Yeremia 51:6

51:6 Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. ¹ 

Flee to save your lives.

Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins.

For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge.

He will pay Babylonia ²  back for what she has done. ³ 

Yeremia 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ⁴  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ⁵ 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Roma 12:19

12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, ⁶  for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ⁷  says the Lord.

[51:6]  ¹ tn The words “you foreign people” are not in the text and many think the referent is the exiles of Judah. While this is clearly the case in v. 45 the referent seems broader here where the context speaks of every man going to his own country (v. 9).

[51:6]  ² tn Heb “her.”

[51:6]  ³ tn Heb “paying to her a recompense [i.e., a payment in kind].”

[20:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.

[20:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[20:12]  sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.

[12:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.

[12:19]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.