Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, will sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers will come to her from the north,” says Yahweh.
- KJV Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
- BSB Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her,” declares the LORD.
- NASB “Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, Because the destroyers will come to her from the north,” Declares the Lord.
- NLT Then the heavens and earth will rejoice, for out of the north will come destroying armies against Babylon,” 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
Heaven and earth and all in them will sing for joy over Babylon's fall when destroyers come from the north. All creation rejoices when oppression is judged.
Overview
The universal rejoicing reflects that Babylon's tyranny offended the moral order, so her downfall is cause for cosmic praise. The 'destroyers from the north' are again the Medo-Persian forces God appoints. This anticipates the heavenly rejoicing over Babylon's fall in Revelation 18-19, when God's righteous judgment vindicates His people and His Christ is glorified.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 44:23Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
- Rev 18:20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.”
- Jer 50:3For a nation comes up out of the north against her, which shall make her land desolate, and no one shall dwell therein. They have fled. They are gone, both man and animal.
- Isa 48:20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
- Isa 49:13Sing, heavens; and be joyful, earth; and break out into singing, mountains: for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
- Jer 50:41“Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Rev 15:1–4I saw another great and marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God’s wrath is finished.
- Jer 50:9For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they will set themselves in array against her. She will be taken from there. Their arrows will be as of an expert mighty man. None of them will return in vain.
- Rev 16:4–7The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
- Rev 19:1–7After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
- Prov 11:10When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
- Jer 51:10–11‘Yahweh has produced our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.’
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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 51:48 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.