Yirmiyahu 50–51 | The Prophecy Concerning Babylon

The longest prophecy concerning the nations in Sefer Yirmiyahu is the prophecy to Babylon. Over the course of two particularly lengthy chapters, Yirmiyahu details the dramatic downfall of Babylon. This prophecy marks an important closing of a circle in Sefer Yirmiyahu in two ways:

1. In relation to Babylon: Throughout the book, and especially from Chapter 20 onward, God grants Babylon dominion over the entire world: “And now, I have delivered all these lands into the hands of Nevukhadnetzar, king of Babylon, My servant” (27:6). In our chapter, the cycle comes to a close, revealing that Babylon’s appointment was always temporary and for a specific purpose: “You are a sledgehammer for Me, a weapon of war. With you I will shatter nations; with you I will destroy kingdoms” (51:20). Now that the mission has been completed, Babylon itself will be held accountable for its actions.
2. In relation to Israel: Throughout Sefer Yirmiyahu, we have mainly heard and felt the atmosphere of destruction, attributed to Israel’s sins. More specifically, as highlighted in our chapter, the downfall of the kingdom of Yehuda was largely due to its leaders: “My people were lost sheep. Their shepherds misled them and set them loose in the mountains” (50:6). The fall of Babylon marks the redemption of Israel, continuing with the same metaphor of sheep: “Wander away from the midst of Babylon, depart from the land of the Chaldeans, and be like male goats at the head of  the flock” (50:8), and “I shall return Israel to his pasture; he shall graze on the Carmel and the Bashan and will satisfy himself upon the Efrayim hills and Gilad” (50:19).

In describing Babylon’s destruction, the text employs the same language previously used to describe the destruction of Israel, further emphasizing the reversal taking place. The enemy that will bring down Babylon is described as an enemy coming from the north: “A people is coming down from the north; a great nation with many kings awakens from the remote parts of the earth” (50:41), referring to the kingdom of Media, which lay north of Babylon. Similarly, a verse about Babylon echoes the wording of a prophecy concerning Jerusalem: “She will not be inhabited and shall become entirely desolate. All who pass by Babylon shall be stunned and shall shriek over her wounds” (50:13) – nearly identical to the warning about Jerusalem: “I will make of this city a place of desolation and shrieking, for everyone who passes it by will be horrified and will shriek over all its wounds” (19:8).

Many of the prophecies concerning other nations conclude with a promise of future salvation. For example, regarding Moav: “I will return the captives of Moav in the days to come, declares the Lord” (48:47), and regarding Amon: “Afterward, I will return the captives of the Amonites, declares the Lord” (49:6). Babylon, however, is singled out for utter destruction with no restoration: “So shall Babylon sink and never rise from the disaster” (51:64).

At the conclusion of these prophecies, Yirmiyahu sends a scroll containing the prophecies of Babylon’s downfall with one of King Tzidkiyahu’s officers, instructing him to read the prophecies aloud in Babylon and then throw the scroll into the Euphrates River as a symbolic act reinforcing the prophecy’s message. Notably, this event takes place in the fourth year of Tzidkiyahu. In that same year, Yirmiyahu engaged in a debate with Chananya son of Azur (Chapter 28), in which Chananya falsely claimed that Babylon would soon fall, while Yirmiyahu asserted that, for the time being, submission to Babylon was required. In Chapter 51, we discover that in that very same year, Yirmieyahu was already dedicating an entire scroll to Babylon’s future downfall. This underscores that Yirmiyahu was not merely a Babylonian strategist, but rather a prophet of God, who recognized Babylon’s divinely sanctioned rule in the present, yet also foresaw its eventual demise.