“The sword of destruction will strike the Babylonians,” says the Lord. “It will strike the people of Babylon— her officials and wise men, too.
Parallel translations
- WEB “A sword is on the Chaldeans,” says Yahweh, “and on the inhabitants of Babylon, on her princes, and on her wise men.
- KJV A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
- BSB A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.
- NKJV “A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord, “Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men.
- NASB “A sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord, “And against the inhabitants of Babylon And against her leaders and her wise men!
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
A sword is decreed against the Chaldeans, their rulers, and their wise men. Babylon's leadership and counsel fall under judgment.
Overview
The repeated refrain 'a sword' begins here, falling first on Babylon's princes and renowned wise men. Babylon prided itself on its sages and astrologers, yet their wisdom cannot avert God's judgment (Isaiah 47:13). The verse shows that worldly wisdom apart from God is no defense against His decree.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Jer 47:6“‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’
- Jer 51:57I will make her princes, her wise men, her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk. They will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
- Dan 5:7–8The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
- Hos 11:6The sword will fall on their cities, and will destroy the bars of their gates, and will put an end to their plans.
- Dan 5:1–2Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
- Dan 5:30In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.
- Isa 66:16For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by his sword on all flesh; and those slain by Yahweh will be many.
- Isa 41:25“I have raised up one from the north, and he has come; from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name; and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
- Jer 50:27Kill all her bulls. Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their visitation.
- Isa 47:13–14You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels. Now let the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save you from the things that will come on you.
- Jer 10:7Who should not fear you, King of the nations? For it belongs to you. Because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is no one like you.
- Jer 8:9The wise men are disappointed. They are dismayed and trapped. Behold, they have rejected Yahweh’s word. What kind of wisdom is in them?
- Zech 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!”
- Isa 44:25who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;
- Jer 50:30Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her men of war will be brought to silence in that day,” says Yahweh.
- Ezek 14:2Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
- Jer 51:39When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunk, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says Yahweh.
- Isa 29:14therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden.”
- Lev 26:25I will bring a sword upon you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be gathered together within your cities, and I will send the pestilence among you. You will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Isa 19:11–13The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”
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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 50:35 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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