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You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
Jeremiah 51:13 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
  • BSB You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.
  • NKJV O you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness.
  • NASB You who live by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your end.
  • NLT You are a city by a great river, a great center of commerce, but your end has come. The thread of your life is cut.

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

Babylon, dwelling by many waters and rich in treasure, has reached her end, the measure of her greed. Her wealth and security cannot postpone the appointed limit of her life.

Overview

The 'many waters' refer to the Euphrates and its canals that made Babylon prosperous and seemingly secure. Yet her covetousness has a 'measure,' a limit set by God, and that limit has come. The verse warns that accumulated riches and natural defenses offer no lasting security, a truth echoed when Revelation laments Babylon's fallen wealth and points to treasure that endures in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Rev 17:1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,
  • Rev 17:15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
  • Isa 45:3I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name, even the God of Israel.
  • Jer 51:36Therefore Yahweh says: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
  • Gen 6:13God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.
  • Hab 2:5–11Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
  • Rev 18:19They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!’ For she is made desolate in one hour.
  • 1 Pet 4:7But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
  • Jude 1:11–13Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
  • 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.
  • Jer 50:31“Behold, I am against you, you proud one,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies; “for your day has come, the time that I will visit you.
  • Amos 8:2He said, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then Yahweh said to me, “The end has come on my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.
  • Lam 4:18They hunt our steps, so that we can’t go in our streets: Our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end has come.
  • Jer 17:11As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid, so is he who gets riches, and not by right; in the middle of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool.
  • Rev 18:11–17The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more;
  • Ezek 7:2–12“You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.
  • Luke 12:19–21I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’
  • 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
  • Dan 5:26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has counted your kingdom, and brought it to an end;
  • Jer 50:37A sword is on their horses, on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the middle of her; and they will become as women. A sword is on her treasures, and they will be robbed.
  • 2 Pet 2:14–15having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 51:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 51:13 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.