Jeremiah 51:12

51:12 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 

1 tn Heb “Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon.”

2 tn Heb “Strengthen the watch.”

3 tn Heb “Station the guards.”

4 tn Heb “Prepare ambushes.”

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).

5 tn Heb “For the Lord has both planned and done what he said concerning the people living in Babylon,” i.e., “he has carried out what he planned.” Here is an obvious case where the perfects are to be interpreted as prophetic; the commands imply that the attack is still future.