Jeremiah 51:39-40
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. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights the chilling irony of God preparing a feast for Babylon – not of joy, but of His wrathful judgment. This "feast" leads not to merriment, but to a final, irreversible sleep, emphasizing that their revelry will be met with utter destruction.
This passage comes in the midst of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its impending doom. Following the description of Babylon's pride and its eventual overthrow, these verses vividly portray God orchestrating the final moments of the city's revelry. It mirrors the historical account of Babylon's fall during a lavish feast, culminating in the city's capture and the invaders’ relentless advance, which is detailed in the following verses.
God's judgment isn't always a dramatic thunderclap. Sometimes, it's a dark, ironic banquet prepared for His enemies. What does this 'feast' look like?
Jeremiah 51:39 describes God preparing a 'feast' for the Babylonians, but it's a feast of wrath. While they are 'inflamed' with wine and revelry, God intervenes with a different kind of intoxication.
The verse promises a sleep from which there is no waking. What does this 'perpetual sleep' signify beyond just death?
The chilling phrase 'sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake' points to a finality and completeness in God's judgment against Babylon.
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.
tabach · Hebrew Noun/Verb
Sacrificial animals, often representing the helpless or those destined for death, frequently used in Scripture to illustrate the inevitability of judgment.
This verse paints a chilling picture of divine judgment, drawing a direct parallel between the Babylonians' drunken revelry on the night they fell to Cyrus and God's preparation of a final, eternal 'sleep' for them. The historical context of Babylon's feast and its swift, devastating conquest by Cyrus makes this prophecy feel incredibly immediate and terrifying.
c. 587-586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, conquers Jerusalem, destroys the Temple, and deports many Judeans to Babylon. This event marks the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
c. 550 BC
Rise of Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great unites the Medes and Persians, establishing a new powerful empire that would soon challenge Babylon.
c. 540 BC
Prophecy of Jeremiah's Written Scroll
Jeremiah instructs his scribe, Seraiah, to write down all the prophecies against Babylon and to symbolically cast the scroll into the Euphrates River, signifying the city's permanent destruction.
539 BC— this verse
Babylon's Last Feast
During a great feast celebrating a supposed military victory, the Babylonian king Belshazzar and his court are caught completely off guard by the invading Medo-Persian forces led by Cyrus.
This passage directly describes Belshazzar's feast on the very night Babylon fell, mirroring the ironic 'feast' and drunken revelry described in Jeremiah that led to perpetual sleep.
Jeremiah 25:15-17These verses introduce the 'cup of wrath' that God gives to nations, a concept that aligns with the 'wine of His fury' that makes the Babylonians drunk to their doom in Jeremiah 51:39.
Isaiah 51:17This verse also speaks of Jerusalem drinking the 'cup of trembling' and being raised up by God, echoing the theme of a divinely appointed, destructive intoxication.
Revelation 18:9-10The judgment on the 'Babylon' of the New Testament era includes figures weeping and mourning because of her 'luxury' and 'burning with fire,' a parallel to the ultimate destruction that befalls the literal Babylon in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 51:57This verse immediately follows the passage in question and reiterates the theme, explicitly stating that God will make drunk her princes and rulers, leading them to 'sleep a perpetual sleep,' reinforcing the judgment's scope.
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 the chilling irony of God preparing a feast for Babylon – not of joy, but of His wrathful judgment. This "feast" leads not to merriment, but to a final, irreversible sleep, emphasizing that their revelry will be met with utter destruction.
This passage comes in the midst of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its impending doom. Following the description of Babylon's pride and its eventual overthrow, these verses vividly portray God orchestrating the final moments of the city's revelry. It mirrors the historical account of Babylon's fall during a lavish feast, culminating in the city's capture and the invaders’ relentless advance, which is detailed in the following verses.
This passage comes in the midst of Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon, detailing its impending doom. Following the description of Babylon's pride and its eventual overthrow, these verses vividly portray God orchestrating the final moments of the city's revelry. It mirrors the historical account of Babylon's fall during a lavish feast, culminating in the city's capture and the invaders’ relentless advance, which is detailed in the following verses.
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October 12, 539 BC
Fall of Babylon
Cyrus the Great's army diverts the Euphrates River, allowing soldiers to enter the city through the weakened defenses. The city falls, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
538 BC
Cyrus's Decree
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the exiled Judeans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple, marking a significant turning point for God's people.
"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. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,…" — The verse highlights the chilling irony of God preparing a feast for Babylon – not of joy, but of His wrathful judgment. This "feast" leads not to merriment, but to a final, irreversible sleep, empha…
