Yeremia 51:12
Konteks51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! 1
Bring more guards! 2
Post them all around the city! 3
Put men in ambush! 4
For the Lord will do what he has planned.
He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. 5
Yeremia 51:14
Konteks51:14 The Lord who rules over all 6 has solemnly sworn, 7
‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.
They will swarm over it like locusts. 8
They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’
[51:12] 1 tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”
[51:12] 2 tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”
[51:12] 3 tn Heb “Station the guards.”
[51:12] 4 tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”
[51:12] sn The commands are here addressed to the kings of the Medes to fully blockade the city by posting watchmen and setting men in ambush to prevent people from escaping from the city (cf. 2 Kgs 25:4).
[51:12] 5 tn Heb “For the
[51:14] 6 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.
[51:14] 7 tn Heb “has sworn by himself.” See the study note on 22:5 for background.
[51:14] 8 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, alluding to people rather than to the land or city. The allusion of “men” is, of course, to enemy soldiers and they are here compared to locusts both for their quantity and their destructiveness (see Joel 1:4). For the use of the particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) 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]).