And 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall not take cornerstone from you, nor a stone for foundations; but you will be desolate for ever,” says Yahweh.
- BSB No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone, because you will become desolate forever,” declares the LORD.
- NKJV They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever,” says the Lord.
- NASB “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner Nor a stone for foundations, But you will be desolate forever,” declares the Lord.
- NLT You will be desolate forever. Even your stones will never again be used for building. You will be completely wiped out,” says the Lord.
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
No stone of Babylon will be reused for cornerstone or foundation; she will be desolate forever. Her ruin will be so complete that nothing usable remains.
Overview
Building stones were precious, so to say none will be salvaged signals utterly permanent desolation. The 'forever' marks Babylon's downfall as final, never to be rebuilt to her former glory. This permanence contrasts with the everlasting kingdom and the chief Cornerstone, Christ, on whom God builds a temple that will never fall.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 13:19–22And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Jer 50:12–13Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
- Jer 51:43Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
- Rev 18:20–24Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
- Isa 14:23I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Isa 34:8–17For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
- Jer 51:37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
- Jer 51:29And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
- Jer 50:40–41As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 51:26 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.