THE LORD, MAKER OF ALL THNGS

Passage: Jeremiah 51:1-32

Key verse: 19

NIV

51 This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.[a]
2 I will send foreigners(C) to Babylon
    to winnow(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day(E) of her disaster.
3 Let not the archer string his bow,(F)
    nor let him put on his armor.(G)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy[b] her army.
4 They will fall(H) down slain in Babylon,[c]
    fatally wounded in her streets.(I)
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken(J)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[d] is full of guilt(K)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

6 “Flee(L) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.(M)
It is time(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;(O)
    he will repay(P) her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall(R) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm(S) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

9 “‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(T) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment(U) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

10 “‘The Lord has vindicated(V) us;
    come, let us tell in Zion
    what the Lord our God has done.’(W)

11 “Sharpen the arrows,(X)
    take up the shields!(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(Z) of the Medes,(AA)
    because his purpose(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(AC)
    vengeance for his temple.(AD)
12 Lift up a banner(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(AF)
    prepare an ambush!(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(AH)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(AI)
    and are rich in treasures,(AJ)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.(AK)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(AL)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(AM)
    and they will shout(AN) in triumph over you.

15 “He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom(AO)
    and stretched(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.(AQ)
16 When he thunders,(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(AS)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(AT)

17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(AU)
    they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless,(AV) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance(AX)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.

20 “You are my war club,(AY)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(AZ) nations,(BA)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(BB)
    with you I shatter chariot(BC) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(BD)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(BE)

24 “Before your eyes I will repay(BF) Babylon(BG) and all who live in Babylonia[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

25 “I am against(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
    you who destroy the whole earth,”(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand(BJ) against you,
    roll you off the cliffs,
    and make you a burned-out mountain.(BK)
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
    nor any stone for a foundation,
    for you will be desolate(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.

27 “Lift up a banner(BM) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:(BN)
    Ararat,(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(BQ)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.(BS)
29 The land trembles(BT) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste(BV) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.(BW)
30 Babylon’s warriors(BX) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;(BZ)
    the bars(CA) of her gates are broken.
31 One courier(CB) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,(CC)
32 the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,(CD)
    and the soldiers terrified.(CE)”

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Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
  2. Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  3. Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
  4. Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
  5. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

51 Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will stir up (A)the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon,
    against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,[a]
2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
    and (B)they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty her land,
    when they come against her from every side
    (C)on the day of trouble.
3 (D)Let not the archer bend his bow,
    and let him not stand up in his armor.
Spare not her young men;
    (E)devote to destruction[b] all her army.
4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
    (F)and wounded in her streets.
5 (G)For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
    by their God, the Lord of hosts,
but the land of the Chaldeans[c] is full of guilt
    against the Holy One of Israel.

6 (H)“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
    let every one save his life!
(I)Be not cut off in her punishment,
    (J)for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance,
    the repayment he is rendering her.
7 Babylon was (K)a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
    (L)making all the earth drunken;
(M)the nations drank of her wine;
    therefore the nations went mad.
8 (N)Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
    (O)wail for her!
(P)Take balm for her pain;
    perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon,
    but she was not healed.
(Q)Forsake her, and (R)let us go
    each to his own country,
for (S)her judgment has reached up to heaven
    and has been lifted up even to the skies.
10 (T)The Lord has brought about our vindication;
    (U)come, let us declare in Zion
    the work of the Lord our God.

11 (V)“Sharpen the arrows!
    Take up the shields!

(W)The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of (X)the Medes, because (Y)his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, (Z)for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for (AA)his temple.

12 (AB)“Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
    (AC)make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
    prepare the ambushes;
(AD)for the Lord has both planned and done
    what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 (AE)O you who dwell by many waters,
    rich in treasures,
your end has come;
    the thread of your life is cut.
14 (AF)The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will fill you with men, (AG)as many as locusts,
    (AH)and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

15 (AI)“It is he who made the earth by his power,
    who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
17 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
    and there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
    for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
    the Lord of hosts is his name.

20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war:
with you I (AJ)break nations in pieces;
    with you I destroy kingdoms;
21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
    with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
22 with you I break in pieces man and woman;
    with you I break in pieces (AK)the old man and the youth;
with you I break in pieces (AL)the young man and the young woman;
23     with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;
    with you I break in pieces (AM)governors and commanders.

24 (AN)“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord.

25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
declares the Lord,
    which destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
    and roll you down from the crags,
    (AO)and make you a burnt mountain.
26 No (AP)stone shall be taken from you for a corner
    and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be (AQ)a perpetual waste,
    declares the Lord.

27 (AR)“Set up a standard on the earth;
    (AS)blow the trumpet among the nations;
(AT)prepare (AU)the nations for war against her;
    summon against her (AV)the kingdoms,
    (AW)Ararat, Minni, and (AX)Ashkenaz;
appoint a (AY)marshal against her;
    (AZ)bring up horses like bristling locusts.
28 (BA)Prepare (BB)the nations for war against her,
    the kings of (BC)the Medes, (BD)with their governors (BE)and deputies,
    and every (BF)land under their dominion.
29 (BG)The land trembles and writhes in pain,
    (BH)for the Lord's purposes against Babylon stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
    without inhabitant.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed;
    (BI)they have become women;
(BJ)her dwellings are on fire;
    (BK)her bars are broken.
31 One (BL)runner runs to meet another,
    and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
    that his city is taken on every side;
32 the fords have been (BM)seized,
    the marshes are burned with fire,
    and the soldiers are in panic.

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Footnotes
  1. Jeremiah 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
  2. Jeremiah 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  3. Jeremiah 51:5 Hebrew their land
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The Lord brought the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon. He brought destruction upon them to demonstrate his faithfulness. He did it to show that he would never forsake Israel and Judah—those he called—even though their land was full of guilt. He would rescue his people and repay Babylon. The Lord was vindicating his people. He revealed himself once again as their deliverer. He would carry out his purpose for them. The Lord is the one who made the earth and rules over it. The Portion of Jacob is also the Maker of all things. He is ever faithful to his people.

God raised up the Medes as his war club to shatter Babylon. It was for all the wrong they had done in Zion. His purpose was to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one would live there.

Prayer: Lord, you never forsake your own. Help me to trust in your faithful love, for you are the Maker of all things.

One Word: God made all things