Discovery BoxJeremiah 51:56-57 
Context51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. 1
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken. 2
For the Lord is a God who punishes; 3
he pays back in full. 4
51:57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
along with her governors, leaders, 5 and warriors.
They will fall asleep forever and never wake up,” 6
says the King whose name is the Lord who rules over all. 7
1 tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”
2 tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.
3 tn Or “God of retribution.”
4 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the
5 sn For discussion of the terms “governors” and “leaders” see the note at Jer 51:23.
6 sn See the note at Jer 51:39.
7 tn For the title “Yahweh of armies” see the study note on Jer 2:19.
