Jeremiah 50:16
in Jeremiah 50Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
KJV
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
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This verse in Jeremiah 50
Commentary
6 notes on this verseCut off the sower from in Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest,.... Both sower and reaper: the walls of Babylon took in a large compass of land, where there were corn fields; and which, as Curtius (s) observes, would yield a sufficiency to hold out a siege against an enemy; but being taken, the husbandman would not be spared, as used to be, but should be cut off, and so none to till the ground, or to reap what was upon it; and thus, in course, would be, desolate, as before threatened.
This site's exposition
Chaldea shall be a spoil
on Jeremiah 50:10-20
Chaldea's fall is stated plainly, a spoil for the nations who plundered others, her walls thrown down and her army cut off at harvest time as a reaper cuts a field. Verse 17 folds Israel's whole exile history into one line, a scattered sheep driven first by the lion of Assyria and then broken in the teeth of Nebuchadrezzar's Babylon, the two empires that afflicted the same flock named together. The chapter turns without warning to forgiveness at verse 20, the iniquity of Israel sought for and not found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve, the same full pardon the new covenant of chapter 31 promises tied here to Babylon's own overthrow.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This was threatened before concerning Egypt, ch. xlvi. The procuring provoking cause of this destruction. It comes from God's displeasure; it is because of the wrath of the Lord that Babylon shall be wholly desolate (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The population is to be destroyed so utterly that the rich fields of Babylonia are to remain untilled. They shall turn - The full force of the words will be seen if it be remembered that it had been the policy of Nebuchadnezzar to compel citizens selected from the vanquished nations to settle in Babylonia.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Babylon had the extent rather of a nation than of a city. Therefore grain was grown within the city wall sufficient to last for a long siege [ARISTOTLE, Politics, 3.2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-brackets
Cut off the sower - Destroy the gardens and the fields, that there may be neither fruits nor tillage.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּרְת֤וּ | kirtu | cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| זוֹרֵ֙עַ֙ | zorea' | [the] sower | H2232 → | 56 times |
| מִבָּבֶ֔ל | mibavel | from Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְתֹפֵ֥שׂ | vetofes | and [one who] wields | H8610 → | 65 times |
| מַגָּ֖ל | magal | a sickle | H4038 → | |
| בְּעֵ֣ת | beet | at a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| קָצִ֑יר | katzir | harvest | H7105 → | 54 times |
| מִפְּנֵי֙ | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֶ֣רֶב | cherev | [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| הַיּוֹנָ֔ה | haiyonah | the oppressor | H3238 → | 20 times |
| אִ֤ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַמּוֹ֙ | amo | people his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִפְנ֔וּ | yifnu | they will turn | H6437 → | 135 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְאַרְצ֖וֹ | leartzo | to own land his | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יָנֻֽסוּ׃ ס | yanusu | they will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
כִּרְת֤וּcut off
kirtuH3772 →288 times
זוֹרֵ֙עַ֙[the] sower
zorea'H2232 →56 times
מִבָּבֶ֔לfrom Babylon
mibavelH894 →262 times
וְתֹפֵ֥שׂand [one who] wields
vetofesH8610 →65 times
מַגָּ֖לa sickle
magalH4038 →
בְּעֵ֣תat a time of
beetH6256 →296 times
קָצִ֑ירharvest
katzirH7105 →54 times
מִפְּנֵי֙from before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
חֶ֣רֶב[the] sword of
cherevH2719 →413 times
הַיּוֹנָ֔הthe oppressor
haiyonahH3238 →20 times
אִ֤ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עַמּוֹ֙people his
amoH5971 →1873 times
יִפְנ֔וּthey will turn
yifnuH6437 →135 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand everyone
veishH376 →1663 times
לְאַרְצ֖וֹto own land his
leartzoH776 →2504 times
יָנֻֽסוּ׃ סthey will flee
yanusuH5127 →159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 13:14Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:17
So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”
- 1 Kings 22:36
As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army: “Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”
- 1 Kings 22:17
Through
Jeremiah 46:16They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:9
“We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:9
Through
Joel 1:11Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:3–4
The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Jeremiah 14:3–4
Through
Jeremiah 51:9“We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:14
Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
- Revelation 18:5
For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- Jeremiah 46:16
They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the…
- Isaiah 13:14
Through
Jeremiah 25:38He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:7
A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and…
- Jeremiah 4:7
About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
