Jeremiah 51:50 · Bible study
Jeremiah 51:50 Commentary: Remember Yahweh from Afar, Let Jerusalem Come to Mind
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Jeremiah 51:50's call to exiles: remember Yahweh from afar and let Jerusalem fill your heart as motivation to return from Babylon.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A call to the remnant of Israel in Babylon to flee the doomed city, remember Yahweh’s covenant, and fix their hearts on Jerusalem as the place of restoration.
- Key words: ‘Remember’ (zakhar), active recall linked to covenant loyalty; ‘come up on your heart’ (alah levav), emotional and volitional focus.
- Main debate: Whether the “escaped from the sword” refers to the sword of Babylon’s conquest of Judah or the sword of the Medes against Babylon; most agree it’s the latter.
- Theological theme: God’s faithfulness to His covenant people even in judgment; the call to active faith in response to His promises.
- Best use: As an exhortation to leave behind situations under God’s judgment and to reorient one’s life around God and His dwelling place.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
You who have escaped the sword, go! Don’t stand still! Remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.”
KJV King James Version 1769
Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Ye escaped of the sword, go on, stand not, Remember ye from afar Jehovah, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Los que escapasteis del cuchillo, andad, no os detengáis; acordaos por muchos días de Jehová, y acordaos|strong="H5927, H3824" de Jerusalem.
Vós que escapastes do espada, ide embora, não pareis; lembrai-vos do SENHOR até longe, e Jerusalém venha à vossa mente.
Vous qui avez échappé au glaive, partez, ne tardez pas!
So ziehet nun hin, die ihr dem Schwert entronnen seid, und säumet euch nicht! Gedenket des HERRN im fernen Lande und lasset euch Jerusalem im Herzen sein!
Gij ontkomenen van het zwaard, gaat weg, en blijft niet staan; gedenkt des HEEREN van verre, en laat Jeruzalem in ulieder hart opkomen.
O voi che siete scampati dalla spada, partite, non vi fermate, ricordatevi da lungi dell’Eterno, e Gerusalemme vi ritorni in cuore!
O którzyście uszli miecza, idźcie, nie stójcie! wspominajcie z daleka na Pana, a Jeruzalem niech wstępuje na serce wasze.
Спасшиеся от меча, уходите, не останавливайтесь, вспомните издали о Господе, и да взойдет Иерусалим на сердце ваше.
你們躲避 刀劍 的要快走，不要 站住！要在遠方 記念 耶和華， 心中 追想 耶路撒冷。
You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 51:50
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse is a direct call to the Jewish exiles in Babylon to leave immediately after the fall of the city. Calvin notes that the phrase “escaped the sword” indicates the judgment would be severe, including even some of God’s people; those who survive are preserved by God’s special favor. Barnes and Gill identify the sword as that of the Medes and Persians who conquered Babylon. The command “go, don’t stand still” is urgent, Gill compares it to Lot leaving Sodom. The dual charge to “remember Yahweh from afar” and “let Jerusalem come into your mind” is the motivational engine: as Keil and Delitzsch explain, they are to recall the faithful covenant God even while far from the temple, and to set their hearts on the ruined city so that they will hasten to rebuild it. The call implies a promise: God’s temporary chastening has ended, and the exiles are free to return. All commentators read this as both a physical and spiritual exhortation, to act on faith and not to linger in a place under judgment.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse commands the exiles to leave Babylon and to rekindle their devotion to God and Jerusalem as they return.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Audience of the command | The command is addressed to Jewish exiles in Babylon who have survived the judgment. | Some (like Gill) suggest it may also refer to those who escaped the sword of the Chaldeans earlier; others specify the sword of the Medes. |
| Meaning of 'remember Yahweh from afar' | It means to recall God's covenant and worship even while far from the temple. | The Targum interprets it as 'remember the worship of the Lord'; some emphasize personal devotion, others collective worship at Jerusalem. |
| Emotional tone of the call | The tone is urgent and hopeful, a command to not despair. | Some commentators (Calvin) stress the implied promise of salvation; others (Lange) see it as a response to the people's shame in verse 51. |
| Relationship to surrounding verses | Verse 50 is a climax of the judgment on Babylon, calling the faithful to act. | Whether verse 51 is a lament from the people interrupting the oracle (Lange) or a continuation (Keil). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 51:50 appears within the prophet’s extended oracle against Babylon (chapters 50, 51), which announces divine judgment on the empire that destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC and carried Judah into exile. Babylon’s fall to Cyrus the Great and the Medo-Persian army in 539 BC made the command possible. The exiles had lived in Babylon for nearly seventy years. Some had built homes, prospered, and grown comfortable (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Others had given up hope of ever returning.
The phrase “escaped the sword” refers to those who survive the slaughter that will accompany Babylon’s conquest. Calvin stresses that the sword would cut down many, including some among God’s people. Those spared are the remnant preserved by mercy. The repeated command “don’t stand still” (literally “do not stand” or “do not delay”) reflects the urgency of fleeing a city about to be destroyed, like the angels urging Lot to leave Sodom (Genesis 19).
Cyrus’s decree, recorded in Ezra 1:1-4, gave official permission for the exiles to return and rebuild the temple. But the exiles needed more than a political decree; they needed a renewed heart. That is the function of the second half of the verse. “Remember Yahweh from afar” ties directly to Deuteronomy 4:29-31, where Moses promised that even from distant exile, those who seek Yahweh with all their heart would find Him. “Let Jerusalem come into your mind” (literally “come up on your heart”) uses the Hebrew verb ‘alah, “to ascend”, Jerusalem is to rise up in their affections and memory, displacing Babylon. The verse thus combines physical action with inner renewal: departure, remembrance, and longing.
Literarily, the verse echoes earlier calls in Jeremiah 50:8 and 51:6, “Flee from the midst of Babylon.” It also anticipates the response of the people in verse 51, who confess shame over the temple’s defilement. The prophet reissues the call precisely because the exiles are stuck between despair and hope.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
This verse has been treasured in both Jewish and Christian tradition as a call to spiritual return. In Jewish liturgy, the remembrance of Jerusalem (zikhron Yerushalayim) appears in prayers and the annual fast of Tisha B'Av, which mourns the temple's destruction. Christian interpreters have often read Babylon as a type of the world system from which believers must flee (Revelation 18:4). The phrase “let Jerusalem come into your mind” has been used in hymns and sermons to focus hope on the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Across traditions, the verse exemplifies the pattern of judgment and restoration: God does not abandon His people but calls them to act on His promises.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Call to Depart: “Go, don’t stand still”, urgency of leaving a place under judgment.
- The Call to Remember: “Remember Yahweh from afar”, recall the covenant God even in exile.
- The Call to Long for Jerusalem: “Let Jerusalem come into your mind”, let the city of God capture your heart.
Five-point outline
- God preserves a remnant.
- The command to move.
- The source of strength: remembrance.
- The object of devotion: Jerusalem.
- The promise of restoration.
Illustration hooks
- The experience of refugees who must flee a war zone with only what they can carry; the command not to linger is a matter of life and death.
- A person living in a city far from their childhood home who, when they hear news that the home is now safe, feels a pull to return, memories of home override current comfort.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why would God allow His people to suffer in exile for so long, then suddenly command them to leave?
- Is it possible to worship God when you are far from His sanctuary? What does it mean to “remember Yahweh from afar”?
- How do I know when it’s time to leave a situation that has become comfortable but is not where God wants me?
Leading a Discussion
This verse challenged the exiles to remember God and Jerusalem as motivation for a difficult journey home. For us, it raises questions about where we have settled spiritually and what calls us back to God’s purposes.
Discussion questions
- What does it mean to be among those who have “escaped the sword”? How do you see God’s mercy in that phrase?
- The command “go, don’t stand still” is urgent. What might cause you to hesitate or linger when God calls you to move?
- How do you “remember Yahweh from afar” during a season when you feel distant from Him or from a worshiping community?
- The Hebrew phrase for “let Jerusalem come into your mind” literally says “let Jerusalem come up on your heart.” What is the difference between thinking about something and letting it rise up in your heart?
- Read Deuteronomy 4:29-31. How does God’s promise to be found by His people when they seek Him from exile connect to this verse?
- Babylon represents a system opposed to God. In what ways might you be “settled in Babylon” today, and what would it look like to leave?
- How can this verse encourage someone who feels stuck, whether in a difficult situation or in spiritual lethargy?
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)
| Deuteronomy 4:29 | But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you will find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. |
| Deuteronomy 4:31 | For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them. |
| Deuteronomy 30:1 | It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations where Yahweh your God has driven you, |
| Deuteronomy 30:4 | If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. |
| Ezra 1:3 | Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem. |
| Ezra 1:5 | Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, all whose spirit God had stirred to go up, rose up to build Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem. |
| Nehemiah 1:2 | Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. |
| Nehemiah 1:4 | When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned several days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, |
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
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies the people who escaped the sword as the Jewish survivors in exile. He instructs them to keep Jerusalem in their thoughts, pray for its restoration, and seize the first chance to return there.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that "afar off" points geographically to Chaldea, a place far from God’s presence in Jerusalem. He sees the verse as a fresh appeal urging the Jewish exiles to leave Babylon and begin the journey home as soon as Cyrus gives them permission.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights that the same word to flee from Chaldea carries entirely different meanings for two groups. For God's faithful people, the punishment they suffered was temporary and medicinal, working for their salvation. For the ungodly Babylonians, even when judgment appears to end, it leads to eternal ruin.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible notes an urgent summons: those exiles in Babylon who have survived must hurry back to Jerusalem while there is still time. The emphasis falls on the window of opportunity—delay could mean missing the chance to return.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Ye that haue escaped the sworde, goe away, stand not still: remember the Lord a farre of, and let Ierusalem come into your minde.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the Jews who had already escaped the Chaldean sword and later the Medo-Persian sword when Babylon fell. He sees the command to leave quickly without lingering, and to remember the Lord's worship in Jerusalem from afar, as a call to hasten back and rebuild the city and temple.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB observes that the slaughter by the Medes is so extensive that even some of God's people will suffer it, as they deserved. Those banished far from their former worship must keep Jerusalem foremost in their minds, preferring it
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch reads the people's cry of shame in verse 51 not as a confession or an objection of weak faith, but as a pointed scruple the prophet voices in their name. This rhetorical move allows the coming judgment on Babylon to serve as God's decisive answer to the disgrace brought on the sanctuary.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that the passage deliberately echoes the opening of the prophecy, creating a structured repetition that underscores the message. He notes that Israel responds to the call for joy with words of grief, still consumed by shame over the desecration of the temple. The prophet comforts them by repeating the judgment against Babylon, assuring that their disgrace will be avenged.
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.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley urges the Jews to leave Babylon without delay once freedom is announced. He then calls them to remember in Judea the great works God has done, noting that these include both acts of justice and acts of mercy.