Jeremiah 51:26
in Jeremiah 51No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone, because you will become desolate forever,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
KJV
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations,.... Signifying that it should be so utterly consumed by fire, that there should not be a stone left fit to be put into any new building, especially to be a corner or a foundation stone. The Targum understands it figuratively, "and they shall not take of thee a king for a kingdom, and a ruler for government:'' but thou shall be desolate for ever, saith the Lord; see Jer 50:39.
This site's exposition
for all the evil they have done in Zion
on Jeremiah 51:24-29
“Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon.” Babylon, the “destroying mountain,” will become “a charred mountain,” and “No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone.” The nations summoned, “Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz,” are Armenia, the Manneans, and the Scythians, with “the kings of the Medes.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Or it denotes that there shall be nothing left in Babylon on which to ground any hopes or attempts of raising it into a kingdom again; for, as it follows here, it shall be desolate for ever. St. Jerome says that in his time, though the ruins of Babylon's walls were to be seen, yet the ground enclosed by them was a forest of wild beasts.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
corner . . . stone . . . foundations--The corner-stone was the most important one in the building, the foundation-stones came next in importance (Eph 2:20). So the sense is, even as there shall be no stones useful for building left of thee, so no leading prince, or governors, shall come forth from thy inhabitants.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prophet means that: (1) Babylon would never again be the seat of empire. Nor (2) would any new development of events take its rise thence.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקְח֤וּ | yikchu | people will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִמְּךָ֙ | mimekha | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אֶ֣בֶן | ʾeven | stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| לְפִנָּ֔ה | lefinah | for a corner | H6438 → | 29 times |
| וְאֶ֖בֶן | veeven | and stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| לְמֽוֹסָד֑וֹת | lemosadot | for foundations | H4146 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שִׁמְמ֥וֹת | shimot | wastes of | H8077 → | 57 times |
| עוֹלָ֛ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֖ה | tihyeh | you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִקְח֤וּpeople will take
yikchuH3947 →966 times
מִמְּךָ֙from you
mimekhaH4480 →1188 times
אֶ֣בֶןstone
ʾevenH68 →273 times
לְפִנָּ֔הfor a corner
lefinahH6438 →29 times
וְאֶ֖בֶןand stone
veevenH68 →273 times
לְמֽוֹסָד֑וֹתfor foundations
lemosadotH4146 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שִׁמְמ֥וֹתwastes of
shimotH8077 →57 times
עוֹלָ֛םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֖הyou will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Jeremiah 51:43Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no son of man passes through.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:6
They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought…
- Isaiah 13:20
She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
- Jeremiah 51:29
The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 50:12
your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who bore you will be disgraced. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
- Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 2:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.