Jeremiah 51:40
New International Version
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.

New Living Translation
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats to be sacrificed.

English Standard Version
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats.

Berean Standard Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

King James Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.

New King James Version
“I will bring them down Like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with male goats.

New American Standard Bible
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

NASB 1995
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

NASB 1977
“I shall bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

Legacy Standard Bible
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

Amplified Bible
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams together with male goats.

Christian Standard Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats.

American Standard Version
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

Contemporary English Version
I will lead them away to die, like sheep, lambs, and goats being led to the butcher.

English Revised Version
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I will take them to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.

Good News Translation
I will take them to be slaughtered, like lambs, goats, and rams. I, the LORD, have spoken."

International Standard Version
"I'll bring them down like lambs for the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

Majority Standard Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

NET Bible
"I will lead them off to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats."

New Heart English Bible
"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

Webster's Bible Translation
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

World English Bible
“I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
“I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, "" As rams with male goats.

Young's Literal Translation
I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with he-goats.

Smith's Literal Translation
I will bring them down as lambs for the slaughter, as rams with he goats.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with kids.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I will lead them away, like lambs to the slaughter, and like rams with young goats.

New American Bible
I will bring them down like lambs to slaughter, like rams and goats.

New Revised Standard Version
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And I will deliver them like fatlings to be slain, like rams and he-goats to slaughter.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And I shall deliver them as fattened calves for slaughter, and like rams and he goats for slaughter
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with he-goats.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And bring thou them down as lambs to the slaughter, and rams with kids.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Babylon's Punishment
39While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats. 41How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!…

Cross References
Isaiah 34:6-7
The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. / And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.

Ezekiel 21:10
it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.

Revelation 19:17-18
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, / so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”

Isaiah 63:1-6
Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.” / Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress? / “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained. ...

Ezekiel 39:17-20
And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. / You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan. / At the sacrifice I am preparing, you will eat fat until you are gorged and drink blood until you are drunk. ...

Revelation 14:19-20
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. / And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Isaiah 34:2-3
The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter. / Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.

Zephaniah 1:7
Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.

Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.

Isaiah 13:15-18
Whoever is caught will be stabbed, and whoever is captured will die by the sword. / Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished. / Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold. ...

Ezekiel 32:4-6
I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth to eat their fill of you. / I will put your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains. / I will drench the land with the flow of your blood, all the way to the mountains—the ravines will be filled.

Revelation 6:15-17
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. / And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. / For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Isaiah 14:19-20
But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot. / You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.

Ezekiel 35:8
I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.


Treasury of Scripture

I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.

Jeremiah 50:27
Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

Psalm 37:20
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psalm 44:22
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

Jump to Previous
Cause Death Goats He-Goats Lambs Male Rams Slaughter Together
Jump to Next
Cause Death Goats He-Goats Lambs Male Rams Slaughter Together
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














I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats
I will bring them down
This phrase signifies God's sovereign power and judgment. The Hebrew root for "bring down" is "yarad," which often implies a descent from a higher place to a lower one, both physically and metaphorically. In the context of Jeremiah, it reflects God's active role in humbling the proud and powerful. Historically, this is a declaration against Babylon, a nation that had exalted itself but was destined to fall under divine judgment. This serves as a reminder of God's ultimate authority over nations and individuals, emphasizing His ability to humble those who oppose His will.

like lambs to the slaughter
The imagery of "lambs to the slaughter" evokes a sense of innocence and vulnerability. In Hebrew culture, lambs were often used in sacrificial contexts, symbolizing purity and submission. This phrase suggests that those being judged are led to their fate without resistance, highlighting the inevitability of God's judgment. It also serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrificial system that pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, who willingly went to the cross for humanity's sins.

like rams with male goats
Rams and male goats were also significant in sacrificial practices, often representing strength and leadership. The Hebrew words for "rams" (ayil) and "male goats" (attud) can denote leaders or prominent figures. In this context, the phrase underscores that not only the innocent but also the strong and influential will face God's judgment. This serves as a warning that no position or power can shield one from divine accountability. It reflects the biblical principle that all, regardless of status, are subject to God's righteous judgment.

(40) I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter . . .--The figure is changed, and the revellers appear as themselves destined to be the victims of the slaughter-house (Jeremiah 48:15; Jeremiah 50:27). As the "bullocks" of Jeremiah 50:27 are the chosen warriors, so the lambs, sheep, he-goats represent the different classes of the population of Babylon (Isaiah 34:6; Ezekiel 39:18). All alike are given over to the sword.

Verse 40. - I will bring them down, etc. (comp. Isaiah 34:6; Ezekiel 39:18).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I will bring them down
אֽוֹרִידֵ֖ם (’ō·w·rî·ḏêm)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

like lambs
כְּכָרִ֣ים (kə·ḵā·rîm)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3733: A ram, a, battering-ram, a meadow, a pad, camel's saddle

to the slaughter,
לִטְב֑וֹחַ (liṭ·ḇō·w·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2873: To slaughter, butcher, slay

like rams
כְּאֵילִ֖ים (kə·’ê·lîm)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 352: Strength, strong, a chief, a ram, a pilaster, an oak, strong tree

with
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

male goats.”
עַתּוּדִֽים׃ (‘at·tū·ḏîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6260: Prepared, full grown, of he-goats, leaders of the people


Links
Jeremiah 51:40 NIV
Jeremiah 51:40 NLT
Jeremiah 51:40 ESV
Jeremiah 51:40 NASB
Jeremiah 51:40 KJV

Jeremiah 51:40 BibleApps.com
Jeremiah 51:40 Biblia Paralela
Jeremiah 51:40 Chinese Bible
Jeremiah 51:40 French Bible
Jeremiah 51:40 Catholic Bible

OT Prophets: Jeremiah 51:40 I will bring them down like lambs (Jer.)
Jeremiah 51:39
Top of Page
Top of Page