and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jeremiah 51:37
What does Jeremiah 51:37 mean?
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Jeremiah 51:37
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The description of Babylon becoming "heaps of ruins" isn't just about destruction, but a specific kind of ruin made of its own building materials. This imagery highlights how its very foundations would crumble into rubble, becoming a desolate habitat for jackals and a stark warning to any who would seek to build their own prideful empires. It’s a powerful picture of divine judgment returning things to their most basic, unformed state.
and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse comes at the climax of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its utter destruction as judgment for its pride and oppression of God's people. The surrounding verses describe the victorious invaders smashing Babylon's idols and rejoicing over its downfall. The prophecy emphasizes that this mighty city will be reduced to rubble, a desolate wasteland haunted by wild animals, serving as a stark warning to all nations.
Imagine the greatest city on earth, a marvel of its time. Now picture it reduced to shapeless piles. What does this drastic transformation tell us?
Jeremiah paints a stark picture of Babylon's complete demolition. It wouldn't just be emptied; it would become literal 'heaps' – mounds of rubble from its unburned bricks.
The City's Collapse
This wasn't a mere military defeat resulting in a damaged city. It was utter annihilation. The very materials that built its grandeur would be scattered and form unsightly mounds, signifying a total loss of its former glory and structure.
A Warning Echoed
This description of ruin mirrors the fate of Jerusalem in earlier prophecies. This linguistic connection emphasizes that what befalls Babylon is not random but a divine judgment, a consequence of its actions, and a testament to God's justice. The language of ruin is a divine echo, ensuring no one misses the message.
Cities are centers of life, commerce, and culture. What happens when they become the domain of creatures that shun human presence?
The prophecy doesn't stop at rubble; it details the type of place Babylon will become. It will be 'a haunt of jackals' and 'a horror and a hissing.'
Wild Resurgence
'Jackals' (often translated as 'dragons' in older versions) represent wild, desolate creatures that thrive in abandoned places. The city, once a symbol of human power and control, will be reclaimed by nature's untamed inhabitants, highlighting its complete desolation.
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A Terrifying Spectacle
The terms 'horror' and 'hissing' evoke intense dread and disgust. It will be a place that instills fear and prompts a reaction of revulsion, becoming a stark, terrifying monument to its own downfall. This isn't just emptiness; it's a terrifying emptiness.
Understand the original words
malluah · Hebrew Noun
A state of total destruction and desolation, often used to describe cities or nations that have fallen under divine judgment, becoming uninhabitable.
tannim · Hebrew Noun
A wild scavenger animal, often associated in prophetic literature with desolate, cursed places that have been abandoned by human life.
Jeremiah's vivid description of Babylon becoming 'heaps' and a 'haunt of jackals' wasn't just a prediction of future destruction, but a stark contrast to its then-current status as a powerful imperial capital. The prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in the city's eventual, slow decay into ruins, a fate echoing the destruction it inflicted on Jerusalem.
722 BC
Assyrian Conquest of Israel
The northern Kingdom of Israel falls to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, marking the beginning of significant Assyrian dominance in the region and setting the stage for future imperial conflicts.
689 BC
Sennacherib Destroys Babylon
The Assyrian king Sennacherib brutally sacks and destroys Babylon after a rebellion. While later rebuilt, this event foreshadows the city's vulnerability and eventual fate.
605 BC
Nebuchadnezzar's First Deportation
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II conquers Judah and deports a portion of its elite, including the prophet Daniel, to Babylon. This marks Babylon's rise as a major imperial power.
587/586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Second Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling many more Judeans to Babylon. Jeremiah's prophecies of judgment against Babylon are given during this era of Babylonian ascendancy and Judah's suffering.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
The Persian king Cyrus the Great captures Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This conquest fulfills prophecies of Babylon's fall, though the city remained inhabited for centuries.
c. 4th Century BC - Present
Gradual Decline and Abandonment
Following its conquest by Persia and later Alexander the Great, Babylon's importance steadily wanes. Over centuries, its structures decay into the ruins and mounds described by Jeremiah, eventually becoming largely uninhabited.
This passage describes how nearby nations will be astonished and hiss at Jerusalem's destruction, mirroring the fate awaiting Babylon as a 'hissing' ruin.
Jeremiah 50:39This verse directly parallels Jeremiah 51:37, stating that Babylon will never be inhabited again and will become a haunt for wild animals, emphasizing the completeness of its desolation.
Isaiah 13:21-22This prophecy also foretells Babylon's ruin, describing it becoming a dwelling for desert creatures and jackals, reinforcing the imagery of a wild, uninhabited wasteland.
Revelation 18:2This New Testament passage echoes the judgment on Babylon, depicting it as a 'haunt of demons, a prison for every unclean spirit, and a cage for every unclean and detested bird,' similar to the 'haunt of jackals' in Jeremiah.
barnesJeremiah 51:37: "And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant."
Heaps - Of rubbish, formed in this case by the decay of the unburned bricks of which Babylon was built. It is these heaps which have yielded such a large wealth of historical documents in our own days. Dragons - Jackals Jeremiah 10:22.
pooleJeremiah 51:37: "And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant."
Babylon shall become heaps; heaps of rubbish. A dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. See Poole "Jeremiah 50:39" , See Poole "Jeremiah 50:40" , where the same thing was before said.
The description of Babylon becoming "heaps of ruins" isn't just about destruction, but a specific kind of ruin made of its own building materials. This imagery highlights how its very foundations would crumble into rubble, becoming a desolate habitat for jackals and a stark warning to any who would seek to build their own prideful empires. It’s a powerful picture of divine judgment returning things to their most basic, unformed state.
This verse comes at the climax of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its utter destruction as judgment for its pride and oppression of God's people. The surrounding verses describe the victorious invaders smashing Babylon's idols and rejoicing over its downfall. The prophecy emphasizes that this mighty city will be reduced to rubble, a desolate wasteland haunted by wild animals, serving as a stark warning to all nations.
This verse comes at the climax of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its utter destruction as judgment for its pride and oppression of God's people. The surrounding verses describe the victorious invaders smashing Babylon's idols and rejoicing over its downfall. The prophecy emphasizes that this mighty city will be reduced to rubble, a desolate wasteland haunted by wild animals, serving as a stark warning to all nations.
"and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant." — The description of Babylon becoming "heaps of ruins" isn't just about destruction, but a specific kind of ruin made of its own building materials. This imagery highlights how its very foundations wou…
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Last reviewed October 2026