Jeremiah 51:58

⁵⁶ For a destroyer is coming against her— against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.

⁵⁷ I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

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.”

⁵⁹ This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.

⁶⁰ Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

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: 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.”
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.
WEB: The LORD of Armies says: “The wide walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown. Her high gates will be burned with fire. The peoples will labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they will be weary.”
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.
DARBY: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
BLB: Thus says YHWH of Hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon will be completely stripped down, and her high gates will be burned with fire; the people will toil in vain, and the nations will grow weary at the abundance of the fire.”

ÅB: Så sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud: Babels mur, den brede, skal rives til grunnen, og dets porter, de høye, skal brennes opp med ild, så folkeslag skal ha gjort seg strev for intet, og folkeferd arbeidet seg trette for ilden.
OTB: Derfor vil Herrens drepte falle på den dagen Fra den ene enden av jorden til den andre; De vil ikke bli sørget over, Heller ikke samlet, Heller ikke begravet; De vil være gjødsel på bakken.
B1930: Så sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud: Babels mur, den brede, skal rives til grunnen, og dets porter, de høie, skal brennes op med ild, så folkeslag skal ha gjort sig møie for intet, og folkeferd arbeidet sig trette for ilden.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

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?
Read in context
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.
Read in context
Jeremiah 51:64
Then 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.
Read in context
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, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.
Read in context
Isaiah 45:1–2
This 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:
Read in context
Psalms 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
Read in context
Jeremiah 51:30
The 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.
Read in context
Isaiah 65:23
They 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.
Read in context