Jeremiah 51:46
in Jeremiah 51Do not let your heart grow faint, and do not be afraid when the rumor is heard in the land; for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
KJV
And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA rumor shall - come one year - A year before the capture of the city there shall be a rumor of war, - and in that year Belshazzar was defeated by Cyrus. In the following year the city was taken.
This site's exposition
Come out of her, My people!
on Jeremiah 51:45-48
The call to come out of Babylon repeats 50:8 and 51:6. The exiles are told not to lose heart at rumor, “of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.” When the LORD punishes Babylon’s idols, “heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) " A rumor will come one year that Cyrus is making vast preparations for war, and after that, in another year, shall come a rumour that his design is upon Babylon, and he is steering his course that way;" so that when he was a great way off they might have sent and desired conditions of peace; but they were too proud, too secure, to do that, and their hearts were hardened to their destruction.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land,....
But this is not all; it is not only their wisdom to quit the city when the ruin is approaching, but it is their duty to quit the country too when the ruin is accomplished, and they are set at liberty by the pulling down of the prison over their heads.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
"And in order that your heart may not faint at the (first) rumor" (of war), I will give you some intimation of the time. In the first "year" there shall "come a rumor" that Cyrus is preparing for war against Babylon. "After that, in another year, shall come a rumor," namely, that Cyrus is approaching, and has already entered Assyria.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Literally, “And beware lest your heart faint, and ye be afraid because of the rumour that is heard in the land: for in one year shall one rumour come, and afterward in another year another rumour; and violence shall be in the land etc.” The fall of Babylon was to be preceded by a state of unquiet, men’s minds being unsettled partly by rumors of the warlike preparations of the Medes, and of actual invasions: partly by intestine feuds. So before the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans the Church had similar warnings Mat 24:6-7.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפֶן־ | ufen- | and lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יֵרַ֤ךְ | yerakh | it should be weak | H7401 → | |
| לְבַבְכֶם֙ | levavkhem | heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וְתִֽירְא֔וּ | vetireu | so you may fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| בַּשְּׁמוּעָ֖ה | bashemuah | at the report | H8052 → | 27 times |
| הַנִּשְׁמַ֣עַת | hanishmaat | which is being heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בָּאָ֑רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּבָ֧א | uva' | and it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בַשָּׁנָ֣ה | vashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַשְּׁמוּעָ֗ה | hashemuah | the report | H8052 → | 27 times |
| וְאַחֲרָ֤יו | veacharav | and after it | H310 → | 715 times |
| בַּשָּׁנָה֙ | bashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַשְּׁמוּעָ֔ה | hashemuah | the report | H8052 → | 27 times |
| וְחָמָ֣ס | vechamas | and violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
| בָּאָ֔רֶץ | baaretz | [will be] in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּמֹשֵׁ֖ל | umoshel | and ruler | H4910 → | 81 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [will be] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֹשֵֽׁל׃ | moshel | ruler | H4910 → | 81 times |
וּפֶן־and lest
ufen-H6435 →133 times
יֵרַ֤ךְit should be weak
yerakhH7401 →
לְבַבְכֶם֙heart your
levavkhemH3824 →252 times
וְתִֽירְא֔וּso you may fear
vetireuH3372 →315 times
בַּשְּׁמוּעָ֖הat the report
bashemuahH8052 →27 times
הַנִּשְׁמַ֣עַתwhich is being heard
hanishmaatH8085 →1159 times
בָּאָ֑רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
וּבָ֧אand it will come
uva'H935 →2568 times
בַשָּׁנָ֣הin the year
vashanahH8141 →877 times
הַשְּׁמוּעָ֗הthe report
hashemuahH8052 →27 times
וְאַחֲרָ֤יוand after it
veacharavH310 →715 times
בַּשָּׁנָה֙in the year
bashanahH8141 →877 times
הַשְּׁמוּעָ֔הthe report
hashemuahH8052 →27 times
וְחָמָ֣סand violence
vechamasH2555 →60 times
בָּאָ֔רֶץ[will be] in the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
וּמֹשֵׁ֖לand ruler
umoshelH4910 →81 times
עַל־[will be] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֹשֵֽׁל׃ruler
moshelH4910 →81 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
2 Chronicles 20:23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 7:22
Through
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Ezekiel 38:21
And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.
- Matthew 10:21
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Through
2 Kings 19:7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
it leads to
- 2 Kings 7:6
For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the…
- Isaiah 10:16–18
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
- 2 Kings 7:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
