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Jeremiah 51:58

in Jeremiah 51

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 exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

KJV

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

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This verse in Jeremiah 51

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Because what follows might seem incredible ever to be effected; it is introduced with this preface, expressed by him who is the God of truth, and the Lord God omnipotent: the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken; or rased up; the foundations of them, and the ground on which they stood made naked and bare, and open to public view; everyone of the walls, the inward and the outward, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it.

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 Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

When the enemy had found ways to ford Euphrates, which was thought impassable, yet surely, think they, the walls are impregnable, they are the broad walls of Babylon or (as the margin reads it), the walls of broad Babylon.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

When the spoiler comes upon Babylon her mighty men, who should make head against him, are immediately taken, their weapons of war fail them, every one of their bows is broken and stands them in no stead.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The broad walls of Babylon - Herodotus, who saw these walls, says, “The city was a regular square, each side of which was one hand red and twenty stadia, the circumference four hundred and eighty stadia. It was surrounded by a wall fifty cubits broad, and two hundred cubits high; and each side had twenty-five brazen gates.” - Herod. lib. 1 c. 178. Had not Cyrus resorted to stratagem, humanly speaking, he could not have taken this city. For the destruction of this wall and its very vestiges, see on Isa 13:19 (note).

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Compare Job 3:14, "built desolate places for themselves," that is, grand places, soon about to be desolate ruins. Jeremiah has in view here Hab 2:13.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The broad walls - Herodotus makes the breadth of the walls 85 English feet. Broken - See the margin. i. e., the ground beneath them shall be laid bare by their demolition. The people - Or, peoples. Jeremiah concludes his prophecy with a quotation from Habakkuk; applying the words to the stupendous works intended to make Babylon an eternal city, but which were to end in such early and utter disappointment.

The words behind it

21 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.

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֞רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָא֗וֹתof hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →485 times

  • חֹ֠מוֹת[the] walls of

    chomotH2346 →133 times

  • בָּבֶ֤לBabylon

    bavelH894 →262 times

  • הָֽרְחָבָה֙<the> broad

    harechavahH7342 →

  • עַרְעֵ֣רutterly <demolish>

    ʾarerH6209 →

  • תִּתְעַרְעָ֔רit will be demolished

    titararH6209 →

  • וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָand gates its

    usheareihaH8179 →374 times

  • הַגְּבֹהִ֖ים<the> high

    hagevohimH1364 →41 times

  • בָּאֵ֣שׁwith <the> fire

    baeshH784 →378 times

  • יִצַּ֑תּוּthey will be kindled

    yitzatuH3341 →29 times

  • וְיִֽגְע֨וּand they may labor

    veyiguH3021 →

  • עַמִּ֧יםpeoples

    ʾamimH5971 →1873 times

  • בְּדֵי־for [the] sufficiency of

    bedei-H1767 →39 times

  • רִ֛יקemptiness

    rikH7385 →

  • וּלְאֻמִּ֥יםand peoples

    uleumimH3816 →

  • בְּדֵי־for [the] sufficiency of

    bedei-H1767 →39 times

  • אֵ֖שׁfire

    ʾeshH784 →378 times

  • וְיָעֵֽפוּ׃ סand they grow weary

    veyaefuH3286 →9 times

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

Related verses

18 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.

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.10 worksHabakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?7 worksJeremiah 51:44I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.5 worksJeremiah 50:15Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.5 worksJeremiah 51:64Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.5 worksIsaiah 45:1–2This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 18:8Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”4 worksJeremiah 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 you into a charred mountain.4 worksJeremiah 51:30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.3 worksJeremiah 51:9“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.”3 worksPsalms 127:1Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.3 worksIsaiah 65:23They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.3 worksEzekiel 24:12It has frustrated every effort; its thick rust has not been removed, even by the fire.3 worksIsaiah 47:13You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.3 worksJob 12:14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.3 worksJeremiah 51:53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.2 worksIsaiah 25:12The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.2 worksIsaiah 47:14Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.2 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

    Jeremiah 51:44

    I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 51:34

      “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies…

  • Through

    Habakkuk 2:13

    Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 50:11

      Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My…

    • Proverbs 21:30

      There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.

    • Psalms 127:1–2

      Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

    • Job 5:13–14

      He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

    • Psalms 39:6

      Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 50:15

    Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD,…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 51:6

      Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.

    • Revelation 18:6

      Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.

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 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.

Read on in Jeremiah 51 →