Jeremiah 50:3
in Jeremiah 50For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.
KJV
For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
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This verse in Jeremiah 50
Commentary
5 notes on this verseFor out of the north there cometh up a nation against her,.... The Medes and Persians, which under Cyrus were one nation; and which not only lay north of Judea, where this prophecy came, but of Babylon, against which they were to come; and might lay more north to it, before the enlargement of their dominions; and besides, Cyrus came through Assyria to Babylon, which lay north of it; see Isa 41:
This site's exposition
concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans
on Jeremiah 50:1-3
“Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered,” as Isaiah 46:1 also names Bel and Nebo. Verse 3 names “a nation from the north,” the direction from which Babylon came against Judah in 1:14 and 4:6. The land is left so empty that “both man and beast will flee.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is promised that they shall return to their God first and then to their own land; and the promise of their conversion and reformation is that which makes way for all the other promises,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Out of the north - Media lay to the northwest of Babylon. This constant use of the north, the quarter where the sun never shines, and therefore the region of darkness, is symbolic of the region from where danger ever comes. They shall remove ... - Translate it (as in Jer 9:10): “from man even to cattle they are fled, they are gone.”
Out of the north there cometh up a nation - The Medes, who formed the chief part of the army of Cyrus, lay to the north or north-east of Babylon. Shall make her land desolate - This war, and the consequent taking of the city, began those disasters that brought Babylon in process of time to complete desolation; so that now it is not known where it stood, the whole country being a total solitude.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָלָה֩ | ʾalah | it will go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עָלֶ֨יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גּ֜וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| מִצָּפ֗וֹן | mitzafon | from [the] north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| הֽוּא־ | hu'- | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָשִׁ֤ית | yashit | it will make | H7896 → | 83 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַרְצָהּ֙ | ʾartzah | land its | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְשַׁמָּ֔ה | leshamah | into a waste | H8047 → | 39 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | yoshev | an inhabitant | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| מֵאָדָ֥ם | meadam | from humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֖ה | behemah | animal[s] | H929 → | 190 times |
| נָ֥דוּ | nadu | they will take flight | H5110 → | 24 times |
| הָלָֽכוּ׃ | halakhu | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָלָה֩it will go up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
עָלֶ֨יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
גּ֜וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
מִצָּפ֗וֹןfrom [the] north
mitzafonH6828 →153 times
הֽוּא־it
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
יָשִׁ֤יתit will make
yashitH7896 →83 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַרְצָהּ֙land its
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
לְשַׁמָּ֔הinto a waste
leshamahH8047 →39 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
יוֹשֵׁ֖בan inhabitant
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בָּ֑הּin <the> it
bah
מֵאָדָ֥םfrom humankind
meadamH120 →551 times
וְעַד־and unto
vead-H5704 →1261 times
בְּהֵמָ֖הanimal[s]
behemahH929 →190 times
נָ֥דוּthey will take flight
naduH5110 →24 times
הָלָֽכוּ׃they will go
halakhuH1980 →1546 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
Zephaniah 1:3“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind…
it leads to
- Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Ezekiel 7:19
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their…
- Matthew 23:39
For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
- Ezekiel 14:13–21
“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to…
- Jeremiah 12:4
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said,…
- Hosea 4:3
Through
Jeremiah 51:11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:4
Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!
- Jeremiah 50:45
Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged…
- Jeremiah 46:4
Through
Jeremiah 51:62and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:13
Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.
- Jeremiah 50:13
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.