The Meaning of Jeremiah 51:36 Explained

Jeremiah 51:36

KJV: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

YLT: Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am pleading thy cause, And I have avenged thy vengeance, And dried up its sea, and made its fountains dry.

Darby: Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.

ASV: Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thus saith  the LORD;  Behold, I will plead  thy cause,  and take vengeance  for thee;  and I will dry up  her sea,  and make her springs  dry. 

What does Jeremiah 51:36 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Because of what Babylon had done to Judah, the Lord promised to act as her defense attorney and to get Babylon to pay full damages. He would dry up her broad river, the Euphrates, the source of her agricultural fertility.
"The LORD"s promised victory over "her sea" and "her fountain" recalls the LORD"s victory over sea at creation and in the Exodus ( Exodus 15:8; Psalm 74:13-14; Psalm 89:9-10; Isaiah 27:1)." [1]
"Many expositors understand these words metaphorically, as referring to the sea of nations surging in Babylon ( Jeremiah 51:42; Jeremiah 51:55), and view the treasures and riches as the fountain from which the sea of nations sprang up (Hitzig); but the context demands a literal interpretation, inasmuch as in Jeremiah 51:37 the subject treated of is the laying waste of the country." [2]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 51

1  The severe judgment of God against Babylon, in revenge of Israel
59  Jeremiah delivers the book of this prophecy to Seraiah, to be cast into Euphrates,
64  in token of the perpetual sinking of Babylon

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 51:36 mean?

Therefore thus says Yahweh behold I will plead - your case and take vengeance for you and I will dry up her sea and make dry her springs
לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה הִנְנִי־ רָב֙ אֶת־ רִיבֵ֔ךְ וְנִקַּמְתִּ֖י נִקְמָתֵ֑ךְ וְהַחֲרַבְתִּי֙ יַמָּ֔הּ וְהֹבַשְׁתִּ֖י מְקוֹרָֽהּ

כֹּ֚ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הִנְנִי־  behold  I 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
רָב֙  will  plead 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רִיב  
Sense: to strive, contend.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
רִיבֵ֔ךְ  your  case 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: רִיב 
Sense: strife, controversy, dispute.
וְנִקַּמְתִּ֖י  and  take 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָקַם  
Sense: to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge oneself, be avenged, be punished.
נִקְמָתֵ֑ךְ  vengeance  for  you 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: נְקָמָה  
Sense: vengeance.
וְהַחֲרַבְתִּי֙  and  I  will  dry  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: חָרֵב 
Sense: to be waste, lay waste, make desolate, be desolate, be in ruins.
יַמָּ֔הּ  her  sea 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְהֹבַשְׁתִּ֖י  and  make  dry 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
מְקוֹרָֽהּ  her  springs 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מָקֹור  
Sense: spring, fountain.