The Meaning of Jeremiah 51:7 Explained

Jeremiah 51:7

KJV: Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

YLT: A golden cup is Babylon in the hand of Jehovah, Making drunk all the earth, Of its wine drunk have nations, Therefore boast themselves do nations.

Darby: Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.

ASV: Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Babylon  [hath been] a golden  cup  in the LORD'S  hand,  that made all the earth  drunken:  the nations  have drunken  of her wine;  therefore the nations  are mad. 

What does Jeremiah 51:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Babylon was responsible for seducing many other nations to join her in her sins. These nations had fallen under the power of Babylon and had behaved like drunkards (cf. Revelation 18:3). She had given the cup of God"s wrath to other nations, but now she would have to drink from it herself (cf. Jeremiah 25:15-29). A golden cup suggests the great wealth of Babylon.

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 51:7 mean?

A cup golden Babylon [was] in the hand of Yahweh that made drunk all the earth her wine drank the nations upon thus are deranged the nations
כּוֹס־ זָהָ֤ב בָּבֶל֙ בְּיַד־ יְהוָ֔ה מְשַׁכֶּ֖רֶת כָּל־ הָאָ֑רֶץ מִיֵּינָהּ֙ שָׁת֣וּ גוֹיִ֔ם עַל־ כֵּ֖ן יִתְהֹלְל֥וּ גוֹיִֽם

כּוֹס־  A  cup 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: כֹּוס 
Sense: cup.
זָהָ֤ב  golden 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.
בָּבֶל֙  Babylon  [was] 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
בְּיַד־  in  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מְשַׁכֶּ֖רֶת  that  made  drunk 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, feminine singular
Root: שָׂכַר 
Sense: to be or become drunk or drunken, be intoxicated.
הָאָ֑רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִיֵּינָהּ֙  her  wine 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
שָׁת֣וּ  drank 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
גוֹיִ֔ם  the  nations 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
כֵּ֖ן  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יִתְהֹלְל֥וּ  are  deranged 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַל 
Sense: to shine.
גוֹיִֽם  the  nations 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.