Jeremiah 50:1-3

The word that the Lord spake against Babylon This prophecy was delivered and sent to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, as appears from Jeremiah 51:59. Declare ye among the nations The downfall of Babylon was an event in which many nations were concerned, that empire having been a common oppressor. Set up a standard To call people together, and impart unto them these good tidings. The destruction of Babylon was likewise a sort of signal to the Jews to assemble together, in order to their return to their own land, the time of their captivity being then to expire. Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken to pieces When God punishes an idolatrous nation he is said to confound its idols, because they do not bring assistance to their worshippers, nor deliver them out of his hands. Bel is the same with Baal, a name common to the idols of the eastern countries, and at first probably given to some of the heavenly bodies: see note on Isaiah 39:1. For out of the north there cometh a nation against her The Medes, who lay north of Babylon.