The Meaning of Jeremiah 50:3 Explained

Jeremiah 50:3

KJV: For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

YLT: For come up against her hath a nation from the north, It maketh her land become a desolation, And there is not an inhabitant in it. From man even unto beast, They have moved, they have gone.

Darby: For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: both man and beast are fled; they are gone.

ASV: For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For out of the north  there cometh up  a nation  against her, which shall make  her land  desolate,  and none shall dwell  therein: they shall remove,  they shall depart,  both man  and beast. 

What does Jeremiah 50:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

An invader would descend on Babylon from the north and would make her an object of astonishment. All of Babylon"s inhabitants, humans and animals, would leave her. Elsewhere in Jeremiah the enemy from the north is Babylon, but in the future, ironically, the invader of Babylon itself would come from the north.
"The reference at this stage is hardly to the Persians who came from the east, although the strategic line of attack was roughly from the north." [1]
Neither was the land, or even the city, totally uninhabited after the Persians took over. People did not flee because of the Persians. For example, Daniel , who had access to Jeremiah"s prophecies ( Daniel 9:1-2), remained in the capital city during and after its fall ( Daniel 5:28; Daniel 5:30-31; Daniel 6:1-3).
"Several times Jeremiah repeated this fact about Babylon being without any inhabitants (cf. Jeremiah 50:39-40; Jeremiah 51:29; Jeremiah 51:37; Jeremiah 51:43; Jeremiah 51:62). The city was spared and made one of the ruling centers for the Persian Empire with Daniel serving there in an administrative position (cf. Daniel 5:30; Daniel 6:1-3)." [2]
Alexander the Great destroyed Babylon in330 B.C, but that destruction was not from the north, or final, either.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 50

1  The judgment of Babylon and the redemption of Israel

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 50:3 mean?

For comes up against her a nation out of the north it shall make - her land desolate and no one shall dwell therein from man and to beast They shall move they shall depart
כִּ֣י עָלָה֩ עָלֶ֨יהָ גּ֜וֹי מִצָּפ֗וֹן הֽוּא־ יָשִׁ֤ית אֶת־ אַרְצָהּ֙ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה וְלֹֽא־ יִהְיֶ֥ה יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בָּ֑הּ מֵאָדָ֥ם וְעַד־ בְּהֵמָ֖ה נָ֥דוּ הָלָֽכוּ

עָלָה֩  comes  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
עָלֶ֨יהָ  against  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גּ֜וֹי  a  nation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
מִצָּפ֗וֹן  out  of  the  north 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָפֹון  
Sense: north (of direction), northward.
יָשִׁ֤ית  shall  make 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שִׁית  
Sense: to put, set.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אַרְצָהּ֙  her  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְשַׁמָּ֔ה  desolate 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שַׁמָּה  
Sense: waste, horror, appalment.
וְלֹֽא־  and  no  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בָּ֑הּ  therein 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
מֵאָדָ֥ם  from  man 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
וְעַד־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
בְּהֵמָ֖ה  beast 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
נָ֥דוּ  They  shall  move 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נוּד  
Sense: to shake, waver, wander, move to and fro, flutter, show grief, have compassion on.
הָלָֽכוּ  they  shall  depart 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.