Yeremia 51:25

51:25 The Lord says, ¹  “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! ² 

You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth.

I will unleash my power against you; ³ 

I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. ⁴ 

Yeremia 51:53

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky ⁵ 

and fortifies her elevated stronghold, ⁶ 

I will send destroyers against her,” ⁷ 

says the Lord. ⁸ 

Yeremia 51:56

51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. ⁹ 

Her warriors will be captured;

their bows will be broken. ¹⁰ 

For the Lord is a God who punishes; ¹¹ 

he pays back in full. ¹² 

[51:25]  ¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:25]  ² tn The word “Babylon” is not in the text but is universally understood as the referent. It is supplied in the translation here to clarify the referent for the sake of the average reader.

[51:25]  ³ tn Heb “I will reach out my hand against you.” See the translator’s note on 6:12 for explanation.

[51:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “I am against you, oh destroying mountain that destroys all the earth. I will reach out my hand against you and roll you down from the cliffs and make you a mountain of burning.” The interpretation adopted here follows the lines suggested by S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 318, n. c and reflected also in BDB 977 s.v. שְׂרֵפָה. Babylon is addressed as a destructive mountain because it is being compared to a volcano. The Lord, however, will make it a “burned-out mountain,” i.e., an extinct volcano which is barren and desolate. This interpretation seems to this translator to fit the details of the text more consistently than alternative ones which separate the concept of “destroying/destructive” from “mountain” and explain the figure of the mountain to refer to the dominating political position of Babylon and the reference to a “mountain of burning” to be a “burned [or burned over] mountain.” The use of similes in place of metaphors makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figures and also more easily incorporates the dissonant figure of “rolling you down from the cliffs” which involves the figure of personification.

[51:25]  sn The figure here involves comparing Babylon to a destructive volcano which the Lord makes burned-out, i.e., he will destroy her power to destroy. The figure of personification is also involved because the Lord is said to roll her off the cliffs; that would not be applicable to a mountain.

[51:53]  ⁵ tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; and Amos 9:2.

[51:53]  ⁶ tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”

[51:53]  ⁷ tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”

[51:53]  ⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:56]  ⁹ tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”

[51:56]  ¹⁰ tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.

[51:56]  ¹¹ tn Or “God of retribution.”

[51:56]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”