Do not let the archer bend his bow or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; devote all her army to destruction!
Parallel translations
- WEB Against him who bends, let the archer bend his bow, also against him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail. Don’t spare her young men! Utterly destroy all her army!
- KJV Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.
- NKJV Against her let the archer bend his bow, And lift himself up against her in his armor. Do not spare her young men; Utterly destroy all her army.
- NASB “Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his coat of armor. Do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction.
- NLT Don’t let the archers put on their armor or draw their bows. Don’t spare even her best soldiers! Let her army be completely destroyed.
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 Lord commands the attackers to spare neither Babylon's archers nor her armored soldiers but to utterly destroy her whole army. Babylon's military strength offers no escape from judgment.
Overview
The call to 'utterly destroy' (the language of devoted destruction) marks Babylon's army as set apart for total judgment. Her finest defenses, archers and mail-clad warriors, will not save her. This underscores that human armor is no defense against God's verdict, and only refuge in the Lord, fully revealed in Christ, brings true safety.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 50:14Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.
- Jer 46:4Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!
- Jer 50:21Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.
- Isa 13:10–18For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
- Jer 50:27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Jer 50:41–42Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.
- Jer 9:21For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
- Jer 50:29–30Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
- Deut 32:25Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.
- Jas 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Ps 137:9Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
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 51:3 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.