King James Version:
(The Lord speaking is red text)
Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations [shall be] a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Complete Jewish Bible:
your mother will be utterly shamed, she who bore you will be disgraced. Here she is! - last among the nations, a desert, parched and barren.
Berean Standard Bible:
your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who bore you will be disgraced. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
American Standard Version:
your mother shall be utterly put to shame; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
KJV with Strong’s Numbers:
Your mother{H517} shall be sore{H3966} confounded{H954}; she that bare{H3205} you shall be ashamed{H2659}: behold, the hindermost{H319} of the nations{H1471} shall be a wilderness{H4057}, a dry land{H6723}, and a desert{H6160}.
Cross-References (KJV):
Jeremiah 51:43
- Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth [any] son of man pass thereby.
Jeremiah 25:26
- And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which [are] upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Isaiah 13:20
- It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
Isaiah 13:22
- And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in [their] pleasant palaces: and her time [is] near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Galatians 4:26
- But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Jeremiah 25:12
- And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
Isaiah 23:13
- Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, [till] the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; [and] he brought it to ruin.
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Commentary for Jeremiah 50:12
Jeremiah 50:12 is part of a larger prophetic oracle against Babylon found in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51. The verse reflects the themes of judgment and reversal of fortune that are central to the book of Jeremiah. In this context, the prophet Jeremiah is foretelling the downfall of the once-mighty Babylonian Empire, which had previously conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem, including the First Temple, in 586 BCE.
The verse uses strong and poignant imagery to convey the coming humiliation and desolation of Babylon. "Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed" personifies Babylon as a nation being rebuked by its own mother, symbolizing the depth of its shame and disgrace. This language emphasizes the complete reversal of Babylon's status; the once-proud empire will be brought so low that even its origins will be a source of shame.
Furthermore, the description of Babylon as "the hindermost of the nations [shall be] a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert" prophesies the transformation of a fertile and influential civilization into a barren wasteland, devoid of life and significance. This imagery of a desert wasteland is a common biblical motif for desolation and divine abandonment, signaling not only the political and military defeat of Babylon but also its utter ruin and uninhabitability.
Historically, this prophecy can be understood in light of the eventual fall of Babylon to the Persian Empire in 539 BCE, led by Cyrus the Great. The book of Jeremiah was written during a time when the Babylonian Exile was still a present reality for the people of Judah, and this prophecy would have served as a message of hope that their oppressors would not go unpunished and that the fortunes of nations are subject to God's sovereign will. It also served as a warning to the people of Judah to remain faithful to God, as human power structures are temporary and subject to divine judgment.
*This commentary is produced by Microsoft/WizardLM-2-8x22B AI model
Strong's Numbers and Definitions:
Note: H = Hebrew (OT), G = Greek (NT)
- Strong's Number: H517
There are 387 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: אֵם
Transliteration: ʼêm
Pronunciation: ame
Description: a primitive word; a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father)); dam, mother, [idiom] parting. - Strong's Number: H3966
There are 278 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: מְאֹד
Transliteration: mᵉʼôd
Pronunciation: meh-ode'
Description: from the same as אוּד; properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated); diligently, especially, exceeding(-ly), far, fast, good, great(-ly), [idiom] louder and louder, might(-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very ([phrase] much, sore), well. - Strong's Number: H954
There are 100 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: בּוּשׁ
Transliteration: bûwsh
Pronunciation: boosh
Description: a primitive root; properly, to pale, i.e. by implication to be ashamed; also (by implication) to be disappointed or delayed; (be, make, bring to, cause, put to, with, a-) shamed(-d), be (put to) confounded(-fusion), become dry, delay, be long. - Strong's Number: H3205
There are 403 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: יָלַד
Transliteration: yâlad
Pronunciation: yaw-lad'
Description: a primitive root; to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage; bear, beget, birth(-day), born, (make to) bring forth (children, young), bring up, calve, child, come, be delivered (of a child), time of delivery, gender, hatch, labour, (do the office of a) midwife, declare pedigrees, be the son of, (woman in, woman that) travail(-eth, -ing woman). - Strong's Number: H2659
There are 17 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: חָפֵר
Transliteration: châphêr
Pronunciation: khaw-fare'
Description: a primitive root (perhaps rather the same as חָפַר through the idea of detection); to blush; figuratively, to be ashamed, disappointed; causatively, to shame, reproach; be ashamed, be confounded, be brought to confusion (unto shame), come (be put to) shame, bring reproach. - Strong's Number: H319
There are 369 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: אַחֲרִית
Transliteration: ʼachărîyth
Pronunciation: akh-ar-eeth'
Description: from אַחַר; the last or end, hence, the future; also posterity; (last, latter) end (time), hinder (utter) -most, length, posterity, remnant, residue, reward. - Strong's Number: H1471
There are 511 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: גּוֹי
Transliteration: gôwy
Pronunciation: go'-ee
Description: rarely (shortened) גֹּי; apparently from the same root as גֵּוָה (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts; Gentile, heathen, nation, people. - Strong's Number: H4057
There are 257 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: מִדְבָּר
Transliteration: midbâr
Pronunciation: mid-bawr'
Description: from דָבַר in the sense of driving; a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs); desert, south, speech, wilderness. - Strong's Number: H6723
There are 16 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: צִיָּה
Transliteration: tsîyâh
Pronunciation: tsee-yaw'
Description: from an unused root meaning to parch; aridity; concretely, a desert; barren, drought, dry (land, place), solitary place, wilderness. - Strong's Number: H6160
There are 57 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: עֲרָבָה
Transliteration: ʻărâbâh
Pronunciation: ar-aw-baw'
Description: from עָרַב (in the sense of sterility); a desert; especially (with the article prefix) the (generally) sterile valley of the Jordan and its continuation to the Red Sea; Arabah, champaign, desert, evening, heaven, plain, wilderness. See also בֵּית הָעֲרָבָה.