INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 50 This and the following chapter contain a long prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon; and which is expressed in such language, that it may be, and is to be, accommodated to the destruction of mystical Babylon; and several passages in the book of the Revelation ar... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD THAT THE LORD SPAKE AGAINST BABYLON,.... Or "to", of "of Babylon" c; the city of Babylon, the metropolis of the Chaldean empire; sometimes it signifies the whole country, here the city only, as appears by what follows: [AND] AGAINST THE LAND OF THE CHALDEANS; whither the Jews were carried... [ Continue Reading ]
DECLARE YE AMONG THE NATIONS,.... The taking of Babylon; a piece of news, in which the nations of the world had a concern, as well as the Jews, being brought under the Babylonish yoke, from which they would now be freed; and therefore such a declaration must be very acceptable and joyful to them. So... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR OUT OF THE NORTH THERE COMETH UP A NATION AGAINST HER,.... The Medes and Persians, which under Cyrus were one nation; and which not only lay north of Judea, where this prophecy came, but of Babylon, against which they were to come; and might lay more north to it, before the enlargement of their... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THOSE DAYS, AND AT THAT TIME, SAITH THE LORD,.... When Babylon shall be taken and destroyed, then what follows shall be accomplished; which, as it respects the conversion of the Jews, shows that this prophecy is not to be restrained to literal Babylon: THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL COME, THEY AND... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL ASK THE WAY TO ZION WITH THEIR FACES THITHERWARD,.... Either to Jerusalem, near to which Mount Zion was; or to the land of Israel, so called, from a principal part of it: and this also is not to be understood of their return thither, upon the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and the liberty he... [ Continue Reading ]
MY PEOPLE HATH BEEN LOST SHEEP,.... like lost sheep, without a shepherd, going astray the fold, wandering from place to place, having none to take care of them, guide and direct them, or to go in and out before them, and lead them into suitable pastures; so it was with the Jews in the Babylonish cap... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THAT FOUND THEM HAVE DEVOURED THEM,.... As lost and wandering sheep are liable to be found, and to be devoured, by every beast of prey, lions, wolves, and bears; so the Jews were found by their neighbours, their enemies, and especially by the Chaldeans, having forsaken God, and being forsaken by... [ Continue Reading ]
REMOVE OUT OF THE MIDST OF BABYLON, AND GO FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF THE CHALDEANS,.... This, in the literal sense, is a call to the Jews in Babylon, and in other parts of Chaldea, to go out from thence upon the proclamation of Cyrus; and especially to the chief of them, to animate the rest, and set... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR, LO, I WILL RAISE AND CAUSE TO COME UP AGAINST BABYLON,.... The work was of the Lord; it was he that would give a commission and a command to the enemies of Babylon; that would incline them, and stir them up, to come against her; that would direct their motions and guide them thither, so that it... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CHALDEA SHALL BE A SPOIL,.... The land of the Chaldeans, as the Targum, should become a spoil to the enemy, and be plundered of all its riches and treasures; not only Babylon principally, but the whole country it was the metropolis of: ALL THAT SPOIL HER SHALL BE SATISFIED, SAITH THE LORD; for... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE YE WERE GLAD, BECAUSE YE REJOICED, O YE DESTROYERS OF MINE HERITAGE,.... This is addressed to the Chaldeans who destroyed Jerusalem and the land of Judea, once the heritage of the Lord; when they rejoiced at the destruction of God's people, and insulted them in their miseries; and which is t... [ Continue Reading ]
YOUR MOTHER SHALL BE SORE CONFOUNDED,.... The monarchy of the Chaldeans; so the Targum and jarchi, your congregation; or rather their metropolis, their mother city, the city of Babylon; which would be confounded when taken, none of her sons being able to defend her: the same will be true of mystical... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE OF THE WRATH OF THE LORD, IT SHALL NOT BE INHABITED,.... That is, Babylon; which the Targum expresses, "because thou, Babylon, hast provoked the Lord;'' by their idolatry, luxury, ill usage of his people, and profanation of the vessels of the sanctuary; therefore it should be destroyed, an... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT YOURSELVES IN ARRAY AGAINST BABYLON ROUND ABOUT,.... This is directed to the Medes and Persians, to dispose of their army in proper places round about the city of Babylon, to besiege it; and to order their instruments of war, fit for that purpose, a convenient manner; since they might be sure of... [ Continue Reading ]
SHOUT AGAINST HER ROUND ABOUT,.... As soldiers do when they make an assault upon a place, to encourage one another, and dismay the besieged; just as the Israelites did when they surrounded Jericho: SHE HATH GIVEN HER HAND; submitted to the conqueror, and sued for mercy. The Targum is, "she is deli... [ Continue Reading ]
CUT OFF THE SOWER FROM IN BABYLON, AND HIM THAT HANDLETH THE SICKLE IN THE TIME OF HARVEST,.... Both sower and reaper: the walls of Babylon took in a large compass of land, where there were corn fields; and which, as Curtius s observes, would yield a sufficiency to hold out a siege against an enemy;... [ Continue Reading ]
ISRAEL [IS] A SCATTERED SHEEP,.... Or like a sheep that is frightened and drove from the fold, and is dispersed, and wanders about here and there; Israel includes all the twelve tribes: THE LIONS HAVE DRIVEN [HIM] AWAY; from his own land, and carried him captive, and scattered him among the nations... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL,.... Because of this cruel treatment of his people, whose God he was; and being the Lord of hosts, and able to avenge himself on their enemies, he threatens as follows: BEHOLD, I WILL PUNISH THE KING OF BABYLON AND HIS LAND; not Nebuchadnezz... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL BRING ISRAEL AGAIN TO HIS HABITATION,.... Or "fold" u, or place of pasturage; for the metaphor of sheep is still continued. Israel designs not the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the Levites, and a few of the other tribes mixed with them only, but all Israel, together with Judah, as app... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THOSE DAYS, AND IN THAT TIME, SAITH THE LORD,.... When mystical Babylon shall be destroyed, and the Jews will be converted and brought into their land, and be in possession of every temporal and spiritual mercy; it will then most clearly appear that they are the favourites of heaven, and all thei... [ Continue Reading ]
GO UP AGAINST THE LAND OF MERATHAIM,.... Thought to be the country of the Mardi, which lay part of it in Assyria, and part of it in Armenia; expressed in the dual number, because one part of it lay on one side the Tigris, and the other on the other side. Cyrus, with his army of Medes and Persians, i... [ Continue Reading ]
A SOUND OF BATTLE [IS] IN THE LAND,.... In the land of the Chaldeans, as it is expressed in the Septuagint and Arabic versions; the noise of warriors, the clashing of arms, and sound of trumpets, both of the enemy entered into the land, and of the Chaldeans arming themselves in their own defence: A... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW IS THE HAMMER OF THE WHOLE EARTH CUT ASUNDER AND BROKEN!.... The Targum is, "how is the king cut down and broken that moved the whole earth!'' The king of Babylon, or the kingdom of Babylon, which was like a hammer for its hardness and strength; and being an instrument, in the hand of God, of... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE LAID A SNARE FOR THEE, AND THOU ART ALSO TAKEN, O BABYLON,.... Retorting to the stratagem that Cyrus used, in draining the river Euphrates, and marching his army up through it into the midst of the city of Babylon, and took it by surprise, while the inhabitants at night were feasting and reve... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH OPENED HIS ARMOURY,.... Alluding to the manner of kings, who have some particular edifice built for an armoury; see Song of Solomon 4:4; wherein are provided and laid up all sorts of armour, small and great, which are fetched out from thence, in time of need. This armoury is to be unde... [ Continue Reading ]
COME AGAINST HER FROM THE UTMOST BORDER,.... Or, "from the end" a; from the end of the earth; from the Persian gulf, and the Caspian sea, on which the Persians and Medes bordered; from the most distant countries; for the Medes and Persians, who are here called unto, brought others along with them in... [ Continue Reading ]
SLAY ALL HER BULLOCKS,.... Or, "all her mighty ones", as the Targum and Vulgate Latin version; her princes and great men, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel; compared to bullocks for their strength, fatness, and fierceness; see Psalms 22:12; this may well be applied to the slaughter of kings, captains... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VOICE OF THEM THAT FLEE AND ESCAPE OUT THE LAND OF BABYLON,.... The Jews that were captives in Babylon, upon the taking of it, took that opportunity to flee out Of it, and make their escape to their own land, which some of them might do before the proclamation of Cyrus; whose voice declaring to... [ Continue Reading ]
CALL TOGETHER THE ARCHERS AGAINST BABYLON,.... The Medes and Persians, who were well skilled in archery, especially the Elamites; see Isaiah 22:6; hence Horace d makes mention of "Medi pharetra"; and Cyrus in Xenophon e says, that he had under his command sixty thousand men that wore targets and wer... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE SHALL HER YOUNG MEN FALL IN THE STREETS,.... Or "surely" f; it is the form of an oath, according to Jarchi Cyrus, when he took Babylon, ordered proclamation to be made that the inhabitants should keep within doors; and that whoever were found in the streets should be put to death g, as dou... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, I [AM] AGAINST THEE, [O THOU] MOST PROUD, SAITH THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS,.... Or, O "pride", or O "man of pride" i; intolerably proud, superlatively so, as the kings of Babylon were, as Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar likewise, the present king; so the Targum interprets it of a king, "behold, I... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE MOST PROUD SHALL STUMBLE AND FALL,.... Or "pride", as before; "the man of pride", who is so proud that he may be called pride itself. The Targum, as before, interprets it a wicked king; and Abarbinel understands it of Belshazzar particularly, who was slain the night that Babylon was taken. I... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS,.... This is a preface to another prophecy, detached from the former, respecting the redemption of the Lord's people by the Messiah; and is used to excite the attention to it, as well as, to assure the truth of it: THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH [WERE]... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR REDEEMER [IS] STRONG, THE LORD OF HOSTS [IS] HIS NAME,.... And seeing his name is the Lord of hosts or armies, and has all the armies of heaven and earth at his command; and especially since he is Jehovah, the everlasting and unchangeable I AM; he must be strong and mighty, yea, the Almighty,... [ Continue Reading ]
A SWORD [IS] UPON THE CHALDEANS, SAITH THE LORD,.... Or, "shall be" k or, "O sword, [be thou] on the Chaldeans" l; that is, the sword of the Medes and Persians; those that kill with the sword, as the Targum; in the mystic sense, the Christian princes that shall draw the sword against the antichristi... [ Continue Reading ]
A SWORD [IS] UPON THE LIARS,.... Some render it "bars" m, as the word sometimes signifies; and interpret it of great men, who are the strength and security of cities and commonwealths; but these are mentioned both before and after. The Targum renders it "diviners"; and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret... [ Continue Reading ]
A SWORD [IS] UPON THEIR HORSES, AND UPON THEIR CHARIOTS,.... Upon the horsemen, and those that rode in chariots; upon the whole cavalry, which should fall into the enemies' hands, and be cut to pieces; see Revelation 19:18; AND UPON ALL THE MINGLED PEOPLE THAT [ARE] IN THE MIDST OF HER; those of ot... [ Continue Reading ]
A DROUGHT [IS] UPON HER WATERS, AND THEY SHALL BE DRIED UP,.... Either on the waters of the land of Chaldea in general, from whence should follow barrenness, and so a want of the necessaries of life; hence Kimchi interprets it of a consumption of riches, and all good things; or on the waters of Baby... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE THE WILD BEASTS OF THE DESERT WITH THE WILD BEASTS OF THE ISLANDS SHALL DWELL [THERE],.... Of these creatures Isaiah 13:21; and Isaiah 13:22; AND THE OWLS SHALL DWELL THEREIN; so mystical Babylon when fallen shall become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cag... [ Continue Reading ]
AS GOD OVERTHREW SODOM AND GOMORRAH, AND THE NEIGHBOUR [CITIES] THEREOF, SAITH THE LORD,.... Admah and Zeboim: [SO] SHALL NO MAN ABIDE THERE, NEITHER SHALL ANY SON OF MAN DWELL THEREIN; the same is said concerning Edom; Jeremiah 49:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, A PEOPLE SHALL COME FROM THE NORTH, AND A GREAT NATION,.... The Modes and Persians, whose country lay north of Babylon: Jeremiah 50:9; AND MANY KINGS SHALL BE RAISED UP FROM THE COASTS OF THE EARTH; the kings of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz, Jeremiah 51:27; and of the Armenians and other na... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL HOLD THE BOW AND THE LANCE,.... Or "spear". The Targum interprets it, "shields"; as many in Cyrus's army had t; the one an offensive, the other a defensive weapon; or, if bow and lance, the one is used at a distance, the other when near. The Medes and Persians were well skilled in handlin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KING OF BABYLON HATH HEARD THE REPORT OF THEM,.... Belshazzar, as Kimchi; he had the report brought him of the invasion of his land by them; of their approach to Babylon, and design upon it; and of their number, character, and force: AND HIS HANDS WAXED FEEBLE; as they did when he saw the handw... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, HE SHALL COME UP LIKE A LION FROM THE SWELLING OF JORDAN,.... What is said of Nebuchadnezzar coming up against Edom is here said of Cyrus coming up against Babylon; for of a king it is to be understood; as the Targum, "behold, a king with his army shall come up against them, as a lion from... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE HEAR YE THE COUNSEL OF THE LORD THAT HE HATH TAKEN AGAINST BABYLON,.... The same is said in Jeremiah 49:20; only, instead of Edom, Babylon is here put, and in the next clause: AND HIS PURPOSES THAT HE HATH PURPOSED AGAINST THE LAND OF THE CHALDEANS; instead of the inhabitants of Teman, th... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THE NOISE OF THE TAKING OF BABYLON THE EARTH IS MOVED,.... It being so sudden and unexpected, and so very astonishing: AND THE CRY IS HEARD AMONG THE NATIONS; that Babylon is fallen; which, as applied to mystical Babylon, will be matter of joy to some, and of lamentation to others; see Revelatio... [ Continue Reading ]