Jeremiah 51:9 
Context| NET © | Foreigners living there will say, 1 ‘We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed. Let’s leave Babylonia 2 and each go back to his own country. For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.’ 3 |
| NIV © | "‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds.’ |
| NASB © | We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Forsake her and let us each go to his own country, For her judgment has reached to heaven And towers up to the very skies. |
| NLT © | We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land, for her judgment will be so great it cannot be measured. |
| MSG © | "We did our best, but she can't be helped. Babylon is past fixing. Give her up to her fate. Go home. The judgment on her will be vast, a skyscraper-memorial of vengeance. |
| BBE © | We would have made Babylon well, but she is not made well: give her up, and let us go everyone to his country: for her punishment is stretching up to heaven, and lifted up even to the skies. |
| NRSV © | We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Forsake her, and let each of us go to our own country; for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. |
| NKJV © | We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. |
| KJV | |
| NASB © | |
| HEBREW | |
| LXXM | |
| NET © [draft] ITL | Foreigners living there <07495> will say, ‘We tried to <0413> heal <07495> her, but <05800> she could not <03808> be healed <07495> . Let’s <01980> leave <05800> Babylonia <0894> and each <0376> go back to <05704> his own country <0776> . For <03588> judgment <04941> on her <07495> will be vast <07495> in its proportions <05060> . It will be like it is piled up to <0413> heaven <08064> , stacked <04941> up into the clouds .’<07834> |
| NET © | Foreigners living there will say, 1 ‘We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed. Let’s leave Babylonia 2 and each go back to his own country. For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.’ 3 |
| NET © Notes |
1 tn The words “Foreigners living there will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the third line. These words are generally assumed by the commentaries and are explicitly added in TEV and NCV which are attempting to clarify the text for the average reader. 2 tn Heb “Leave/abandon her.” However, it is smoother in the English translation to make this verb equivalent to the cohortative that follows. 3 tn This is an admittedly very paraphrastic translation that tries to make the figurative nuance of the Hebrew original understandable for the average reader. The Hebrew text reads: “For her judgment [or punishment (cf. BDB 1078 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f) = ‘execution of judgment’] touches the heavens, and is lifted up as far as the clouds.” The figure of hyperbole or exaggeration is being used here to indicate the vastness of Babylon’s punishment which is the reason to escape (vv. 6, 9c). For this figure see Deut 1:28 in comparison with Num 13:28 and see also Deut 9:1. In both of the passages in Deut it refers to an exaggeration about the height of the walls of fortified cities. The figure also may be a play on Gen 11:4 where the nations gather in Babylon to build a tower that reaches to the skies. The present translation has interpreted the perfects here as prophetic because it has not happened yet or they would not be encouraging one another to leave and escape. For the idea here compare 50:16. |
