The story of Babylon in the Bible is a significant narrative that is both historical and symbolic. It appears in various books of the Bible, including Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Revelation. Babylon is portrayed as a powerful ancient empire that rose to prominence but eventually faced divine judgment for its arrogance and wickedness.
In the Bible, Babylon represents not only a physical city but also a metaphorical embodiment of oppressive and idolatrous systems. It serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of pride, sin, and rebellion against God.
The story of Babylon in the Bible features several key elements. Firstly, it highlights the rise of Babylon
According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another.
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The Story Of Babylon In The Bible
Babylon in the Bible was an important city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (the southern part of modern Iraq). It played a great role in the ancient Near East and developed into a prosperous center of religion and trade (1895–539 BC). Its name stems from the narrative in Genesis 11:1–11, which concerns the construction of the Tower of Babel (bāḇel). It may have been a fortress, but it was more likely a temple. But a temple to what? To God?
Noah’s great-grandson, Nimrod, was the first mighty man of the Bible (Genesis 10:10), and the Bible says Babel was one of the towns that encompassed the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom in the land of Shinar.
The word babel means confusion (by mixing), and it was there that God confused the languages of men because the inhabitants said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). Babel was the foundation of Babylon.
Babylon in the Bible’s history includes Assyrian dominance when Nineveh was its capital (Jonah 1), with Babylon’s location about 250 miles away. Nebuchadnezzar also factors into Babylon’s history as the Assyrian king who was in power when Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were deported there (Daniel 1:1–7). Ezekiel also prophesied from there (Ezekiel 1:1) and spoke of the detestable things that would occur in the temple (Ezekiel 8:5–6). We also learn of the Assyrians in the book of Jonah. They broke away from Babylonian rule and then later reigned over Babylon for a few centuries, around 1000 BC.
The Bible first refers to Babylon by name in 2 Kings 17:24, when the king of Assyria replaced the inhabitants of Israel with those of Babylon, among others. That was a period when Israel and Judah were divided, and evil kings reigned over Israel and its unfaithful people and caused even Judah to follow their sinful ways. God “rejected all the descendants of Israel and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He cast them out of His sight… The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did, so Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria” (2 Kings 17:20–23). Assyria (Babylon as its capital) was the instrument the Lord used to punish His people. Babylon became the empire that wrecked Jerusalem, scorched the temple, and took the people of God into exile.
Tower of Babylon In The Bible
Babylon is a city that is referenced 280 times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It was one of the cities founded by King Nimrod, according to Genesis 10:9–10. Babylon was located in Shinar, in ancient Mesopotamia, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Its earliest act of defiance was building the Tower of Babel. The ancient city of Babylon plays a major role in the Bible, representing a rejection of the One True God. Despite its sinful ways, it developed one of the most advanced civilizations in the ancient world. Babylon was a symbol for sin and rebellion, and its sins would eventually cause its own destruction. God sometimes used the Babylonian Empire to punish Israel, but his prophets foretold that Babylon’s sins would eventually cause its own destruction. Babylon was known for its pagan gods, chief among them Marduk, or Merodach, and Bel. Despite its many wonders, Babylon worshiped pagan gods, chief among them Marduk, or Merodach, and Bel, as noted in Jeremiah 50:2. Babylon was a powerful city that played a significant role in the history of the ancient world. The story of Babylon is a powerful reminder of the love and grace of God, and it is a symbol of hope for all who seek Him.
For all its renown in the ancient world, the Babylonian empire, in its second brief iteration, survived less than a century and disappeared from sight when the Medo-Persians under Cyrus the Great defeated the kingdom in 539 BC. No nation so set against God escapes judgment (Isaiah 47).
The book of Daniel gives us insight into the nations that emerged. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream, which Daniel interpreted (giving all glory to God for the interpretation). In it, the king saw a great, bright image with a head of fine gold, chest and arms of silver, middle and thighs of bronze, iron legs, and feet mixed with iron and clay. A stone (cut by no human hands) struck the image on its feet and broke them into pieces, followed by the whole image becoming as chaff and blown by the wind. The stone became a great mountain that filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:25–35).
With great deference, Daniel then gave the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold (606-561 BC, kingdom of Babylon). After him came an inferior kingdom (538–539 BC Cyrus, Medo-Persia), and then a third kingdom of bronze (330 BC Alexander the Great, Greek Empire). The fourth kingdom was to be strong as iron (146 BC, the Caesars of Rome—iron legs), and the iron mixed with clay kingdom would not stand (for they do not mix)—10 provinces of Rome. The mountain is the Lord, and He will set up a kingdom that will eclipse all others and that will never end. It will stand forever. Daniel ends his interpretation by telling the king that the interpretation is sure and certain because it has been ordained by God (Daniel 2:38–45).
Babylon In The Bible Revelation
Revelation 14:8 says Babylon the Great is fallen, “she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” She is only called great for her extensive tentacular reach, like the tentacles of an octopus.
Babylon is called, “mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” in Revelation 17:5. Just as Satan is called the father of lies, the evil world system, Babylon—controlled by him—is mother to his evil acts. Because she encompassed such evil, she will be the “dwelling place” for “demons, unclean spirits and birds, and every unclean and detestable beast” (Revelation 18:2).
Revelation 18:21 reveals her final destiny, “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;’”
One day she will be gone, never again to tempt or lie.
The Fall of Babylon In The Bible Verse
Revelation 17:1-18 ESV / 10,554 helpful votes
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” …
Revelation 18:1-24 ESV / 8,464 helpful votes
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. …
Genesis 10:10 ESV / 7,945 helpful votes
The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Revelation 16:19 ESV / 7,619 helpful votes
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
Revelation 17:5 ESV / 7,332 helpful votes
And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.”
Revelation 17:1-18:24 ESV / 5,751 helpful votes
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” …
1 Peter 5:13 ESV / 5,709 helpful votes
She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.
Isaiah 47:1-15 ESV / 4,972 helpful votes
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel. Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. …
2 Kings 24:7 ESV / 4,953 helpful votes
And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
Revelation 18:7 ESV / 4,933 helpful votes
As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’
Isaiah 13:1-22 ESV / 4,744 helpful votes
The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles. I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones. The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering a host for battle. They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. …
Jeremiah 51:58 ESV / 4,743 helpful votes
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire.”
Revelation 17:1 ESV / 4,715 helpful votes
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,
Revelation 18:2 ESV / 4,693 helpful votes
And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
Genesis 11:1-32 ESV / 4,667 helpful votes
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. …
Revelation 14:8 ESV / 4,464 helpful votes
Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
Revelation 17:18 ESV / 4,328 helpful votes
And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
Isaiah 21:9 ESV / 4,130 helpful votes
And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!” And he answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.”
Genesis 11:9 ESV / 4,064 helpful votes
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Revelation 11:8 ESV / 4,029 helpful votes
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
Psalm 137:8 ESV / 4,029 helpful votes
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!
Jeremiah 50:1-46 ESV / 3,965 helpful votes
The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet: “Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.’ “For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away. “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’ …
Jeremiah 32:28 ESV / 3,788 helpful votes
Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.
Isaiah 13:19 ESV / 3,702 helpful votes
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
Revelation 18:10 ESV / 3,660 helpful votes
They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
Revelation 18:3 ESV / 3,562 helpful votes
For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
Isaiah 47:5 ESV / 3,560 helpful votes
Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.
Revelation 13:1-18 ESV / 3,310 helpful votes
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. …
Genesis 11:1-9 ESV / 3,202 helpful votes
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. …
Revelation 18:4 ESV / 3,190 helpful votes
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;
Jeremiah 51:44 ESV / 3,170 helpful votes
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen.
Daniel 3:1 ESV / 3,044 helpful votes
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Revelation 17:2 ESV / 3,022 helpful votes
With whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”
Isaiah 13:1 ESV / 2,993 helpful votes
The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
Revelation 1:1 ESV / 2,989 helpful votes
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Genesis 10:8-10 ESV / 2,963 helpful votes
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Isaiah 47:1 ESV / 2,877 helpful votes
Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
Revelation 18:21 ESV / 2,868 helpful votes
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;
Revelation 18:11-13 ESV / 2,795 helpful votes
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
Revelation 12:1-17 ESV / 2,778 helpful votes
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, …
Daniel 2:1-49 ESV / 2,775 helpful votes
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. …
Revelation 17:3 ESV / 2,714 helpful votes
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.
Jeremiah 25:12 ESV / 2,707 helpful votes
Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.
Revelation 17:16 ESV / 2,676 helpful votes
And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,
Jeremiah 50:1-51:64 ESV / 2,673 helpful votes
The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet: “Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.’ “For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away. “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’ …
Daniel 2:37-38 ESV / 2,665 helpful votes
You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.
Jeremiah 29:10 ESV / 2,658 helpful votes
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
Daniel 7:4 ESV / 2,635 helpful votes
The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
Isaiah 45:1 ESV / 2,631 helpful votes
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
Revelation 18:24 ESV / 2,604 helpful votes
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”
Revelation 18:20 ESV / 2,588 helpful votes
Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
Genesis 11:3-4 ESV / 2,532 helpful votes
And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Jeremiah 46:13-26 ESV / 2,450 helpful votes
The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour around you.’ Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the Lord thrust them down. He made many stumble, and they fell, and they said one to another, ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.’ Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’ …
Joshua 7:21 ESV / 2,448 helpful votes
When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Daniel 7:1-28 ESV / 2,437 helpful votes
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ …
Isaiah 21:1 ESV / 2,437 helpful votes
The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
Genesis 11:8 ESV / 2,430 helpful votes
So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
Genesis 11:1 ESV / 2,429 helpful votes
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
Daniel 2:21-38 ESV / 2,415 helpful votes
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” …
2 Kings 24:1 ESV / 2,414 helpful votes
In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
1 Chronicles 9:1 ESV / 2,408 helpful votes
So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith.
Revelation 18:13 ESV / 2,346 helpful votes
Cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
Amos 3:1-2 ESV / 2,345 helpful votes
Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
1 Chronicles 1:1-54 ESV / 2,339 helpful votes
Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. …
Isaiah 46:1 ESV / 2,276 helpful votes
Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
2 Kings 25:13 ESV / 2,258 helpful votes
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.
Genesis 11:5 ESV / 2,247 helpful votes
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
Jeremiah 50:1 ESV / 2,244 helpful votes
The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:
Revelation 17:3-6 ESV / 2,134 helpful votes
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly.
Revelation 18:19 ESV / 2,122 helpful votes
And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
Isaiah 14:4 ESV / 2,111 helpful votes
You will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!
Jeremiah 50:2 ESV / 2,097 helpful votes
“Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.’
Jeremiah 46:2 ESV / 2,092 helpful votes
About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
Jeremiah 51:8 ESV / 2,070 helpful votes
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.
Revelation 19:2 ESV / 2,060 helpful votes
For his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Revelation 11:1-19 ESV / 2,041 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ..
Conclusion
To learn about God’s sovereignty; Babylon was a superpower of the world at the time of Israel’s exile, but that didn’t matter. In the end, God determines the outcome of all things and raises up nations and destroys them just as easily (Job 12:23; Proverbs 21:1).
Daniel, while enslaved in Babylon, refused its pleasures in order to remain faithful to God and serves as a role model for believers.
As we learned from Jonah’s experiences—God cares about wicked people too. While we have breath, there is the hope of repentance.
