The Meaning of Jeremiah 51:58 Explained

Jeremiah 51:58

KJV: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

YLT: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of Babylon -- The broad one -- is utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!

Darby: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.

ASV: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus saith  the LORD  of hosts;  The broad  walls  of Babylon  shall be utterly  broken,  and her high  gates  shall be burned  with fire;  and the people  shall labour  in vain,  and the folk  in  the fire,  and they shall be weary. 

What does Jeremiah 51:58 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The enemy will raze Babylon"s broad wall and set her many huge gates on fire. The captive peoples who will have toiled, building Babylon"s defenses, would have done so for nothing. They will have exhausted themselves constructing these edifices, only for them to go up in flames (cf. Jeremiah 51:64; Habakkuk 2:13).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 51

1  The severe judgment of God against Babylon, in revenge of Israel
59  Jeremiah delivers the book of this prophecy to Seraiah, to be cast into Euphrates,
64  in token of the perpetual sinking of Babylon

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 51:58 mean?

Thus says Yahweh of hosts walls of Babylon the broad utterly shall be broken and her gates high with fire shall be burned and will labor the people in vain and the nations because of the fire and they shall be weary -
כֹּֽה־ אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת חֹ֠מוֹת בָּבֶ֤ל הָֽרְחָבָה֙ עַרְעֵ֣ר תִּתְעַרְעָ֔ר וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ הַגְּבֹהִ֖ים בָּאֵ֣שׁ יִצַּ֑תּוּ וְיִֽגְע֨וּ עַמִּ֧ים בְּדֵי־ רִ֛יק וּלְאֻמִּ֥ים בְּדֵי־ אֵ֖שׁ וְיָעֵֽפוּ ס

כֹּֽה־  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֞ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֗וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
חֹ֠מוֹת  walls 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: חֹומָה  
Sense: wall.
בָּבֶ֤ל  of  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.
הָֽרְחָבָה֙  the  broad 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רָחָב  
Sense: broad, wide.
עַרְעֵ֣ר  utterly 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive absolute
Root: עָרַר  
Sense: to strip, make bare, strip oneself.
תִּתְעַרְעָ֔ר  shall  be  broken 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: עָרַר  
Sense: to strip, make bare, strip oneself.
וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ  and  her  gates 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
הַגְּבֹהִ֖ים  high 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: גָּבֹהַּ  
Sense: high, exalted.
בָּאֵ֣שׁ  with  fire 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
יִצַּ֑תּוּ  shall  be  burned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָצַת  
Sense: to kindle, burn, set on fire.
וְיִֽגְע֨וּ  and  will  labor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָגַע  
Sense: to toil, labour, grow weary, be weary.
עַמִּ֧ים  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
רִ֛יק  vain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רִיק  
Sense: emptiness, vanity, empty, idle, vain.
וּלְאֻמִּ֥ים  and  the  nations 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: לְאֹם  
Sense: a people, nation.
בְּדֵי־  because 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בְּדֵי 
Sense: sufficiency, enough.
אֵ֖שׁ  of  the  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
וְיָעֵֽפוּ  and  they  shall  be  weary 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָעֵף  
Sense: to be or grow weary, be fatigued, be faint.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation