Jeremiah 51:20

¹⁸ They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

¹⁹ The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

²¹ And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

²² With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
KJV: Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
WEB: “You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms.
ASV: Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
DARBY: Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
BLB: “You [are] a war club for Me, weapons of war; I will smash apart with you the nations, and I will destroy with you kingdoms;

ÅB: Du[^2] er min hammer, mitt krigsvåpen, og med deg knuser jeg folkeslag, og med deg ødelegger jeg kongeriker;
OTB: «‘“Gå ut av hennes midte, mitt folk! Og enhver redde sitt liv fra Herrens voldsomme vrede.
B1930: Du er min hammer, mitt krigsvåben, og med dig knuser jeg folkeslag, og med dig ødelegger jeg kongeriker; / < Babel. JER 50, 23.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 41:15–16
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Read in context
Micah 4:13
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Read in context
Isaiah 37:26
Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.
Read in context
Zechariah 9:13–14
When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Read in context
Jeremiah 27:5–7
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
Read in context
Isaiah 14:5–6
The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Read in context
Jeremiah 50:23
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
Read in context
Jeremiah 25:9
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Read in context