50:15 Shout the battle cry from all around the city.
She will throw up her hands in surrender. 1
Her towers 2 will fall.
Her walls will be torn down.
Because I, the Lord, am wreaking revenge, 3
take out your vengeance on her!
Do to her as she has done!
50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep
which lions have chased away.
First the king of Assyria devoured them. 4
Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones. 5
50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: 6
‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.
They are coming to Zion to declare there
how the Lord our God is getting revenge,
getting revenge for what they have done to his temple. 7
50:29 “Call for archers 8 to come against Babylon!
Summon against her all who draw the bow!
Set up camp all around the city!
Do not allow anyone to escape!
Pay her back for what she has done.
Do to her what she has done to others.
For she has proudly defied me, 9
the Holy One of Israel. 10
50:33 The Lord who rules over all 11 says,
“The people of Israel are oppressed.
So too are the people of Judah. 12
All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners.
They refuse to set them free.
50:34 But the one who will rescue them 13 is strong.
He is known as the Lord who rules over all. 14
He will strongly 15 champion their cause.
As a result 16 he will bring peace and rest to the earth,
but trouble and turmoil 17 to the people who inhabit Babylonia. 18
1 tn Heb “She has given her hand.” For the idiom here involving submission/surrender see BDB 680 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.z and compare the usage in 1 Chr 29:24; 2 Chr 30:8. For a different interpretation, however, see the rather complete discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 366) who see this as a reference to making a covenant. The verb in this line and the next two lines are all Hebrew perfects and most translators and commentaries see them as past. God’s Word, however, treats them as prophetic perfects and translates them as future. This is more likely in the light of the imperatives both before and after.
2 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The definition here follows that of HALOT 91 s.v. אָשְׁיָה, which defines it on the basis of an Akkadian word and treats it as a loanword.
3 tn Heb “Because it is the
4 sn The king of Assyria devoured them. This refers to the devastation wrought on northern Israel by the kings of Assyria beginning in 738
5 tn The verb used here only occurs this one time in the Hebrew Bible. It is a denominative from the Hebrew word for “bones” (עֶצֶם, ’etsem). BDB 1126 s.v. עֶָצַם, denom Pi, define it as “break his bones.” HALOT 822 s.v. II עָצַם Pi defines it as “gnaw on his bones.”
sn If the prophecies which are referred to in Jer 51:59-64 refer to all that is contained in Jer 50–51 (as some believe), this would have referred to the disasters of 605
6 tn Heb “Therefore thus says Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” The first person is again adopted because the
7 tn Heb “Hark! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the
sn This verse appears to be a parenthetical exclamation of the prophet in the midst of his report of what the
8 tn For this word see BDB 914 s.v. III רַב and compare usage in Prov 26:10 and Job 16:12 and compare the usage of the verb in Gen 49:23. Based on this evidence, it is not necessary to emend the form to רֹבִים (rovim) as many commentators contend.
9 tn Heb “for she has acted insolently against the
10 sn The Holy One of Israel is a common title for the
11 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this title see the study note on 2:19.
12 tn Heb “Oppressed are the people of Israel and the people of Judah together,” i.e., both the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. However, neither of these renderings is very poetic. The translation seeks to achieve the same meaning with better poetic expression.
13 sn Heb “their redeemer.” The Hebrew term “redeemer” referred in Israelite family law to the nearest male relative who was responsible for securing the freedom of a relative who had been sold into slavery. For further discussion of this term as well as its metaphorical use to refer to God as the one who frees Israel from bondage in Egypt and from exile in Assyria and Babylonia see the study note on 31:11.
14 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 2:19.
15 tn Or “he will certainly champion.” The infinitive absolute before the finite verb here is probably functioning to intensify the verb rather than to express the certainty of the action (cf. GKC 333 §112.n and compare usage in Gen 43:3 and 1 Sam 20:6 listed there).
16 tn This appears to be another case where the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a result rather than giving the purpose or goal. See the translator’s note on 25:7 for a listing of other examples in the book of Jeremiah and also the translator’s note on 27:10.
17 tn Heb “he will bring rest to the earth and will cause unrest to.” The terms “rest” and “unrest” have been doubly translated to give more of the idea underlying these two concepts.
18 tn This translation again reflects the problem often encountered in these prophecies where the