Jeremiah 51:39
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The verse highlights a dark, divine irony: God prepares a feast, but it's a feast of divine wrath, leading not to joy, but to a "perpetual sleep." This isn't just about Babylon's destruction; it's about God turning their own revelry against them, turning their celebration into the very thing that seals their doom.
While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
In this passage, God's judgment against Babylon reaches its zenith, describing the final moments of the city's revelry before its utter destruction. It follows vivid prophecies of Babylon's impending doom, detailing how the Medes and Persians will conquer its mighty walls and exploit its riches. This verse highlights the stark irony of God preparing a deadly "feast" for Babylon's inhabitants during their own drunken celebrations, leading to their eternal demise.
God's judgment often comes with a twisted, ironic twist. What seems like celebration to the wicked becomes their ultimate undoing.
Jeremiah 51:39 paints a picture of stark irony. While the Babylonians are caught up in their own 'heat' – likely referring to their revelry, their drunken celebrations, or even their fierce pride and cruelty – God prepares a 'feast' for them.
This isn't a feast of joy, but a 'feast' of divine wrath. They are made drunk, not with wine, but with God's judgment. This 'drunkenness' leads to a 'perpetual sleep,' a euphemism for death.
The scholars note how this mirrors the historical fall of Babylon, particularly during Belshazzar's feast described in Daniel 5. In their moment of greatest arrogance and revelry, the city was taken. God’s judgment isn't just destruction; it’s often a judgment that uses the very means of their sin to bring about their downfall.
What does it mean to sleep a 'perpetual sleep'? It’s more than just falling asleep; it’s a finality that points to utter ruin.
The phrase 'sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake' is a powerful metaphor for irreversible destruction and death.
Commentators highlight that this isn't a natural sleep from which one awakens. It signifies a death from which there is no return, at least not in this life. Many were slain in their beds, literally never waking up.
This finality emphasizes the complete and utter judgment that God brought upon Babylon. Their revelry, their pride, their defiance—all of it led to an end from which there was no recovery. God's justice, in this context, is absolute.
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Understand the original words
shenah olam · Hebrew Noun phrase
A state of being in a deep, permanent state of unconsciousness, frequently used as a metaphor for death and the finality of divine judgment.
This prophecy was delivered during the Babylonian exile, but its most dramatic fulfillment occurred when Babylon itself fell. The verse vividly describes the ironic end of the reveling Babylonians, who were overtaken by destruction during a great feast, mirroring the fate of their empire.
c. 587-586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, destroys Jerusalem and exiles many Judeans, including prophets like Jeremiah.
c. 550-539 BC
Rise of Cyrus the Great
Cyrus unites the Medes and Persians, conquering vast territories and setting the stage to challenge Babylon.
539 BC— this verse
Fall of Babylon to Persia
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This event is traditionally linked to a great feast held by King Belshazzar.
539 BC onwards
Babylonian Captivity ends
Under Cyrus and subsequent Persian rule, exiled peoples, including the Judeans, are allowed to return to their homelands.
This passage directly narrates the scene of Belshazzar's feast where Babylon was taken, highlighting the irony of their revelry contrasted with their imminent doom, mirroring Jeremiah's imagery of a fatal feast.
Jeremiah 25:15-17This earlier prophecy by Jeremiah introduces the 'cup of wrath' that nations will drink, directly paralleling the concept in chapter 51 where Babylon itself is made to drink a fatal cup of divine vengeance.
Isaiah 21:4-5This passage from Isaiah offers a similar prophetic vision of alarm and confusion amidst a feast, where the enemy is described as rising up and preparing for battle while the revelers are caught by surprise.
Jeremiah 51:57This verse immediately following the one in question directly echoes the imagery, stating that the princes and rulers of Babylon will be made drunk and sleep a perpetual sleep, reinforcing the theme of collective judgment.
Revelation 18:7-8The New Testament refers to a future 'Babylon' that will also experience a similar fate, proclaiming 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and shall see no sorrow,' only to be struck with plague and death in a single day.
pooleJeremiah 51:39: "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD."
When they shall grow hot with wine, I will put, or give, or make them a feast of another nature. Interpreters judge that the prophet referreth to the feast made by Belshazzar, Daniel 5:1 , to a thousand of his lords, when he and his wives and concubines drank wine in the vessels belonging to the temple, during which feast the c…
barnesJeremiah 51:39: "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD."
In their heat ... - While, like so many young lions, they are in the full glow of excitement over their prey, God prepares for them a drinking-bout to end in the sleep of death. Compare Daniel 5:1 .
The verse highlights a dark, divine irony: God prepares a feast, but it's a feast of divine wrath, leading not to joy, but to a "perpetual sleep." This isn't just about Babylon's destruction; it's about God turning their own revelry against them, turning their celebration into the very thing that seals their doom.
In this passage, God's judgment against Babylon reaches its zenith, describing the final moments of the city's revelry before its utter destruction. It follows vivid prophecies of Babylon's impending doom, detailing how the Medes and Persians will conquer its mighty walls and exploit its riches. This verse highlights the stark irony of God preparing a deadly "feast" for Babylon's inhabitants during their own drunken celebrations, leading to their eternal demise.
In this passage, God's judgment against Babylon reaches its zenith, describing the final moments of the city's revelry before its utter destruction. It follows vivid prophecies of Babylon's impending doom, detailing how the Medes and Persians will conquer its mighty walls and exploit its riches. This verse highlights the stark irony of God preparing a deadly "feast" for Babylon's inhabitants during their own drunken celebrations, leading to their eternal demise.
"While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the LORD." — The verse highlights a dark, divine irony: God prepares a feast, but it's a feast of divine wrath, leading not to joy, but to a "perpetual sleep." This isn't just about Babylon's destruction; it's ab…
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Last reviewed October 2026
