Jeremiah 51:35 · Bible study
Jeremiah 51:35 Commentary: Zion's Cry for Justice and Divine Vengeance
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How should Christians understand the imprecatory cry of Jeremiah 51:35? Explore the meaning of violence, flesh, and blood in this appeal for divine justice.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Zion calls for the violence and bloodshed inflicted by Babylon to return upon Babylon as an act of divine justice.
- Key words: חָמָס (violence/injustice), שְׁאֵר (flesh/kinsman), דָּם (blood), together they encompass the full range of suffered wrongs.
- Main debate: Whether Christians can appropriately pray imprecatory prayers today, or whether they are limited to the Old Testament context of national covenantal justice.
- Theological theme: God as the righteous Judge who hears the cry of the oppressed and acts in history to vindicate His people.
- Best use: Teaching on lament and honest prayer; grounding hope in God’s justice; explaining why the Old Testament includes cries for vengeance.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” says the dweller of Zion. “May my blood be on the dwellers of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.
WEB World English Bible 2000
May the violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon!” the inhabitant of Zion will say; and, “May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea!” will Jerusalem say.
KJV King James Version 1769
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
My wrong, and that of my flesh is on Babylon, Say doth the inhabitant of Zion, And my blood is on the inhabitants of Chaldea, Say doth Jerusalem.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The wrong done to me, and my flesh be upon Babylon, saith the habitation of Sion: and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, saith Jerusalem.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Sobre Babilonia la violencia contra mí y mi carne, dirá la moradora de Sión; y mi sangre sobre los moradores de Caldea, dirá Jerusalem.
A violência feita contra mim e minha carne venha sobre a Babilônia, dirá a moradora de Sião; e meu sangue sobre os moradores da Caldeia, dirá Jerusalém.
Que la violence envers moi et ma chair déchirée retombent sur Babylone!
Nun aber komme über Babel der Frevel, an mir begangen und an meinem Fleische, spricht die Einwohnerin zu Zion, und mein Blut über die Einwohner in Chaldäa, spricht Jerusalem.
Het geweld, dat mij en mijn vlees is aangedaan, zij op Babel! zegge de inwoneres van Sion; en mijn bloed zij op de inwoners van Chaldea! zegge Jeruzalem.
“La violenza che m’è fatta e la mia carne ricadano su Babilonia”, dirà l’abitante di Sion; “Il mio sangue ricada sugli abitanti di Caldea”, dirà Gerusalemme.
Gwałt mnie i ciału memu uczyniony niech przyjdzie na Babilon, mówi obywatelka Syońska, a krew moja na obywateli Chaldejskich, mówi Jeruzalem.
Обида моя и плоть моя - на Вавилоне, скажет обитательница Сиона, и кровь моя - на жителях Халдеи, скажет Иерусалим.
錫安 的居民 要說：巴比倫 以強暴待我，損害我的身體，願這罪歸給她。耶路撒冷人 要說：願流我們血 的罪歸到 迦勒底 的居民。
May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 51:35
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse records Zion's appeal for divine justice against Babylon. The violence and bloodshed inflicted on Judah (described in the preceding verse as Nebuchadnezzar devouring and crushing them) are now committed into God's hands. Clarke notes that although Babylon was God's instrument to punish Judah, Babylon's own wickedness will be punished. Barnes and Gill read the verse as a just cry for retribution: Babylon ruthlessly devoured Jerusalem and must now face the consequences. Keil and Delitzsch identify the speakers as the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, crying that their wrong come upon Babylon. The Cambridge Bible suggests the Hebrew word for flesh may parallel blood and mean “blood-revenge.” The consensus is that this is not personal vengeance but a plea for God to act as the righteous Judge, a plea God answers directly in verse 36: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you.”
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Covenantal imprecation—limited to OT: The verse belongs to the context of national covenant curses and blessings; the New Testament transforms the response to enemies (Romans 12:14-21).
- Permissible lament for all believers: The cry for justice is modeled by the Psalms and Revelation (Rev 6:10); Christians can pray for God to bring justice while leaving the timing and means to Him.
- Typological fulfillment in Christ: Judgment on Babylon prefigures God's final judgment against all evil; the prayer is a call for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done.
What is clear: The verse is a sincere appeal to God, the righteous Judge, to hold Babylon accountable for the violence and bloodshed it inflicted on Judah.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Imprecatory prayer in Christian life | God is just, He hears the cries of the oppressed, and He will bring judgment on evil. The Bible does not prohibit crying out for justice. | Some Christians hold that such imprecations are limited to the Old Testament and to the national/covenantal context of Israel; others argue that the Psalms and prophets model a way of lament that remains valid, though always tempered by Christ's command to love enemies. |
| Meaning of 'flesh' (שְׁאֵר) | The word refers either to the victim's body (physical suffering) or to close kin (blood relations). The violence affected both persons and their families. | The Cambridge Bible suggests the Hebrew may have a sense of 'blood-revenge' parallel to 'blood' in the next line, making the pair a cry for justice. Most other commentators read 'flesh' literally as the devoured body of the people (Gill, Barnes). |
| Application for today | The verse demonstrates that God's people can bring their pain and desire for justice honestly before God. | Protestant traditions often emphasize that Christ has fulfilled the law's retributive justice, so Christians should leave vengeance to God and pray for enemies. Catholic tradition reads such passages as calls for eschatological justice, not direct imitation. Both agree that personal revenge is forbidden. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 51:35 belongs to the prophet's long oracle against Babylon (chapters 50, 51), composed during the final years of the Judean exile. Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar II, had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC, massacred and deported thousands, and left the land devastated. In verse 34, Jerusalem is personified speaking of how the Babylonian king “has devoured us… crushed us… swallowed us like a monster.” The violence and bloodshed were not abstract, they were concrete atrocities against God's people.
The verse uses legal and covenant language. The Hebrew word חָמָס (violence) carries the sense of wrongful, oppressive injury; it appears frequently in contexts of injustice (e.g., Genesis 6:11, Habakkuk 1:2). The cry for the violence and blood to come upon Babylon echoes the principle of just retribution found throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 137:8; Judges 9:24,56, 57). Babylon had filled its belly with Judah's “delicacies” (Jer 51:34); now Judah asks that the wrongs return on the aggressor's head.
Culturally, such imprecations were not personal vendettas but formal appeals to the covenant Judge. The city of Jerusalem (called both Zion and Jerusalem in the verse) speaks as a plaintiff before God, the ultimate court of appeal. The prophecy goes on to declare that God will dry up Babylon's sea (the Euphrates and its canals), making the once mighty empire a desolate heap (vv. 36, 37). The historical judgment fell in 539 BC when Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon, fulfilling the call for justice.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 51:35. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The Masoretic reading is consistent; the Qeri (read) changes plural suffixes in verse 34 to singular, but verse 35 remains unaffected. No major translation variations affect the meaning.
Reception History
In the early church, Babylon was often interpreted allegorically as the world system or the city of man opposed to the City of God. Augustine's City of God uses Babylon as a type of earthly society that persecutes the faithful; the cry for justice becomes a plea for eschatological vindication. During the medieval period, the verse was read in monasteries as part of the Psalms of lament, a way to voice suffering while entrusting it to God. Reformation commentators such as Calvin and Luther saw it as a legitimate expression of the righteous anger of the oppressed and a model for bringing grievances to God. In modern hymnody, the longing for justice expressed here has been echoed in spirituals and liberation theology, where it gives voice to those suffering under oppressive regimes.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The reality of suffered wrong: Zion’s cry names the violence and bloodshed inflicted by Babylon (Jer 51:34). The verse does not spiritualize pain, it names it before God. Preachers can acknowledge that real evil exists and that God’s people have the right to tell Him about it.
- Appeal to the divine Judge: The imprecation is not a demand for personal revenge but a request that God act as He has promised, to defend the oppressed (Psalm 9:12; 12:5). The cry “be upon Babylon” is a plea for God’s justice to fall where it belongs.
- God’s answer: God does not rebuke the prayer; He responds in verse 36: “I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you.” The cross-references show that God’s justice is reliable (Psalm 137:8; Judges 9:56-57). The sermon can end with Christ, who bears the ultimate judgment for sin, making it possible for us to entrust all injustice to God.
Five-point outline
- Who speaks?, “the inhabitant of Zion” and “Jerusalem” personified as victims of imperial violence.
- What is the charge?, Violence (חָמָס) against persons and property, bloodshed that cries out for accountability.
- What is the prayer?, That the same violence and blood return upon the perpetrators: a request for measured justice.
- Why can this be prayed?, Because God is the avenger of the oppressed; He hears the cry of the afflicted and will not forget (Psalm 9:12).
- What does God say?, “I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you” (v.36). The prayer aligns with God’s own character and purposes.
Illustration hooks
- A victim of theft or fraud who takes the matter to court rather than taking revenge, this mirrors the movement from personal grievance to appeal to a just authority.
- Children who have been bullied and tell a trusted adult; the adult’s response of “I will deal with this” mirrors God’s answer to Zion.
- A refugee family displaced by war, crying out for the world to recognize their suffering, this reflects the raw honesty of the verse.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it wrong to ask God to punish my enemies?
- How does this verse fit with Jesus’ command to love our enemies?
- Can I bring my anger and pain to God honestly without sinning?
Leading a Discussion
This verse records a raw appeal from God’s people suffering under oppression. Before you discuss, recall that the speaker is Jerusalem personified, not an individual with a personal grudge. The prayer is placed within a prophecy that God will execute justice. In a small group, explore how we can bring our deepest pain and anger before God without crossing into sinful bitterness.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 51:34-35. What specific wrongs does Zion describe? How does naming the offense help the community process suffering?
- What is the difference between this imprecation and personal revenge? Look at verse 36, how does God’s response shape the meaning of the cry?
- Compare this verse with Psalm 137:8-9. Both cry for justice against Babylon. How does the Old Testament’s “language of lament” function in the context of covenant relationship with God?
- Romans 12:19 says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” How does this New Testament command relate to the prayer in Jeremiah 51:35?
- Some Christians feel uncomfortable with imprecatory prayers. Why do you think that is? Is there a place for crying out to God about real injustice done to you or others?
- How does the cross of Christ transform our understanding of divine justice? Jesus took the penalty for sin; does that change how we pray for justice against wrongdoers?
- What would it look like in your own life to “deposit your complaints in the bosom of God” (Calvin) rather than harboring bitterness or seeking revenge?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Judges 9:20 | but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from the house of Millo and devour Abimelech.” |
| Judges 9:24 | that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. |
| Judges 9:56 | Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in killing his seventy brothers; |
| Judges 9:57 | and God repaid all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads; and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them. |
| Psalms 9:12 | For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted. |
| Psalms 12:5 | “Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.” |
| Psalms 137:8 | Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us. |
| Psalms 137:9 | Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that although God used the Chaldeans as instruments to punish Judah, they themselves were exceedingly wicked and will be held fully accountable for the violence and bloodshed they caused. Their role as God's tool does not excuse their own sin or spare them from judgment.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes draws attention to the prophet’s graphic comparison of Nebuchadnezzar to a crocodile that devours, crushes, and empties its prey without mercy. The inhabitant of Zion calls for Babylon to be held accountable for this savage treatment, and Barnes affirms that such cruelty demands just punishment.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that in extreme suffering, the only remedy is to unburden all anxieties directly to God, depositing complaints in His bosom rather than murmuring. He sees this open expostulation with God about enemies as a specific consolation the faithful possess, drawing on the Psalms' invitation to roll cares into God's care.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes a possible alternative meaning for the Hebrew word usually translated "flesh." Based on a similar Arabic word, it may signify "blood-revenge," creating a direct parallel with "My blood" in the next line. This would suggest translating the phrase as "May the violence and my blood-revenge be upon..."
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Zion and Jerusalem will lament that their plunder and the remnant of their possessions have been taken to Babylon, and that their bloodshed is carried to Chaldea. The note captures their outcry over the spoiling of both their wealth and their lives.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads this as a call for divine retribution: Zion and Jerusalem pray that the violence and bloodshed inflicted on them be avenged against Babylon and Chaldea. He stresses the legal idea of imputing guilt so that punishment falls on the offenders. The Targum similarly frames it as charging them with innocent blood.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes two possible meanings for the term "my flesh." It may refer to Zion's kinsmen who were slain or carried captive to Babylon, or it may describe the whole nation, including its citizens and possessions, all of which became prey to Babylon's violence.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch insists that the drying up of Babylon's sea and spring in this passage must be understood literally, not metaphorically. They identify the sea as the Euphrates with its canals and marshes, the water system that gave Babylon its fertility and influence. The drying up signifies the devastation of the land itself.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange structures the passage around three movements: the injury, the complaint, and the divine verdict, each tied by a strict principle of recompense. Babylon devoured Israel like a dragon, so God gives Babylon a banquet of wrath that brings a fatal sleep. Their expected joy becomes ironic, a drunkenness that ends in death.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees God's judgment on Babylon as the answer to two questions that troubled God's people: is God still with Israel? and will Babylon's wickedness go unpunished? For him, the destroying wind and fanners are instruments of divine justice, proving that God has neither deserted His own nor overlooked the temple's desecration.