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.

JEREMIAH 51:39KJV
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Jeremiah 51:39 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 51:39 mean?

Jeremiah 51:39 describes how God will bring judgment on Babylon by letting its people feast and become drunk, leading them to a state of false joy and ultimately to a "perpetual sleep"—a poetic way of saying they will die and not wake up. The verse uses the image of a celebration turning into destruction, showing that their apparent happiness will end in ruin, as declared by the LORD.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God's words about the coming downfall of Babylon, a powerful enemy nation. The context is a warning that Babylon's time of dominance will end; their feasting and rejoicing will not save them, but instead will be the setting for their downfall. The "perpetual sleep" means death, emphasizing that God's judgment is final and inescapable.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 51:39

  • "Heat" (חֵמָה, ḥēmāh): This word often means "fury" or "anger," but here it is translated as "heat," likely referring to the passionate or heated state of the Babylonians during their feasts. It highlights their pride and self-confidence before their fall.
  • "Feasts" (מִשְׁתֶּה, mishteh): This word means a drinking feast or banquet. The verse uses this image to show that Babylon's celebrations will be turned against them.
  • "Sleep" (יָשֵׁן, yashen) and "perpetual" (עוֹלָם, olam): "Perpetual sleep" is a Hebrew way of saying permanent death. The phrase stresses that this is not just ordinary sleep, but an irreversible end.

Why Jeremiah 51:39 matters

  • Jeremiah 51:39 clears up the idea that Babylon's prosperity and celebrations are signs of lasting security; instead, these moments will be the very setting for their downfall.
  • The verse emphasizes that God's judgment can come suddenly, even in the midst of apparent peace and joy, which fits the larger theme of Jeremiah 51 about Babylon's coming destruction.
  • Understanding the original words for "feasts" and "perpetual sleep" shows the irony and finality in God's warning—what looks like a party will become their undoing, and their "sleep" is a poetic way of describing their complete end.

Where else these words appear

“heat” Hebrew H2527 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
  • 1 Samuel 21:6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
  • Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

“rejoice” Hebrew H5937 · used in 16 verses

  • 2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
  • Psalms 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
  • Jeremiah 11:15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

“drunken” Hebrew H7937 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
  • Isaiah 29:9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
  • Jeremiah 51:7 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.

“sleep” Hebrew H3462 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
  • 1 Kings 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
  • Psalms 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.