What is the meaning of Jeremiah 51:3?

Do not let the archer bend his bow

• The command pictures Babylon’s defeat being so swift that her skilled archers never even draw an arrow.

• God is summoning the Mede-Persian forces to strike before Babylon can react (Jeremiah 51:11).

• Earlier, the Lord urged the attackers, “Set yourselves against Babylon all around; all you who bend the bow, shoot at her” (Jeremiah 50:14). Now the focus shifts: Babylon’s own archers will be rendered helpless.

• Fulfillment came the very night Belshazzar feasted (Daniel 5:30-31), proving that when God decrees judgment, human defenses crumble.

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or put on his armor

• Armor normally signals readiness, yet Babylon will have no time to suit up.

• The picture echoes God’s word to Egypt: “Prepare buckler and shield, and advance to battle… but what do I see? They are terrified” (Jeremiah 46:3-5).

• The lesson for every age: no earthly power can brace itself against the Lord of hosts (Psalm 33:16-17).

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Do not spare her young men

• “Young men” represent the prime of military strength; sparing none underscores total collapse.

• Similar language marks judgments on Moab—“Moab will be destroyed… her young men will go down to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 48:15)—and on Babylon already foretold: “A drought is upon her waters… her warriors are terrified” (Jeremiah 50:35-37).

• God’s justice is exact; Babylon’s violence toward Judah (Jeremiah 51:24) rebounds on her own sons.

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devote all her army to destruction!

• “Devote” recalls Israel’s charge to place certain enemies under ḥerem—total consecration to destruction (1 Samuel 15:3).

• The entire Babylonian force is handed over to the Lord’s righteous wrath; none will remain to regroup (Jeremiah 51:58).

• Revelation later applies the same certainty of doom to future “Babylon,” showing the enduring pattern of God overthrowing proud, God-opposing systems (Revelation 18:2-8).

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summary

Jeremiah 51:3 declares that when God judges Babylon, He strips away every defense, denies her warriors even a moment to prepare, and consigns the whole military machine to utter ruin. The verse underscores the Lord’s absolute sovereignty, the certainty of His promised judgment, and the futility of relying on human strength against Him.