Bible Strands
Jeremiah 50:22
“The noise of battle is in the land—the noise of great destruction.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the prophet and surrounding nations regarding the impending judgment on Babylon. This declaration follows a direct command to attack Merathaim and Pekod and precedes the metaphor of Babylon as a shattered hammer.
The words — קֹל (kol) denotes a sound or noise, while שֶׁבֶר (shever) means a breaking or destruction. These terms frame the scene as an auditory report of widespread ruin rather than a silent event.
The thread — The imagery of loud destruction echoes in Jeremiah 51:54 and Isaiah 21:2, where cries from Babylon and visions of the destroyer converge. Jeremiah 4:19 parallels the distress but focuses on the prophet’s personal anguish rather than national judgment.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine judgment operates through tangible, historical violence. It requires the reader to acknowledge that God’s commands in Jeremiah 50:21 are being executed as described in this auditory report of ruin.
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
A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
- Jeremiah 51:54 “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
- Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”