Jeremiah 51:39

While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah during a prophetic oracle pronounced against Babylon, addressing the nation and its leadership at the moment of impending siege and collapse. The declaration is delivered as a direct divine announcement of judgment.

The words — The Hebrew אָשִׁית ('a.Shit) literally means "I will make," governing מִשְׁתֵּיהֶם (mish.tei./Hem) for "their feast." The verb הִשְׁכַּרְתִּי (hish.kar.Ti) translates directly to "I will make drunk," establishing intoxication as the instrument of their downfall.

The thread — The pattern of forced drunkenness followed by irreversible sleep recurs in Jeremiah 51:57 and aligns with the judgment cup imagery of Jeremiah 25:27. Isaiah 22:12 parallels the sudden reversal from expected celebration to divine intervention and mourning.

Why it lands — The text states that human revelry is met with sovereign action that ends in permanent incapacitation rather than temporary correction. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment operates on its own timeline and renders human preparation irrelevant.

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

בְּחֻמָּ֞םbe./chu.Ma/mwhen/ getting heated/ they אָשִׁ֣ית'a.ShitI will make אֶת־'et-<obj.>מִשְׁתֵּיהֶ֗םmish.tei./Hemfeast/ their וְהִשְׁכַּרְתִּים֙ve./hish.kar.Ti/mand/ I will make drunk/ them לְמַ֣עַןle.Ma.'anso that יַעֲלֹ֔זוּya.'a.Lo.zuthey may celebrate וְיָשְׁנ֥וּve./ya.she.Nuand/ they will sleep שְׁנַת־she.nat-a sleep of עוֹלָ֖םo.Lamperpetuity וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not יָקִ֑יצוּya.Ki.tzuthey will awake נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance of יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 51:57 I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.
Jeremiah 25:27 “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’
Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
Nahum 1:10 For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—like stubble that is fully dry.
Nahum 3:11 You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
Psalms 13:3 Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
Psalms 76:5 The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep. No men of might could lift a hand.
Isaiah 21:4 My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight I desired has turned to horror.
Jeremiah 48:26 “Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
Daniel 5:1 Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.