Jeremiah 51:1
in Jeremiah 51This is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will stir up against Babylon and against the people of Leb-kamai the spirit of a destroyer.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In the midst of them that rise up against me - Or, in Leb-kamai, the cipher for Kasdim, i. e., Chaldaea. This cipher was not necessarily invented by Jeremiah, or used for concealment. It was probaby first devised either for political purposes or for trade, and was in time largely employed in the correspondence between the exiles at Babylon and their friends at home. Thus, words in common use like Sheshach Jer 25:26 and Leb-kamai, would be known to everybody.
This site's exposition
the spirit of a destroyer
on Jeremiah 51:1-6
The LORD will stir up “the spirit of a destroyer” and send strangers “to winnow her and empty her land.” Verse 5 sets assurance inside the judgment: “Israel and Judah have not been abandoned by their God.” The exiles are told to flee and escape with their lives.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
He then says, Behold, I will, etc. God is made the speaker, that the word might have more force and power. Behold, he says, I will raise up a destroying wind against the Chaldeans. The similitude of wind is very appropriate, for God thus briefly reminded them how easy it was for him to destroy the whole world even by a single blast.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) to a destroying wind, which either by its coldness blasts the fruits of the earth or by its fierceness blows down all before it. This wind is brought out of God's treasuries (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up against Babylon,.... This is not a new prophecy, but a continuation of the former, and an enlargement of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thus saith the Lord - This chapter is a continuation of the preceding prophecy. A destroying wind - Such as the pestilential winds in the east; and here the emblem of a destroying army, carrying all before them, and wasting with fire and sword.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִנְנִי֙ | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מֵעִ֣יר | meir | [am] about to rouse | H5782 → | 80 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּבֶ֔ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֖י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לֵ֣ב | lev | Leb- | H3820 → | 595 times |
| קָמָ֑י | kamai | -qamai | H6965 → | 628 times |
| ר֖וּחַ | ruach | a wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| מַשְׁחִֽית׃ | mashchit | a destroyer | H7843 → | 146 times |
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִנְנִי֙here I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מֵעִ֣יר[am] about to rouse
meirH5782 →80 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּבֶ֔לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְאֶל־and against
veel-H413 →5510 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֖י[the] inhabitants
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
לֵ֣בLeb-
levH3820 →595 times
קָמָ֑י-qamai
kamaiH6965 →628 times
ר֖וּחַa wind
ruachH7307 →378 times
מַשְׁחִֽית׃a destroyer
mashchitH7843 →146 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
Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Isaiah 14:24–27
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Zephaniah 1:16
a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.
- Isaiah 45:7
Through
Zechariah 2:8For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
it leads to
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Deuteronomy 32:10
He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
- John 15:21–23
But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.
- John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6
After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Psalms 17:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
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); John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.