The Meaning of Jeremiah 50:1 Explained

Jeremiah 50:1

KJV: The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

YLT: The word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:

Darby: The word that Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet.

ASV: The word that Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The word  that the LORD  spake  against Babylon  [and] against the land  of the Chaldeans  by  Jeremiah  the prophet. 

What does Jeremiah 50:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This is a title verse for the oracle against Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans. In Scripture, "Babylon" often refers to the nation rather than the city, as this verse makes clear. Some expositors have applied almost all the prophecies to the city rather than to the whole nation. Probably both entities are in view, the city sometimes and the country sometimes.
The Chaldeans were the descendants of a semi-nomadic tribe that had settled south of Ur in Mesopotamia in the third millennium B.C. Nebuchadnezzar"s father, Nabopolassar, the founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626-539 B.C.), was a native Chaldean. Nebuchadnezzar was the most illustrious and longest reigning of these Chaldean kings.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 50

1  The judgment of Babylon and the redemption of Israel

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 50:1 mean?

The word that spoke Yahweh against Babylon [and] against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet
הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֧ר יְהוָ֛ה אֶל־ בָּבֶ֖ל אֶל־ אֶ֣רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים בְּיַ֖ד יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ הַנָּבִֽיא

הַדָּבָ֗ר  The  word 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
אֲשֶׁ֨ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
דִּבֶּ֧ר  spoke 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
יְהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בָּבֶ֖ל  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
אֶל־  [and]  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אֶ֣רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים  of  the  Chaldeans 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּשְׂדִּים  
Sense: a territory in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ  Jeremiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִרְמְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name.
הַנָּבִֽיא  the  prophet 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.