Jeremiah 51:6
in Jeremiah 51Flee 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.
KJV
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTurn back also to Jeremiah and pay heed to what he has written of like import: "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver everyone his soul." For "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit." It is true that Rome has a holy church, trophies of apostles and martyrs, a true confession of Christ. The faith has been preached there by an apostle, heathenism has been trodden down, the name of Christ is daily exalted higher and higher.
This site's exposition
the spirit of a destroyer
on Jeremiah 51:1-6
The LORD will stir up “the spirit of a destroyer” and send strangers “to winnow her and empty her land.” Verse 5 sets assurance inside the judgment: “Israel and Judah have not been abandoned by their God.” The exiles are told to flee and escape with their lives.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Lord's command was given through Jeremiah: "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every person his soul." To the day of its death the nation never returned to Chaldea or regretted the fleshpots of Egypt or its strong-smelling meats. Accompanied by its virgin bands, it became a fellow citizen of the Savior; and now that it has ascended from its little Bethlehem to the heavenly realms it can say to the true Naomi: "Your people shall be my people and your God my God."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Flee out of the midst of Babylon,.... This is said either to such as were there of other nations upon trade and business, as Kimchi, to get out of it as fast as they could, that they might not be consumed; or to the Israelites, as Jarchi, the Jews that were captives there.
): " Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and get into some remote corner, that you may save your lives, and may not be cut off in her iniquity." When God's judgments are abroad it is good to get as far as we can from those against whom they are levelled, as Israel from the tents of Korah.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
We cannot expect it should come sooner than the time fixed, but then it will come; he will render unto Babylon a recompence, for the avenging of Israel is the vengeance of the Lord, who espouses their cause; it is the vengeance of his temple,
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֻ֣סוּ׀ | nusu | flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מִתּ֣וֹךְ | mitokh | from [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בָּבֶ֗ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וּמַלְּטוּ֙ | umaletu | and save | H4422 → | 95 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| נַפְשׁ֔וֹ | nafsho | life his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּדַּ֖מּוּ | tidamu | you be destroyed | H1826 → | 30 times |
| בַּעֲוֹנָ֑הּ | baavonah | in iniquity its | H5771 → | 233 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֵ֨ת | ʾet | [is] a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| נְקָמָ֥ה | nekamah | vengeance | H5360 → | 27 times |
| הִיא֙ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גְּמ֕וּל | gemul | recompense | H1576 → | |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מְשַׁלֵּ֖ם | meshalem | [is] about to repay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| לָֽהּ׃ | lah | to <the> it |
נֻ֣סוּ׀flee
nusuH5127 →159 times
מִתּ֣וֹךְfrom [the] midst of
mitokhH8432 →418 times
בָּבֶ֗לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וּמַלְּטוּ֙and save
umaletuH4422 →95 times
אִ֣ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
נַפְשׁ֔וֹlife his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּדַּ֖מּוּyou be destroyed
tidamuH1826 →30 times
בַּעֲוֹנָ֑הּin iniquity its
baavonahH5771 →233 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
עֵ֨ת[is] a time of
ʾetH6256 →296 times
נְקָמָ֥הvengeance
nekamahH5360 →27 times
הִיא֙it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
גְּמ֕וּלrecompense
gemulH1576 →
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מְשַׁלֵּ֖ם[is] about to repay
meshalemH7999 →116 times
לָֽהּ׃to <the> it
lah
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
Jeremiah 50:8Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:20
Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 48:20
Through
Numbers 16:26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
Through
Jeremiah 25:14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 27:7
All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.
- Jeremiah 50:9
For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their…
- Jeremiah 50:41
Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.
- Jeremiah 27:7
Through
Jeremiah 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,…
it leads to
- 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…
- Jeremiah 51:58
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 Jerome, LETTER 46.12; Jerome, LETTER 108.32; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
