Jeremiah 51:12
in Jeremiah 51Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon; post the guard; station the watchmen; prepare the ambush. For the LORD has both devised and accomplished what He spoke against the people of Babylon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
KJV
Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSet up - These seem to be the prophet's words to the Babylonians, rousing them out of their security. Historians tell us that the city was fortified by walls of fifty cubits high, and two hundred cubits broad, and by a very deep and large ditch.
This site's exposition
the spirit of the kings of the Medes
on Jeremiah 51:11-14
The attacker is now named: “The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,” the power allied with Cyrus when Babylon fell. Babylon may “post the guard”, for the LORD “has both devised and accomplished what He spoke.” Babylon dwells “by many waters, rich in treasures.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This intimates that they would be found very secure and remiss, and would need to be thus quickened (and they were so to such a degree that they were in the midst of their revels when the city was taken), but that all their preparations should come to no purpose.
Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon,....
This may animate the instruments he employs, but assuring them of success. The methods they take are such as God has devised and therefore they shall surely prosper; what he has spoken shall be done, for he himself will do it; and therefore let all necessary preparations be made.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Set up the standard - A call to the enemies of Babylon to invest the city and press the siege.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Upon the walls of Babylon - Or, “against the walls.” The King James Version takes the word ironically, as a summons to Babylon to prepare for her defense; others take it as a summons to the army to make the attack.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חוֹמֹ֨ת | chomot | [the] walls of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| בָּבֶ֜ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| שְׂאוּ־ | seu- | lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נֵ֗ס | nes | a standard | H5251 → | 21 times |
| הַחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙ | hachaziku | strengthen | H2388 → | 291 times |
| הַמִּשְׁמָ֔ר | hamishmar | the watch | H4929 → | |
| הָקִ֙ימוּ֙ | hakimu | station | H6965 → | 628 times |
| שֹֽׁמְרִ֔ים | shomerim | watchmen | H8104 → | 468 times |
| הָכִ֖ינוּ | hakhinu | prepare | H3559 → | 217 times |
| הָאֹֽרְבִ֑ים | haorevim | the ambushers | H693 → | |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | both | H1571 → | 769 times |
| זָמַ֣ם | zamam | he has purposed | H2161 → | |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | as well as | H1571 → | 769 times |
| עָשָׂ֕ה | ʾasah | he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֖ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | concerning | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָבֶֽל׃ | vavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חוֹמֹ֨ת[the] walls of
chomotH2346 →133 times
בָּבֶ֜לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
שְׂאוּ־lift up
seu-H5375 →656 times
נֵ֗סa standard
nesH5251 →21 times
הַחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙strengthen
hachazikuH2388 →291 times
הַמִּשְׁמָ֔רthe watch
hamishmarH4929 →
הָקִ֙ימוּ֙station
hakimuH6965 →628 times
שֹֽׁמְרִ֔יםwatchmen
shomerimH8104 →468 times
הָכִ֖ינוּprepare
hakhinuH3559 →217 times
הָאֹֽרְבִ֑יםthe ambushers
haorevimH693 →
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
גַּם־both
gam-H1571 →769 times
זָמַ֣םhe has purposed
zamamH2161 →
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
גַּם־as well as
gam-H1571 →769 times
עָשָׂ֕הhe will do
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֖רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־concerning
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
בָבֶֽל׃Babylon
vavelH894 →262 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
Isaiah 13:2Raise a banner on a barren hilltop; call aloud to them. Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:2
“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:58
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will…
- Isaiah 5:26
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
- Jeremiah 51:25
“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn…
- Jeremiah 50:2
Through
Nahum 2:1One who scatters advances against you, O Nineveh. Guard the fortress! Watch the road! Brace yourselves! Summon all your strength!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:11–12
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joel 3:9–11
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
- 2 Chronicles 25:8
Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has power to help and power to overthrow.”
- Jeremiah 51:11–12
Through
Jeremiah 51:11Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:45
Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 50:45
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 on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.