914 s.v. III רַב and compare usage in Prov 26:10 and Job 16:12 and compare the usage of the verb in Gen 49:23. Based on this evidence, it is not necessary to emend the form to רֹבִים (rovim) as many commentators contend.

[50:29]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for she has acted insolently against the Lord.” Once again there is the problem of the Lord speaking about himself in the third person (or the prophet dropping his identification with the Lord). As in several other places the present translation, along with several other modern English versions (TEV, CEV, NIrV), has substituted the first person to maintain consistency with the context.

[50:29]  ¹⁹ sn The Holy One of Israel is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah. It is applied to the Lord only here and in 51:5 in the book of Jeremiah. It is a figure where an attribute of a person is put as a title of a person (compare “your majesty” for a king). It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.

[50:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oppressed are the people of Israel and the people of Judah together,” i.e., both the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. However, neither of these renderings is very poetic. The translation seeks to achieve the same meaning with better poetic expression.

[50:34]  ²² sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.

[50:34]  ²³ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:34]  ²⁴ tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).

[50:34]  ²⁵ tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.

[50:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.

[50:34]  ²⁷ tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the Lord appears to be speaking but refers to himself in the third person. It would be possible to translate here using the first person as CEV and NIrV do. However, to sustain that over the whole verse results in a considerably greater degree of paraphrase. The verse could be rendered “But I am strong and I will rescue them. I am the Lord who rules over all. I will champion their cause. And I will bring peace and rest to….”

[137:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.

[137:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”

[137:9]  ³⁰ sn For other references to the wholesale slaughter of babies in the context of ancient Near Eastern warfare, see 2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16; Nah 3:10.

[47:6]  ³¹ tn Or “compassion.”

[47:6]  ³² tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

[47:7]  ³³ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[47:8]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[47:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ⁴² tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ⁴³ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[51:22]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[51:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”

[51:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”

[51:23]  ⁴⁷ tn That is, to make them drink it.

[61:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[63:1]  ⁴⁹ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁵¹ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ⁵³ tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).

[63:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[63:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”

[63:3]  ⁵⁶ sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.

[63:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).

[63:4]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.

[2:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[2:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

[2:16]  ⁶¹ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.

[2:16]  sn The ships mentioned in this verse were the best of their class, and therefore an apt metaphor for the proud men being denounced in this speech.

[6:10]  ⁶² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ⁶³ tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ⁶⁴ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ⁶⁵ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

[18:20]  ⁶⁶ tn On the phrase “pronounced judgment” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 4.b states, “The OT is the source of the expr. κρίνειν τὸ κρ. (cp. Zech 7:9; 8:16; Ezk 44:24) ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς God has pronounced judgment for you against her or God has pronounced on her the judgment she wished to impose on you (HHoltzmann, Hdb. 1893 ad loc.) Rv 18:20.”

[18:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “God has judged a judgment of you of her.” Verse 20 is set in parentheses because in it the saints, etc. are addressed directly in the second person.

[18:20]  sn This verse forms a parenthetical aside in the narrative.

[18:24]  ⁶⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:24]  ⁶⁹ tn The shift in pronouns from second to third person corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “and of all.” The phrase “along with the blood” has been repeated from the previous clause for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁷¹ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ⁷² tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ⁷³ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

[19:3]  ⁷⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:3]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”

[19:4]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “creatures fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”