Jeremiah 51:2
in Jeremiah 51I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her and empty her land; for they will come against her from every side in her day of disaster.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
KJV
And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd I will send unto Babylon farmers, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land,.... Or, "strangers that shall fan her" (c); meaning the Medes and Persians, who should be like a strong wind upon the mountains, where corn, having been threshed, was fanned, and the chaff carried away by the wind; and such would the Chaldeans be in the hand of the Persians, scattered and dispersed among the nations as chaff with the wind, and their cities be emptied of inhabitants, and of their wealth and riches.
This site's exposition
a destroying wind
on Jeremiah 51:1-6
A destroying wind and fanners that empty her land turn the siege into a winnowing, the same threshing-floor image the chapter will return to, Babylon blown like chaff from her own grain. Verse 5 breaks in with reassurance inside the judgment, Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, though their own land was filled with sin, guilt owned without the promise being withdrawn. The call to flee is addressed to each soul separately, deliver every man his soul, this is the time of the Lord's vengeance, he will render unto her a recompence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), who shall drive them away as chaff is driven away by the fan. The Chaldeans had been fanners to winnow God's people ( ch. xv. 7 ) and to empty them, and now they shall themselves be in like manner despoiled and dispersed.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And will send - fanners - When the corn is trodden out with the feet of cattle, or crushed out with a heavy wheel armed with iron, with a shovel they throw it up against the wind, that the chaff and broken straw may be separated from it. This is the image used by the prophet; these people shall be trodden, crushed, and fanned by their enemies.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֨י | veshilachti | and I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לְבָבֶ֤ל׀ | levavel | to Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| זָרִים֙ | zarim | strangers | H2114 → | 77 times |
| וְזֵר֔וּהָ | vezeruha | and they will winnow it | H2219 → | 39 times |
| וִיבֹקְק֖וּ | vivokeku | and they may lay waste | H1238 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַרְצָ֑הּ | ʾartzah | land its | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָי֥וּ | hayu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עָלֶ֛יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִסָּבִ֖יב | misaviv | from round about | H5439 → | 336 times |
| בְּי֥וֹם | beyom | on [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| רָעָֽה׃ | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֨יand I will send
veshilachtiH7971 →845 times
לְבָבֶ֤ל׀to Babylon
levavelH894 →262 times
זָרִים֙strangers
zarimH2114 →77 times
וְזֵר֔וּהָand they will winnow it
vezeruhaH2219 →39 times
וִיבֹקְק֖וּand they may lay waste
vivokekuH1238 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַרְצָ֑הּland its
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הָי֥וּthey will be
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עָלֶ֛יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
מִסָּבִ֖יבfrom round about
misavivH5439 →336 times
בְּי֥וֹםon [the] day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
רָעָֽה׃calamity
raahH7451 →662 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
Matthew 3:12His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
it leads to
- Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
- Isaiah 41:16
You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
- Luke 3:17
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Matthew 13:41
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
- Malachi 4:1
Through
Jeremiah 15:7I will scatter them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land. I will bereave and destroy My people who have not turned from their ways.
it leads to
- Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Matthew 3:12
Through
Jeremiah 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has…
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:10
You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
- Jeremiah 51:56
For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.
- Isaiah 47:10
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.