Jeremiah 51:55
in Jeremiah 51For the LORD will destroy Babylon; He will silence her mighty voice. The waves will roar like great waters; the tumult of their voices will resound.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:
KJV
Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBecause the Lord hath spoiled Babylon,.... By means of the Merits and Persians; these were his instruments he made use of; to these he gave commission, power, and strength to spoil Babylon; and therefore it is ascribed to him: and destroyed out of her the great voice; the noise of people, which is very great in populous cities, where people are passing to and fro in great numbers upon business; which ceases when any calamity comes, as pestilence, famine, or sword, which sweep away the inhabitants; this last was the case of Babylon.
This site's exposition
The sound of a cry comes from Babylon
on Jeremiah 51:54-58
“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction.” The two defenses fall together: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire.” “So the labor of the people will be for nothing,” words Habakkuk 2:13 repeats almost exactly.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Those that sink under the weight of God's wrath and curse sink irrecoverably. The last words of the chapter seal up the vision and prophecy of this book: Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Not that this prophecy against Babylon was the last of his prophecies; for it was dated in the fourth year of Zedekiah (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Or, "when" is connected thus: "the great voice" in her, when her "waves," &c. (compare Jer 51:13). CALVIN translates, "their waves," that is, the Medes bursting on her as impetuous waves; so Jer 51:42.
The great voice - Its pride and insufferable boasting.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Render, “For Yahweh wasteth Babylon, and will make to cease from her the loud noise (of busy life); and their wares (the surging masses of the enemy) roar like many waters: the noise of their shouting is given forth, i. e., resounds.”
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֹׁדֵ֤ד | shoded | [is] about to destroy | H7703 → | 57 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּבֶ֔ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְאִבַּ֥ד | veibad | and he will destroy | H6 → | 184 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נָּה | mimenah | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | a sound | H6963 → | 506 times |
| גָּד֑וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְהָמ֤וּ | vehamu | and they will roar | H1993 → | 34 times |
| גַלֵּיהֶם֙ | galeihem | waves their | H1530 → | 34 times |
| כְּמַ֣יִם | kemayim | like waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּ֔ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| נִתַּ֥ן | nitan | it will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שְׁא֖וֹן | sheon | [the] uproar of | H7588 → | 18 times |
| קוֹלָֽם׃ | kolam | voice their | H6963 → | 506 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שֹׁדֵ֤ד[is] about to destroy
shodedH7703 →57 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בָּבֶ֔לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְאִבַּ֥דand he will destroy
veibadH6 →184 times
מִמֶּ֖נָּהfrom it
mimenahH4480 →1188 times
ק֣וֹלa sound
kolH6963 →506 times
גָּד֑וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
וְהָמ֤וּand they will roar
vehamuH1993 →34 times
גַלֵּיהֶם֙waves their
galeihemH1530 →34 times
כְּמַ֣יִםlike waters
kemayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּ֔יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
נִתַּ֥ןit will be given
nitanH5414 →2011 times
שְׁא֖וֹן[the] uproar of
sheonH7588 →18 times
קוֹלָֽם׃voice their
kolamH6963 →506 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
Psalms 18:4The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
it leads to
- Psalms 116:3
The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
- Mark 14:33–34
He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed.
- Matthew 27:24–25
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he…
- 2 Corinthians 1:9
Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
- Psalms 116:3
Through
Jeremiah 25:10Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:34
I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
- Revelation 18:22–23
And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound…
- Jeremiah 16:9
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and…
- Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
- Jeremiah 7:34
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; 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.