Bible Strands
Jeremiah 50:16
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the allied armies preparing to besiege Babylon, immediately after commanding them to sound the war cry and exact retribution for Jerusalem's destruction.
The words — The text commands to כִּרְת֤וּ (kir.Tu) "cut off" the זוֹרֵ֙עַ֙ (zo.Re.a') "sower" and the one wielding a מַגָּ֖ל (ma.Gal) "sickle" from Babylon. This agricultural imagery describes the systematic removal of those who sustain the city's economy and food supply.
The thread — The motif of scattering and fleeing to one's native land appears in Jeremiah 46:16, Jeremiah 51:9, and Isaiah 13:14. These passages parallel the collapse of fortified cities and the subsequent diaspora of their inhabitants.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that military conquest and economic collapse are direct consequences of divine judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that human systems of power and sustenance cannot withstand the stated vengeance of the Lord.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 46:16 They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
- Jeremiah 51:9 “We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds.”
- Isaiah 13:14 Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.
- Joel 1:11 Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
- Jeremiah 25:38 He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 51:23 With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock; with you I shatter the farmer and his oxen; with you I shatter the governors and officials.
- Amos 5:16 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.