Jeremiah 51:38-40
New English Translation
38 The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey;
they are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.[a]
39 When their appetites are all stirred up,[b]
I will set out a banquet for them.
I will make them drunk
so that they will pass out,[c]
they will fall asleep forever,
they will never wake up,”[d]
says the Lord.[e]
40 “I will lead them off to be slaughtered
like lambs, rams, and male goats.[f]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:38 tn Heb “They [the Babylonians] all roar like lions. They growl like the cubs of lions.” For the usage of יַחְדָו (yakhdav) meaning “all,” see Isa 10:8; 18:6; 41:20. The translation strives to convey in clear terms what is the generally accepted meaning of the simile (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 358, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 762).
- Jeremiah 51:39 tn Heb “When they are hot.”
- Jeremiah 51:39 tc The translation follows the suggestion of KBL 707 s.v. עָלַז and a number of modern commentaries (e.g., Bright, J. A. Thompson, and W. L. Holladay) in reading יְעֻלְּפוּ (yeʿullefu), in the sense of “swoon away” or “grow faint” (see KBL 710 s.v. עָלַף Pual), instead of יַעֲלֹזוּ (yaʿalozu; “they will exult”). The former appears to be the verb read by the LXX (the Greek version) when they translated καρωθῶσιν (karōthōsin, “they will be stupefied”). For parallel usage KBL cites Isa 51:20. This fits the context much better than the Masoretic reading.
- Jeremiah 51:39 sn The central figure here is the cup of the Lord’s wrath (cf. 25:15-29, especially v. 26). The Babylonians have been made to drink it so deeply that they fall into a drunken sleep from which they will never wake up (i.e., they die, death being compared to sleep [cf. Pss 13:3 (13:4 HT); 76:5 (76:6 HT); 90:5]). Cf. Jer 51:57 for this same figure.
- Jeremiah 51:39 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 51:40 tn Heb “I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered, like rams and he-goats.”sn This statement is highly ironic in light of the fact that the Babylonians were compared to lions and lion cubs (v. 38). Here they are like lambs, rams, and male goats that are to be led off to be slaughtered.
Jeremiah 51:38-40
New International Version
38 Her people all roar like young lions,(A)
they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,(B)
so that they shout with laughter—
then sleep forever(C) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.(D)
40 “I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.(E)
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