Bring against her the armies of the nations— led by the kings of the Medes and all their captains and officers.
Parallel translations
- WEB Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion!
- KJV Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
- BSB Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the lands they rule.
- NKJV Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land of his dominion.
- NASB Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their officials, And every land under their control.
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 nations, especially the kings of the Medes with their governors and dominions, are prepared against Babylon. God marshals the whole Median realm for Babylon's downfall.
Overview
The Medes are again named as the chief agents of judgment, leading a broad alliance of subject territories. This historical specificity underscores that God's word against Babylon was concrete and fulfilled. The mustering of empires at God's command testifies to His sovereignty over the rise and fall of kingdoms, all serving the unfolding of His purposes that center on Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jer 51:11“Make the arrows sharp! Hold the shields firmly! Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance of his temple.
- Jer 25:25and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
- Dan 6:8Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.
- Isa 13:17Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not value silver, and as for gold, they will not delight in it.
- Dan 8:20The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
- Dan 8:3–4Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
- Isa 21:2A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing.
- Dan 5:28–30PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
- Jer 51:27“Set up a standard in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her! Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz! Appoint a marshal against her! Cause the horses to come up as the rough canker worm!
- 1 Chr 1:5The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
- Dan 9:1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
- Gen 10:2The sons of Japheth were: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
- Esth 10:2All the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
- Esth 1:3in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 51:28 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.