And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The proud one will stumble and fall, and no one will raise him up. I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are around him.”
- BSB The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.”
- NKJV The most proud shall stumble and fall, And no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.”
- NASB “The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities, And it will devour all his surroundings.”
- NLT O land of arrogance, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon that will burn up everything around them.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The proud one will stumble with none to lift him up, as God kindles a fire consuming all around him. Babylon's pride leads to an unaided fall.
Overview
The arrogant power collapses with no helper, and God's fire spreads through its cities. The image of unstoppable, all-consuming fire conveys irreversible judgment. The verse reinforces the central theme that pride against God ends in ruin and that, once He acts, no human aid can reverse it (Proverbs 16:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Jer 49:27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
- Jer 21:14But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
- Isa 10:12–15Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
- Amos 2:5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
- Rev 18:8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
- Dan 5:23–30But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
- Prov 16:18Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
- Jer 51:26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
- Amos 1:14But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
- Dan 5:20But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
- Amos 1:7But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
- Deut 32:22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
- Amos 1:12But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
- Amos 1:10But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
- Ezek 28:2–9Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
- Isa 14:13–15For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- Prov 18:12Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
- Amos 1:4But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
- Jer 51:64And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
- Amos 2:2But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 50:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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