Jeremiah 51:57 · Bible study
Jeremiah 51:57 Commentary: Divine Judgment
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Jeremiah 51:57: God makes Babylon's leaders drunk, they sleep forever, and Yahweh of Armies declares His sovereignty over nations.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God sovereignly brings down Babylon’s leaders through intoxication from His wrath, leading to irreversible death.
- Key words: hishkarti (Piel: cause to drink), sheinat olam (eternal sleep), melekh (King, Yahweh of Armies).
- Main debate: Whether 'perpetual sleep' means physical death only or includes eternal punishment (the Targum interprets as 'second death').
- Theological theme: God’s sovereign justice: He humbles the proud and overthrows empires that oppose His rule.
- Best use: A warning against self-reliance and a comfort that God will avenge all who oppress His people.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
WEB World English Bible 2000
I will make her princes, her wise men, her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk. They will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
KJV King James Version 1769
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And I have caused its princes to drink, And its wise men, its governors, And its prefects, and its mighty ones, And they have slept a sleep age-during, And they awake not--an affirmation of the king, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And I will make her princes drunk, and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: and they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the king whose name is Lord of hosts.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y embriagaré sus príncipes y sus sabios, sus capitanes y sus nobles y sus fuertes; y dormirán sueño eterno y no despertarán, dice el Rey, cuyo nombre es Jehová de los ejércitos.
E embriagarei a seus príncipes e seus sábios, a seus governadores, seus chefes e seus guerreiros; e dormirão sonho perpétuo, e não despertarão, diz o Rei, cujo nome é EU-SOU dos exércitos.
J’ enivrerai ses princes et ses sages,
Ich will ihre Fürsten, Weisen, Herren und Hauptleute und Krieger trunken machen, daß sie einen ewigen Schlaf sollen schlafen, davon sie nimmermehr aufwachen, spricht der König, der da heißt HERR Zebaoth.
En Ik zal haar vorsten, en haar wijzen, haar landvoogden, en haar overheden, en haar helden dronken maken; en zij zullen een eeuwigen slaap slapen, en niet opwaken, spreekt de Koning, Wiens Naam is HEERE der heirscharen.
Io inebrierò i suoi capi e i suoi savi, i suoi governatori, i suoi magistrati, i suoi prodi, ed essi s’addormenteranno d’un sonno eterno, e non si risveglieranno più, dice il Re, che ha nome l’Eterno degli eserciti.
Opoi książąt jego i mędrców jego, wodzów jego, i urzędników jego, i mocarzy jego, aby zasnęli snem wiecznym, a nie ocucili, mówi król, Pan zastępów imię jego.
И напою допьяна князей его и мудрецов его, областеначальников его, и градоправителей его, и воинов его, и заснут сном вечным, и не пробудятся, говорит Царь - Господь Саваоф имя Его.
君王─名 為萬軍 之耶和華 的說：我必使巴比倫的首領、智慧人、省長、副省長，和勇士 都沉醉，使他們睡了 長 覺，永不 醒起。
And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 51:57
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Jeremiah 51:57 pictures the sudden downfall of Babylon’s ruling class. Calvin, Wesley and Gill point to the feast in Daniel 5, where Belshazzar and his nobles drank from temple vessels while the city was taken by Cyrus. The verb 'I will make drunk' (Hebrew hishkarti, Piel causative) shows God is the active agent: He serves the cup of His wrath, leading to a 'perpetual sleep', death from which there is no waking. Matthew Henry sees this as 'perpetual sleep' meaning the sleep of death, not just a drunken stupor. The title 'the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies' underlines that the Lord, not Babylon’s monarch, holds ultimate authority. Keil and Delitzsch read the verse as the final stroke: after the walls fall (v.58), the leaders are destroyed, leaving no one to rebuild. Across traditions, the passage is understood as a declaration of God’s justice against proud empires.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Immediate historical judgment (death at Babylon's fall): Cross-reference to Daniel 5 and the surrounding context of Jeremiah 50-51 describing the Medes and Persians destroying Babylon.
- Eternal punishment (second death): The Targum interprets 'perpetual sleep' as 'the second death,' and some Christian traditions (e.g., Gill) see it as a type of final judgment.
What is clear: God is the sovereign King who will bring down Babylon’s leaders and all who trust in their own strength; the judgment is certain and irreversible.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the 'perpetual sleep' | All commentators see it as death, the end of Babylon’s leaders in a sudden judgment. | Some, like Gill, note the Targum's interpretation as 'the second death' (eternal condemnation), while others, like Calvin, focus on immediate historical destruction. Both sides agree the leaders will not return to life or power. |
| Drunkenness as a metaphor for judgment | The drunkenness is God’s act: He causes the leaders to drink the cup of His wrath, resulting in their destruction. | The degree of literal vs. metaphorical meaning is debated. Wesley saw it as a plain allusion to Belshazzar’s feast. Calvin read it as God using the enemy to surprise the drunken Babylonians. Both agree the judgment is real, not merely symbolic. |
| Timing of fulfillment | The prophecy was fulfilled historically in 539 BCE with the fall of Babylon to Cyrus. | Some interpreters see a secondary fulfillment in the ultimate defeat of all proud powers at the end of history (Revelation 19). Others limit it to Babylon’s specific historical destruction. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 51:57 belongs to the prophet’s extended oracles against Babylon (chapters 50-51), likely delivered around 595 BCE, decades before Babylon’s actual fall in 539 BCE. Babylon was then the world’s superpower, having destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BCE. Its rulers boasted of impregnable walls, wise counselors and mighty warriors. The verse lists five classes of leaders: princes (political rulers), wise men (advisors, magicians, astrologers), governors (provincial leaders), deputies (sub-governors or prefects), and mighty men (soldiers and heroes). This enumeration echoes the confident elite who directed the empire.
The metaphor of drunkenness leading to perpetual sleep alludes to a specific historical event, Belshazzar’s feast described in Daniel 5. During a wild banquet, with wine flowing from temple vessels, Persian forces under Cyrus diverted the Euphrates River and entered the city through the riverbed. The defenders were caught off guard, drunk and unable to fight. The 'perpetual sleep' is death, a dark irony: the wise men who boasted of insight could not foresee their end, and the mighty warriors could not defend the city. The title 'Yahweh of Armies' (Jehovah Sabaoth) contrasts sharply with Babylon’s patron god Marduk, showing that the God of Israel commands the armies of heaven and earth.
Culturally, drinking the cup of wrath is a recurring image in Jeremiah (ch. 25:15-29). Nations are forced to drink God’s judgment. Here the cup is for Babylon itself. The surrounding context (vv. 53-58) describes total destruction: walls overthrown, gates burned, labor turned to ashes. The leaders are the 'living wall' (Lange’s phrase), when they fall, no defense remains.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant manuscript variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across traditions. The differences among English translations (e.g., 'governors' vs 'dukes', 'perpetual sleep' vs 'everlasting sleep') reflect consistent choices in rendering the same Hebrew words, not textual disagreements.
Reception History
Christian interpreters from the early church to the Reformation have read this verse as a fulfillment of God’s judgment on Babylon, itself a type of all worldly powers that oppose God. The Targum (Aramaic paraphrase) glossed 'perpetual sleep' as 'the second death,' connecting it with final judgment. Calvin used the verse to illustrate God’s sovereignty over kings and armies, calling it a 'striking allusion' to Belshazzar’s feast. Matthew Henry saw in it a terror for the impenitent and a comfort to the oppressed church. In modern preaching, the passage is often used in sermons on divine justice, the downfall of pride, and the certainty of God’s word. The title 'Yahweh of Armies' has been preserved through all reception as a reminder that God is the true King over all earthly rulers.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God reverses human wisdom and strength. Babylon’s princes and wise men represent the height of worldly confidence, but God turns their celebration into a trap. He makes them drunk with His wrath, reducing their cleverness to stupor.
- Divine justice is precise and comprehensive. Every tier of leadership, from governors to warriors, is listed. No one escapes. The 'perpetual sleep' is the final end of those who oppose God’s rule.
- Yahweh alone is King. The verse closes with the title 'the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.' This is not Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom; it is God’s. His name guarantees the judgment will happen.
Five-point outline
- The cup of wrath. God intoxicates the proud. Just as Babylon made nations drunk with its idolatry (Jer 51:7), now it drinks the bitter cup.
- False security exposed. The leaders felt safe behind walls and wine, but the sudden invasion revealed their vulnerability.
- A sleep that is no rest. 'Perpetual sleep' is death. It is the opposite of the peaceful sleep God gives His beloved (Ps 127:2).
- No awakening. Unlike a hangover, this drunkenness ends in extinction. The verb 'they will not wake' (yakiytzu) is Hiphil, they cannot be roused.
- The sovereign King acts. Yahweh of Armies declares it. His name is His reputation, He is faithful to judge evil.
Illustration hooks
- Sports victory turned to mourning. A team celebrates with champagne, only to learn they lost on a technicality. The joy becomes shame. Babylon’s feast became a funeral.
- Cybersecurity breach during a party. A company’s leaders toast a successful year while hackers penetrate the system. Inside the city, the same: careless revelry while the enemy moves in.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean God causes people to sin (getting drunk) as punishment?
- What about those who never heard of God, is their 'sleep' the same as Babylon’s?
- How do we apply this passage today when nations still oppress God’s people?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 51:57 is a sharp contrast to what the world calls success. Babylon’s leaders thought they were invincible. But God saw through to their end. This passage invites us to examine where we place our confidence, in human wisdom, power, or numbers? The title 'Yahweh of Armies' reminds us that real authority belongs to the God who judges oppressors. As you study together, let the weight of God’s justice humble and quiet your hearts before His throne.
Discussion questions
- Read the list of leaders in verse 57. Why do you think God singles out each category? What does it say about His view of human systems?
- How does the metaphor of 'drunkenness' describe the nature of this judgment? What does it tell us about Babylon’s state of mind?
- Compare Jeremiah 51:57 with Psalm 76:5-6. What do both passages say about God’s power over armies and strongholds?
- The verse ends with 'the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.' Why does the prophet emphasize God’s name and title here? How does this shape the way we read the whole oracle?
- How should Christians today understand terms like 'perpetual sleep'? Does this verse speak only about physical death, or about something eternal? Support your answer from the passage and other Scriptures.
- In what ways do we, like Babylon, put trust in human wisdom or military power? What would it look like to shift that trust to the King who is Yahweh of Armies?
- Jesus calls himself 'the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25). How does the hope of resurrection change how we read a verse about a sleep from which one does not wake?
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)
| Psalms 76:5 | Valiant men lie plundered, they have slept their last sleep. None of the men of war can lift their hands. |
| Psalms 76:6 | At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. |
| Isaiah 21:4 | My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me. |
| Isaiah 21:5 | They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield! |
| Isaiah 37:36 | Then Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. |
| Jeremiah 25:27 | “You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”’ |
| Jeremiah 46:18 | “As I live,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies, “surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so he will come. |
| Jeremiah 48:15 | Moab is laid waste, and they have gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies. |
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
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What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
I will make drunk her princes - See on Jer 51:39 (note).
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin sees this verse as an allusion to the feast of Belshazzar in Daniel 5, when Babylon was taken while its leaders were drunk. God threatens to make them drunk with wine, then overtake them with perpetual sleep, meaning sudden death. The Babylonians trusted in their wisdom and military strength, but both would fail them at the banquet table.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
her governors and her deputies ] Cp. Jer_51:23 ; Jer_51:28 , and for the latter part see on Jer_51:39 .
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The note emphasizes that God himself, the King whose name is Lord of hosts, brings judgment on Babylon's leaders by making them drunk and casting them into a sleep of death. The point is the absolute sovereignty and power of God over even the mightiest earthly rulers.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads this as a vivid prophecy of Babylon's fall, connecting the "wine of divine wrath" directly to the feast of Belshazzar. The princes and rulers, already drunk with wine at that feast, are slain by Cyrus's army while in their drunken stupor. Their "perpetual sleep" means they are killed and will never wake again.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlight that the prophet already sees the destroyers as present, hearing Babylon's cry and the roar of the invading army like surging waters. God Himself lays waste the city, silencing its loud bustle. As a God of retribution, He makes Babylon's leaders drink the cup of wrath, sinking them into eternal sleep.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that Babylon's defenses consist of both a living wall of its princes and wise men and a dead wall of its physical fortifications, yet neither can withstand God's judgment. The living wall is paralyzed through drunkenness and eternal sleep, while the dead wall is consumed by fire, showing that all human labor against God is futile.
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 highlights the ironic timing of the judgment: the king and his nobles were drunk, feasting with the temple vessels, when Babylon was taken. Their drunken posture and misuse of sacred objects made them utterly vulnerable, and the capture came while they were still at the banquet.