Book of Jeremiah Chapter 50 Vs. 23

Judgment on Babylon 

Jer. 50:23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

How...

אֵיךּ

’ēyḵ, אֵיכָה

’ēyḵāh, אֵיכָכָה

’ēyḵāḵāh: I. An interrogative adverb meaning How? How! It is translated this way uniformly, but its connotation can be slightly different according to context. It can hint or connote doubt (Gen. 44:8); reproach (Jdg. 16:15); mourning (2Sam. 1:19); assertiveness (Jer. 3:19).

II. An interrogative adverb asking How? How! It is translated uniformly but connotes different shades of meaning. It connotes what? (2Kgs. 6:15). It functions rhetorically (Deu. 1:12). It further expresses mourning, reproach, where (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 8:8). It functions in some cases as a technical literary word introducing a dirge (Isa. 1:21).

III. This interrogative adverb means, "How?" It is found twice in the Old Testament. It indicates a psychological impossibility (Est. 8:6; Song 5:3).

is the hammer...

פַּתִּישׁ

pattiyš: A masculine noun depicting a hammer. A tool used to hammer out or smooth out metal by pounding it (Isa. 41:7); to break up rock (Jer. 23:29). It describes figuratively God's Word (Jer. 23:29). Babylon is described as God's hammer of the whole earth, pounding it down, devastating the nations (Jer. 50:23).

of the whole...

כֹּל

kōl: A particle meaning each, every, all, everything, the whole, entire. It has an inclusive meaning of all or every one of something. Its exact meaning must be discerned from its usage in its context. Some representative samplings will help: With the definite article, it means the whole or everything of something (Ecc. 11:5); used before a definite noun, it expresses the whole of that noun, the whole earth (Gen. 9:19); whole people (Gen. 41:40). Used after a noun, it can refer to the whole or entirety of the preceding noun (2Sam. 2:9); before a plural noun, it usually means all, all the nations (Isa. 2:2); before a collective noun, it means all or every, all people (Gen. 7:21). Before a singular noun, it means every (Est. 3:8). Other nuances of its use can be discerned from studying its context closely.

earth...

אֶרֶץ

’ereṣ: A noun meaning the earth, land. It is used almost 2,500 times in the Old Testament. It refers to the whole earth under God's dominion (Gen. 1:1; Gen. 14:19; Exo. 9:29; Psm. 102:25,26; Pro. 8:31; Mic. 4:13). Since the earth was God's possession, He promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendants (Gen. 12:7; 15:7). The Promised Land was very important to Abraham's descendants and to the nation of Israel that possessed the land (Jos. 1:2, 1:4). Israel's identity was tied to the land because it signified the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. If the Israelites were disobedient, however, they would be cursed by losing the land (Lev. 26:32-34, 26:36, 26:38-39; Deu. 28:63-64; Jer. 7:7).

cut asunder...

גָּדַע

gāḏa‛: A verb meaning to cut down, cut off, cut in pieces; be cut down. It describes cutting off a hand or arm in the sense of cutting one's family line or one's strength (1Sam. 2:31; Lam. 2:3). It is further used figuratively to describe the cutting off or shattering of two staffs representing Israel or Judah (Zec. 11:10, 11:14). It describes the cutting down of pagan idols or objects of worship called Asherim (Deu. 7:5; Ezk. 6:6) and depicts the cutting down of the morning star, Lucifer, symbolic for the king of Babylon (Isa. 14:12). The horns or strength of the wicked are cut off (Psm. 75:10,11).

and broken!...

שָׁבַר

šāḇar: A verb meaning to break, to burst, to break in pieces, to break down, to break up, to smash, to shatter, to bring to birth. The word is most often used to express bursting or breaking. Other meanings include God's actions against stubborn pride (Lev. 26:19); or a metaphor for deliverance expressed figuratively by the breaking of a yoke (Jer. 28:2). In a figurative sense, the word describes the breaking of Pharaoh's arms (Ezk. 30:21-22). It also depicts the literal smashing or shattering of the tablets of the commandments (Exo. 32:19). Further expressions of the word can mean to bring to the moment of birth (Isa. 66:9); to break down or destroy a people (Isa. 14:25); to break objects of material quality (Gen. 19:9; Lev. 6:28,21; Jer. 49:35).

how... see above.

is Babylon...

בָּבֶל

bāḇel: A proper noun designating Babel or Babylon, a name meaning "confession" and the name of the foreign power most often mentioned in the Old Testament, Babylon. Its beginnings go back to Nimrod, "a mighty warrior" and hunter but also a founder of cities and city-states (Gen. 10:8-12). At Babel the languages of the world became mixed and separated (Gen. 11:9), and there great towers (ziggurats) were built to approach the gods as humankind deemed necessary. God stopped the building of these "towers of hubris" (Gen. 11:5-8), where humankind tried to gather together as one (Gen. 11:1-2). It was a part of the Assyrian Empire for a while (2Kgs. 17:24, 17:30). The neo-Babylonian Empire, founded by Nabopolassar (626 B.C.) is often mentioned in the prophets (Isa. Jer., Eze., Dan., Mic., Zec.). Its greatest king, Nebuchadnezzar, ruled nearly 43 years and is the topic of much of the Book of Daniel (Dan. 1:1; 2, 3, 4). The Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took Judah into exile in 587/6 B.C. (2Kgs. 25:1-28; Jer. 52:3-34). Isaiah the prophet especially denounced the idolatry of Babylon (Isa. 40-66). Israel was exiled in 587/6 to Babylon for seventy years in fulfillment of both the prophet Moses' and Jeremiah's prophecies (Deu. 28; Jer. 25:1-14). They returned in 538 B.C. under Cyrus, king of Persia (2Chr. 36:20-23; Ezra 1:1-3; Zec. 2:7,11).

become...

הָיָה

hāyāh: A verb meaning to exist, to be, to become, to happen, to come to pass, to be done. It is used over 3,500 times in the Old Testament. In the simple stem, the verb often means to become, to take place, to happen. It indicates that something has occurred or come about, such as events that have turned out a certain way (1Sam. 4:16); something has happened to someone, such as Moses (Exo. 32:1, 32:23; 2Kgs. 7:20); or something has occurred just as God said it would (Gen. 1:7, 1:9). Often a special Hebrew construction using the imperfect form of the verb asserts that something came to pass (cf. Gen. 1:7, 1:9). Less often, the construction is used with the perfect form of the verb to refer to something coming to pass in the future (Isa. 7:18, 7:21; Hos. 2:16).

The verb is used to describe something that comes into being or arises. For instance, a great cry arose in Egypt when the firstborn were killed in the tenth plague (Exo. 12:30; cf. Gen. 9:16; Mic. 7:4); and when God commanded light to appear, and it did (Gen. 1:3). It is used to join the subject and verb as in Gen. 1:2 where the earth was desolate and void, or to say Adam and Eve were naked (Gen. 2:25). With certain prepositions, it can mean to follow or to be in favor of someone (Psm. 124:1-2). The verb is used with a variety of other words, normally prepositions, to express subtle differences in meaning, such as to be located somewhere (Exo. 1:5); to serve or function as something (e.g., gods [Exo. 20:3]); to become something or as something, as when a person becomes a living being (Gen. 2:7); to be with or by someone (Deu. 22:2); to be or come on someone or something (e.g., the fear of humans on the beasts [Gen. 9:2]); to express the idea of better than or a comparison (Ezk. 15:2), as in the idea of too small (Exo. 12:4).

a desolation...

שַׁמָּה

šāmmāh: A feminine singular noun meaning ruin, astonishment. The primary meaning is that of ruin and wasting. This noun can be used to refer to evil people and their households who deserved to be destroyed because of their sins (Psm. 73:19; Isa. 5:9); also of land, towns, and buildings that were destroyed as a result of the evil people who lived there (Jer. 2:15). A second meaning of astonishment, dismay, and horror is not clearly related to the primary meaning, but it is used to describe feelings toward Israel and its cities in their times of disobedience. Israel is seen as a horror, an object of scorn to all who saw her (Deu. 28:37; Jer. 19:8). It is also used to describe the extreme dismay people can feel at seeing destruction, a horror that fills persons (Jer. 8:21).

among the nations!...

גּוֹי

gôy, גּוֹיִם

gôyim, הַגּוֹיִם

hāggôyim: A masculine noun meaning nation, people, Gentiles, country. The word is used to indicate a nation or nations in various contexts and settings: it especially indicates the offspring of Abraham that God made into a nation (Gen. 12:2) and thereby set the stage for Israel's appearance in history as a nation (Gen. 18:18; Psm. 106:5). Israel was to be a holy nation (Exo. 19:6). Even the descendants of Abraham that did not come from the seed of Isaac would develop into nations (Gen. 21:13). God can create a nation, even a holy nation like Israel, through the descendants of the person whom He chooses, as He nearly does in the case of Moses when Israel rebels (Exo. 32:10). Edom refers to Israel and Judah as two separate nations (Ezk. 35:10), but God planned for them to be united forever into one nation (Ezk. 37:22). Then they would become the head of the nations (Deu. 28:12). In this overall literary, theological, and historical context, it is clear that Israel would share common ancestors, and would have a sufficient increase in numbers to be considered a nation. It would have a common place of habitation and a common origin, not only in flesh and blood, but in their religious heritage. It would share a common history, culture, society, religious worship, and purposes for the present and the future.

This noun is used to mean nations other than Israel as well; pagan, Gentile, or heathen nations (Exo. 9:24; 34:10; Ezk. 5:6-8), for all the earth and all the nations belong to God (cf. Exo. 19:5). Israel was to keep herself from the false religions, unclean practices, and views of these nations (Ezra 6:21). In the plural, the noun may indicate the generic humankind (Isa. 42:6). In a few instances, the word refers to a group of people rather than to a nation (2Kgs. 6:18; Psm. 43:1; Isa. 26:2), although the exact translation is difficult in these cases.

The word is used in a figurative sense to refer to animals or insects, such as in Joel 1:6 where it depicts locusts.