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Jeremiah 51:3

in Jeremiah 51

Do not let the archer bend his bow or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; devote all her army to destruction!

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

KJV

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

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This verse in Jeremiah 51

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The man who bends the bow, and the heavy-armed soldier who vaunts himself in his coat of mail (Jer 46:4 note), represent the Babylonians who defend the city.

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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Observe here, When we have been reading the word of God it becomes us to direct to him whose word it is a humble believing acknowledgment of the truth, equity, and goodness, of what we have read.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The Chaldean version and JEROME, by changing the vowel points, read, "Let not him (the Babylonian) who bendeth his bow bend it." But the close of the verse is addressed to the Median invaders; therefore it is more likely that the first part of the verse is addressed to them, as in English Version, not to the Babylonians, to warn them against resistance as vain, as in the Chaldean version.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אֶֽל־may not

    ʾel-H408 →724 times

  • יִדְרֹ֤ךְhe bend

    yidrokhH1869 →62 times

  • הַדֹּרֵךְ֙the [one] bending

    hadorekhH1869 →62 times

  • קַשְׁתּ֔וֹbow his

    kashtoH7198 →76 times

  • וְאֶל־and may not

    veel-H408 →724 times

  • יִתְעַ֖לhe lift

    yitalH5927 →890 times

  • בְּסִרְיֹנ֑וֹin armor his

    besiryonoH5630 →

  • וְאַֽל־and may not

    veal-H408 →724 times

  • תַּחְמְלוּ֙you spare

    tachmeluH2550 →41 times

  • אֶל־<to>

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בַּ֣חֻרֶ֔יהָyoung men its

    bachureihaH970 →44 times

  • הַחֲרִ֖ימוּtotally destroy

    hacharimuH2763 →52 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • צְבָאָֽהּ׃army its

    tzevaahH6635 →485 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 50:14Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.5 worksJeremiah 46:4Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!4 worksJeremiah 50:21Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.3 worksIsaiah 13:10–18For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.2 worksJames 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.2 worksJeremiah 50:29–30Summon 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 defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Deuteronomy 32:25Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.2 worksJeremiah 9:21For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.2 worksJeremiah 50:27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.2 worksJeremiah 50:41–42Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.2 worksPsalms 137:9Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    James 2:13

    For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 5:7

      Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

    • Proverbs 21:13

      Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

    • Matthew 6:15

      But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

    • Luke 6:37

      Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

    • Ephesians 2:4–7

      But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

  • Through

    Jeremiah 50:14

    Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 50:29

      Summon 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…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 50:21

    Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 23:23

      the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them—all desirable young men, governors and commanders, officers and men of renown, mounted on horses.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 46:4

    Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 21:9–11

      “Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 51 →

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 51 →