LI.
(1) I WILL RAISE UP... A DESTROYING WIND. — Literally, _the wind of
a destroyer._ In Haggai 1:14; Ezra 1:1; Ezra 1:5; 1 Chronicles 5:26
the phrase is used for “stirring up the spirit” of a man, and that
may be its meaning here. The context, however, suggests, in the
“fanners” of the next verse,... [ Continue Reading ]
FANNERS, THAT SHALL FAN HER. — The Hebrew word as it stands means
“strangers,” but a change of the vowel-points would give
etymologically “winnowers” or “fanners,” though the word is
not found elsewhere. On the whole it would seem best to accept the
meaning of “strangers,” the prophet connecting it... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE ARCHER BEND HIS BOW. — The words represent the sense of the
original, but the Hebrew word for “archer” is literally _bender,_
and so the iteration of the verb gains its full rhetorical force. On
“brigandine,” as meaning the “coat of mail” of heavy-armed
troops, see Note on Jeremiah 46:4. The... [ Continue Reading ]
ISRAEL HATH NOT BEEN FORSAKEN. — Better, _widowed._ The participle
is from the word that commonly represents the idea of widowhood. Judah
and Israel, the prophet declares, were not, as men thought, abandoned
by their husband Jehovah. He was still their protector. The prophet
has in his thoughts at o... [ Continue Reading ]
FLEE OUT OF THE MIDST OF BABYLON. — The words reproduce the call of
Jeremiah 50:8 with a fresh motive. The city was doomed. It was ill
done for those who had not been guilty of her sins to involve
themselves in her destruction. The call is reproduced, as referring to
the mystical Babylon, in Revelat... [ Continue Reading ]
BABYLON HATH BEEN A GOLDEN CUP... — The “golden cup” points to
the splendour of Babylon, outwardly, as a vessel made to honour (see
Notes on Jer. 1.37). But the “wine” in that cup was poisoned,
intoxicating men with wild ambitions and dark idolatries. The same
image re-appears in Revelation 14:8; Re... [ Continue Reading ]
BABYLON IS SUDDENLY FALLEN... — The form of announcement seems taken
in part from Isaiah 21:9.
TAKE BALM FOR HER PAIN... — The words are significant. The captive
people are not invited simply to raise a shout of triumph at the fall
of their oppressor: they are to “take balm” (comp. the use of the
s... [ Continue Reading ]
WE WOULD HAVE HEALED BABYLON... — This is the dramatic answer of the
Israelite exiles to the prophet’s appeal. They have done what they
could, but all was in vain. The guilt could not be washed away, the
punishment could not be averted. The “judgment” is measureless as
is the distance from heaven to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH BROUGHT FORTH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS... — The Hebrew noun
is plural — the many _righteous acts_ or forms of righteousness. The
thought is parallel to that of Isaiah 62:1. The exile in Babylon had
been a time of reformation and growth in righteousness. The day of
vengeance on the oppressing... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE BRIGHT THE ARROWS. — Better, _Sharpen,_ the “polishing” or
“making bright” being as the means to that end.
GATHER THE SHIELDS. — Literally, _fill the shields, i.e.,_ arm
yourselves with them, The large shields of the Persian soldiers
covered the whole body, and the man literally filled them. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
SET UP THE STANDARD UPON THE WALLS OF BABYLON. — The Authorised
version, following the LXX. and the Vulgate, takes the words as an
ironical summons to a defence which will prove fruitless. The
preposition for “upon” may, however, mean _against_, and this
agrees better with the context. The “standard... [ Continue Reading ]
O THOU THAT DWELLEST UPON MANY WATERS. — The words find an
illustration of singular interest in an inscription of
Nebuchadnezzar’s given by Oppert (_Expéd. en Mésop._ i. p. 231):
“I made water to flow all around in this immense dyke of earth. I
carried an aqueduct across these great waters that are... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD OF HOSTS HATH SWORN BY HIMSELF. — This is, as in Jeremiah
49:13; Amos 6:8, the most solemn form of affirmation. Compare Hebrews
6:13, and Note on Jeremiah 49:13.
SURELY I WILL FILL THEE WITH MEN, AS WITH CATERPILLERS. — Better,
_with grasshoppers_ or _locusts,_ the fullest type of the swar... [ Continue Reading ]
(15-19) HE HATH MADE THE EARTH BY HIS POWER... — The five verses are
a reproduction of Jeremiah 10:12, fitted in here to enhance the
majesty of Him Who decrees the destruction of Babylon, and appoints
Israel to be the instrument of that destruction. The word
“Israel,” as the italics show, is wanting... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU ART MY BATTLE AX... — Better, _my mace._ The axe is not found
on Assyrian monuments as a weapon of war till a comparatively late
period. It is a question who is thus addressed — Babylon, or Cyrus
as the destroyer of Babylon, or Israel. On the whole, the second seems
the more probable answer. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH THEE WILL I BREAK IN PIECES CAPTAINS AND RULERS. — The
exhausting of all sorts and conditions of men culminates in the ruling
caste. The Hebrew word for “captain” (_Pekha_) is interesting as
connected with the Arabic, with which we are now familiar in the form
_Pacha_ (Fürst, _Lex._)_.
_... [ Continue Reading ]
O DESTROYING MOUNTAIN. — Singularly enough the phrase is the same as
that which is applied in 2 Kings 23:13 to the Mount of Olives, and is
there rendered by the Authorised version as “the Mount of
Corruption.” It adds to the interest that this name so given appears
in the reign of Josiah, and must t... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL NOT TAKE OF THEE A STONE FOR A CORNER. — The prophet uses
general language applicable to any city destroyed by fire, without
noting the special fact that Babylon was built of bricks.... [ Continue Reading ]
PREPARE THE NATIONS. — The word here and in Jeremiah 51:29 conveys,
as in Jeremiah 22:7, the idea of consecration.
CALL TOGETHER AGAINST HER THE KINGDOMS OF ARARAT, MINNI, AND
ASHCHENAZ. — The first of these names was unknown to Greek and Roman
geographers, and though here rendered _Arareth_ by the... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE LAND OF HIS DOMINION. — The use of the singular pronoun
indicates that the prophet recognises the fact that the kings,
captains, and rulers (see Note on Jeremiah 51:23) are all under one
sovereign leader — _i.e.,_ under the king of the Medes and Persians.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LAND SHALL TREMBLE AND SORROW. — The verbs in the Hebrew are
in the past tense, the prophet seeing, as it were, the very event
which he portrays passing before him in his vision.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MIGHTY MEN OF BABYLON HAVE FOR BORN TO FIGHT. — The verses that
follow paint the capture of the city by the stratagem related in the
Note on Jeremiah 50:24. Those who “have burned” are, of course,
the invaders. They here begin by setting the houses of the city on
fire and breaking open the gates... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE POST SHALL RUN TO MEET ANOTHER. — The words exactly answer to
the account of the capture of Babylon given in Herod. i. (see Note on
Jeremiah 51:24). The history of Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5:1) must
obviously have ended in a like result. No words could paint more
vividly the panic of the surpr... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THE PASSAGES ARE STOPPED. — These were probably the ferries
across the Euphrates, by which one part of the city was in
communication with the other. These were at the ends of the streets
that ran at right angles to the river, and gates — left open in the
panic of surprise — led down to them. Be... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DAUGHTER OF BABYLON... — More literally, _The daughter of
Babylon is like a threshing-floor, in the time when it is trodden_
(_i.e.,_ when it is being prepared for the actual process), _yet a
little while, and the time of harvest shall come to her._ The imagery
is so familiar that it hardly need... [ Continue Reading ]
HE HATH MADE ME AN EMPTY VESSEL. — The pronouns in one form of the
Hebrew text are most of them in the plural, “devoured _us,_ crushed
_us,_ made _us._” The prophet speaks of himself and Israel as having
suffered wrong and outrage at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The land
had been spoiled till it was... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VIOLENCE DONE TO ME AND TO MY FLESH... — The imagery of the
“dragon” or “crocodile” is continued. The “_inhabitress of
Zion_” pleads that her “flesh” and “blood” have been
devoured by the Babylonian conqueror, and asks for the application of
the law of retribution.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL DRY UP HER SEA... — The nouns have been variously
interpreted, some commentators referring it to the “sea” of
confluent nations, and finding the wealth of Babylon in the
“springs” that fed its greatness; others to the Euphrates, or to
the sea-like alluvial plain, intersected by canals and str... [ Continue Reading ]
BABYLON SHALL BECOME HEAPS... — It is significant, as emphasising
the law of retribution, that the terms are the same as those used of
Jerusalem in Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 19:8; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah
25:18. Nothing is more characteristic of the present aspect of Babylon
than the “heaps” or mounds... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL ROAR TOGETHER LIKE LIONS... — The words are not a
continuation of the picture of the preceding verse, but carry us to
the scene of revelry that preceded the capture of the city. The
princes of Babylon were as “young lions” (Amos 3:4) roaring over
their prey. The first clause as well as th... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THEIR HEAT I WILL MAKE THEIR FEASTS... — The words are stern and
bitter in their irony. When the revellers are hot with wine and lust
(comp. Hosea 7:4) Jehovah would call them to a banquet of another
kind. The wine cup which He would give them would be that of His wrath
(Jeremiah 25:16), and thei... [ Continue Reading ]
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 represe... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW IS SHESHACH TAKEN! — “Sheshach,” it will be remembered, is
the cypher which, as explained in the Note on Jeremiah 25:26, stands
for Babylon. Here, in the parallelism of Hebrew poetry, it balances
the actual name of the city in the second clause of the verse. The
word “surprised” is the same as t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SEA IS COME UP UPON BABYLON... — The literal explanation of the
words as referring to the foundation of the Euphrates adopted by some
commentators is clearly inadmissible, and is at variance with the next
verse. The prophet falls back on an image which he had used before
(Jeremiah 46:7), and whi... [ Continue Reading ]
HER CITIES ARE A DESOLATION... — The word for “wilderness” is
_Arabah,_ commonly used of the sandy desert south of the Dead Sea. The
prophet seems to dwell with a stern delight on the seeming paradox
that the sea with which Babylon is to be oversowed, the floods of
invaders and destroyers, shall lea... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL PUNISH BEL IN BABYLON. — See Note on Jeremiah 50:2. The
god whom Babylon worshipped is, as before, thought of as sharing her
downfall. He is made to disgorge his spoil, the vessels of the Temple
of Jehovah that had been placed in his temple (Daniel 5:2; Ezra 1:7).
THE WALL OF BABYLON SHAL... [ Continue Reading ]
GO YE OUT OF THE MIDST OF HER... — The prophet repeats, with all the
emphasis of iteration, the summons of Jeremiah 50:8; Jeremiah 51:6.
The “fierce anger of the Lord” is that which was directed
primarily against Babylon, but which would also fall on those who
chose to remain and become “partakers i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND LEST YOUR HEART FAINT... — Better, _Let not your heart faint;
fear ye not..._
FOR THE RUMOUR THAT SHALL BE HEARD IN THE LAND. — It lies in the
nature of the case that the final catastrophe of the city would be
preceded by a period of uncertainty and suspense. Men would hear of
the union of the M... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE, BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME... — The first word has its full
force. The Israelite exiles were to infer from the rumours and
disorders of the preceding verse, that the day of vengeance was at
hand. The formula, “behold, the days come,” was Jeremiah’s
customary manner of announcing a prediction ... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH... — The prophet, following in the
track of Isaiah (Isaiah 44:23), thinks of the whole creation as
rejoicing in the righteous judgment of Jehovah on the guilty city, and
in the liberation of His people. They sing, as it were, their _Te
Deum_ over the fall of Babylon und... [ Continue Reading ]
AS BABYLON HATH CAUSED... — The interpolated words and the marginal
reading indicate that the construction is obscure, but the Authorised
version probably comes close to the meaning of the original. The
punishment that falls on Babylon comes on account of her slaughter of
the Israelites, but in that... [ Continue Reading ]
YE THAT HAVE ESCAPED THE SWORD... — The words call on the people to
fulfil the prediction of Jeremiah 50:4. Even in that distant land,
“afar off” from the Temple of Jehovah, they are to remember that
they are Israelites, and to think of Jerusalem as their home. In
Psalms 137:5 we have, as it were, b... [ Continue Reading ]
WE ARE CONFOUNDED, BECAUSE WE HAVE HEARD REPROACH... — The answer
which the prophet seems to hear from the lips of the exiles, is,
however, for the present, of a different character. They are cast down
and oppressed by the disgrace that has fallen on them and on the Holy
City. Aliens in blood and fa... [ Continue Reading ]
THOUGH BABYLON SHOULD MOUNT UP TO HEAVEN... — The special form of
the phrase recalls the language of the builders of the Tower which
made the name of Babylon conspicuous (Genesis 11:4). Even though that
boastful attempt should be realised, Jeremiah says, it should prove a
vain defence. As it was, th... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE THE LORD HATH SPOILED BABYLON... — In Jeremiah 51:54 the
prophet hears the cry of the captured city. The “great voice”
which Jehovah “destroys” or “makes to cease” is the stir and
tumult of life that surged, as it were, through the city (Isa. 18:12,
13). The “waves” are those of the “sea” of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD GOD OF RECOMPENCES... — The prophet clothes the law of
retribution which he has been asserting throughout the chapter with a
new majesty by connecting it with a new Divine Name (comp. Jeremiah
23:6). Jehovah delights, as it were, to manifest Himself in that
aspect. He is _a God of retributi... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL MAKE DRUNK HER PRINCES. — The imagery is repeated from
Jeremiah 51:39, and carries out the thought of Jeremiah 25:15;
Jeremiah 25:27. On the list of officers see Note on Jeremiah 51:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
HER HIGH GATES SHALL BE BURNED WITH FIRE. — These were part of the
works on which Nebuchadnezzar prided himself as the restorer of the
city. The inscription already quoted refers to these as well as to the
walls: _“_Babylon is the refuge of the god Merodach. I have finished
_Imgur Bel,_ his great en... [ Continue Reading ]
SERAIAH THE SON OF NERIAH. — The great prophecy has reached its
close, and the remainder of the chapter is of the nature of an
historical appendix. The mention of both father and grandfather leaves
no doubt that Seraiah was the brother of Jeremiah’s friend and
secretary, Baruch (Jeremiah 32:13). It... [ Continue Reading ]
SO JEREMIAH WROTE IN A BOOK. — The “book” is, as elsewhere, a
parchment roll. Stress is laid on the fact that the long prophecy was
all written on one roll, so that it might be a fitter symbol of the
city that was its subject.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THOU COMEST TO BABYLON, AND SHALT SEE, AND SHALT READ... — The
meaning of the Hebrew would be better expressed by, _thou shalt see to
it and read,_ or _see to it and read._ The English version, as it is,
leaves it doubtful who or what is to be seen. The verb for “read”
implies reading aloud. Sa... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALT THOU SAY, O LORD... — The words which recite the
predictions of Jeremiah 50:3; Jeremiah 50:39 are of the nature of an
implied prayer, reminding Jehovah of that which He had promised, and
entreating him to fulfil it. “Thou hast said” was to be the ground
of the suppliant’s prayer for the f... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT BIND A STONE TO IT. — The meaning of the symbolic act,
which has its parallel in the girdle of Jeremiah 13:1, in the
potter’s vessel of Jeremiah 19:10, and in the yokes of Jeremiah
27:2, is explained in the following verse. The parchment roll by
itself might have floated, and been picked... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL BE WEARY. — The words are identical with those that had
closed the great prophecy in Jeremiah 51:58. What was meant was
probably that Seraiah was to repeat the last words of the prediction,
and, as they passed his lips, was to fling the roll into the river.
That submersion was typical of... [ Continue Reading ]