At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Parallel translations
- WEB At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles; and the cry is heard among the nations.
- BSB At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
- NKJV At the noise of the taking of Babylon The earth trembles, And the cry is heard among the nations.
- NASB At the shout, “Babylon has been conquered!” the earth quakes, and an outcry is heard among the nations.
- NLT The earth will shake with the shout, “Babylon has been taken!” and its cry of despair will be heard around the world.
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
At the news of Babylon's capture the earth trembles and her cry is heard among the nations. The fall of the mightiest empire sends shockwaves through the whole world.
Overview
This closing verse of chapter 50 echoes a similar line about Edom (49:21), framing Babylon's collapse as a world-shaking event. The empire that seemed eternal proves fragile before God's judgment. Such a global tremor anticipates the day when every proud kingdom gives way to the unshakable kingdom of God, established in Jesus Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 49:21The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
- Rev 18:9–19And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
- Ezek 26:18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
- Ezek 31:16I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
- Isa 14:9–10Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
- Ezek 32:10Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 50:46 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.