Jeremiah 51:9
in Jeremiah 51“We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
KJV
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
7 notes on this verseYet some understand this as spoken by the forces they had hired for their assistance, declaring that they had done their best to save her from ruin, but that it was all to no purpose, and therefore they might as well go home to their respective countries; "for her judgment reaches unto heaven, and it is in vain to withstand it or think to avert it." 2.
This site's exposition
Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD
on Jeremiah 51:7-10
“Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk,” the instrument of judgment now judged. The nations say, “We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed.” Verse 10 turns to Zion: “The LORD has brought forth our vindication.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Jerusalem here is called Babylon, noted among the surrounding countries as the one who worked the hardest at imitating Babylon, and in no way lagging behind these other countries. Indeed, having arrived at almost a state of perfection in this regard, it tolerated no respect for the law or benefit from prophetic instruction.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
We would have healed--We attempted to heal. her judgment--her crimes provoking God's "judgments" [GROTIUS]. reacheth unto heaven-- (Ge 18:21; Even the heathen nations perceive that her awful fall must be God's judgment for her crying sins (Ps 9:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
We would have healed Babylon - Had it been in our power, we would have saved her; but we could not turn away the judgment of God.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Omit would. All was done that it was possible to do to heal her. To the skies - Or, to the clouds.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“The Lord has brought forth our merits” We have been remembered by Him favorably, and the merits of our forefathers have come before Him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רִפִּ֣ינוּ | ripinu | we healed | H7495 → | 67 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּבֶל֙ | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִרְפָּ֔תָה | nirpatah | it was healed | H7495 → | 67 times |
| עִזְב֕וּהָ | ʾizvuha | leave it | H5800 → | 215 times |
| וְנֵלֵ֖ךְ | venelekh | so we may go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְאַרְצ֑וֹ | leartzo | to own land his | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָגַ֤ע | naga' | it has reached | H5060 → | 150 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטָ֔הּ | mishpatah | judgment its | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וְנִשָּׂ֖א | venisa' | and it has been lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שְׁחָקִֽים׃ | shechakim | [the] clouds | H7834 → |
רִפִּ֣ינוּwe healed
ripinuH7495 →67 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בָּבֶל֙Babylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נִרְפָּ֔תָהit was healed
nirpatahH7495 →67 times
עִזְב֕וּהָleave it
ʾizvuhaH5800 →215 times
וְנֵלֵ֖ךְso we may go
venelekhH1980 →1546 times
אִ֣ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְאַרְצ֑וֹto own land his
leartzoH776 →2504 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נָגַ֤עit has reached
naga'H5060 →150 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
מִשְׁפָּטָ֔הּjudgment its
mishpatahH4941 →422 times
וְנִשָּׂ֖אand it has been lifted up
venisa'H5375 →656 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
שְׁחָקִֽים׃[the] clouds
shechakimH7834 →
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
Isaiah 13:14Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:16
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 22:17
So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”
- 1 Kings 22:36
As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army: “Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”
- Jeremiah 50:16
Through
Revelation 18:5For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
it leads to
- Ezra 9:6
and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
- Genesis 18:20–21
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- Revelation 16:19
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…
- Jonah 1:2
“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”
- 2 Chronicles 28:9
But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the…
- Ezra 9:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Cyril of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS ON JEREMIAH IN CATENA; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.