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Jeremiah 51:14-16
New English Translation
Jeremiah 51:14-16
New English Translation
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[a] has solemnly sworn,[b]
‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.
They will swarm over it like locusts.[c]
They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’
15 He is the one who[d] by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom fixed the world in place,
by his understanding he spread out the heavens.
16 When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons;
he makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it;
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:14 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.
- Jeremiah 51:14 tn Heb “has sworn by himself.” See the study note on 22:5 for background.
- Jeremiah 51:14 tn Heb “I will fill you with men like locusts.” The “you” refers to Babylon (Babylon is both the city and the land it ruled, Babylonia), which has been alluded to in the preceding verses under descriptive titles. The words “your land” have been used because of the way the preceding verse has been rendered, indicating people rather than the land or city. The “men” are, of course, enemy soldiers, compared to locusts both for their quantity and their destructiveness (see Joel 1:4). For the use of the particles כִּי אִם (ki ʾim) to introduce an oath, see BDB 475 s.v. כִּי אִם 2.c, and compare usage in 2 Kgs 5:20; one would normally expect אִם לֹא (cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2]).
- Jeremiah 51:15 tn The Hebrew participle here is intended to be connected with “Lord who rules over all” in the preceding verse. The passage is functioning to underline the Lord’s power to carry out what he has sworn, in contrast to the impotence of their idols, who will be put to shame and be dismayed (50:2).
New English Translation (NET)
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