The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 50
Chapter L · Vol. III, pp. 1296–1298
1, 9, 21, 35 The judgment of Babylon. 4, 17, 33 The redemption of Israel.
1 The word that the LORD spake aagainst Babylon, and against the land of the Chaldeans, by1 Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declareb ye among the nations, and publish, and set up2 a standard;3 publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, cBel is confounded, Merodach4 is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
b ch.5.15,20. Is.13.2-5,17; 21.9. Re.14.8.
2 Heb. lift up.
3 The standard or banner as of an army carried before them in their march, and set up to mark the place of their assembling or encampment.—Note, God's standard is truth, Ps.60.4. Jn.18.37.—C.
c Is.46.1,2. ch.51.44.
4 Bel, Merodach. Most probably the names of some of the kings of Babylon deified, and worshipped by their heathen subjects, as 'tutelary saints' (so called) are, alas! still canonized and worshipped in lands called Christian.—C.
3 For dout of the north5 there cometh up a nation against her, which eshall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
d ver.9,40,41; ch.51.11,27,48. Is.13.5,17; 21.2.
5 The Medes, whose country lay to the north of Babylon.—C.
e Is.13.5,9-14,19-22; 14.4,22,23. ver.12,13,15,16,23,35-40,45; ch.51.2,3,8,25,26,37,41-43,62.
4 Ing those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, hthe children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, igoing and weeping: they shall go, and jseek the LORD their God.
5 They kshall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us ljoin ourselves to the LORD nin a perpetual covenant6 that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath been olost sheep; their shepherdsp have caused them to go astray, they haveq turned them away on the mountains: they have rgone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their sresting-place.7
o ver.17; ch.2.8. Eze.34.4-6. Ps.119.176. Is.53.6. 1 Pe.2.25.
p Is.56.10-12. ch.10.21; xxiii. Eze.xxxiv.
q ch.2.20,28; 3.2,23.
r ch.3.6,23,5.
s Ca.1.7,8.
7 Heb. place to lie down in, Ps.23.2.
7 All that found them thave devoured them: and their adversaries said, uWe offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, vthe habitation of justice;8 even the LORD, xthe hope of their fathers.
A.M. cir. 3409. B.C. cir. 595.
t Ps.79.7. Is.9.12. 2 Ki.24.2. ch.12.7-12; ver.17,33.
u ch.2.3; 40.2,3. Zec.1.5; 11.5. Is.47.6. Da.9.6,16.
8 This has been the very language of those (so called) Christian countries in which the Jews have, in former times, been persecuted. Their persecution, whether in the form of assault or robbery, was counted no crime, because the Jews had been guilty of crucifying the Lord, and their persecutors believed or feigned themselves authorized by Providence to inflict retributive punishment. So easily, alas! is Christianity perverted when covetousness or revenge obtains a place in the heart of its professors.—C.
8 yRemove9 out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats1 before the flocks.
y Is.48.20; 52.11. ch.51.6,45,50. Zec.2.6,7. Re.18.4.
9 An address to the Jews in Babylon, who, though carried captive as a people, seem to have been rather colonists than slaves. The warning to remove may be considered as prophetic of the siege by Cyrus. See note on ver.28 and ch.51.6.—C.
1 The meaning most probably is, that as the goat seeks the rocks and mountains, so the Jews, to whom their instincts and habits were well known, would withdraw from the plains of Babylon, and take refuge in the mountain provinces. See ver.16.—C.
9 For,z lo, I will raise, and cause to come up against Babylon, an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert 2man; anone shall return in vain.
z ver.14,21,26,41,42; ch.25.24; 51.1-4,11,27. Is.13.2-5,17; 21.2.
2 Or, destroyer.
10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her bshall be satisfied, saith the LORD.
b Is.45.3; 33.4,23. 2 Ch.20.25. Re.17.16.
11 Becausec ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye ddestroyers of mine heritage; because eye are grown fat3 as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;4
12 Your mother5 shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, gthe hindermost6 of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 Because of the hwrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: ievery one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
h Zec.1.15.
i ch.49.17; 18.16. Is.14.4-17. Re.xviii.
14 Putj yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for kshe hath sinned against the LORD.
j ver.9,29,42; ch.51.2,11,12. Is.13.17,18.
k ver.11,17,29,31; ch.51.35,47,49,52. Re.17.5.
15 Shoutl against her round about: she nhath given her hand: her ofoundations7 are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is pthe vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her: qas she hath done, do unto her.
7 Foundations. 'Battlements.'—Boothroyd.
l ch.49.2; 4.20,21.
n 1 Ch.29.24. 2 Ki.10.15. Ezr.10.10. La.5.6. Eze.17.18.
o ch.51.25,58. Re.16.10.
16 Cut off the sower8 from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle9 in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword rthey shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.1
8 Husbandmen and hired forces.
9 Or, scythe.
1 All that had come from other countries for purposes of curiosity, amusement, health, trade, or office under the government, shall escape to their own lands.—C.
r Is.13.14. ch.51.9; 46.15.
17 Israel is sa scattered sheep, the tlions have driven him away; first uthe king of Assyria hath devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.2
s ver.6. Joel 3.2.
t ch.2.15; 5.6; 49.19.
u 2 Ki.15.29; 17.6; xxiv. xxv. 2 Ch.33.11; xxxvi. ch.xxxix. lii. Is.47.6.
A.M. cir. 3409. B.C. cir. 595.
2 See note * below.
* This is a bold but graphic figure. It describes in a very striking manner alike the cruelty and rapacity exercised upon the Jews by the Assyrians and Babylonians. In God's mysterious providence they were his instruments for punishing the Israelites because of their sin: but they themselves were not on that account free from blame. Love of conquest, military glory, and human passion moved them to acts of barbarity, for which they and their countries were in turn terribly punished. The desolation of Babylon is a wonderful commentary on the words of the prophet.—P.
18 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, vas I have punished the king of Assyria.3
v Is.37.36-38. Na.i.-iii. Zep.2.13-15.
3 Assyria was punished by the total absorption of the kingdom into the empire of Babylon.—C.
19 Andx I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on yCarmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and zGilead.
x ch.3.18; 23.3; xxx. xxxi. xxxiii. Eze.xxxiv. xxxvi. xxxvii. Is.48.20; 65.9,10. Mi.2.12.
y Mi.7.14,18.
z Ca.6.5.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, athe iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and bthere shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom cI reserve.
21 God up against the land of Merathaim,4 even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod:5 waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do gaccording to all that I have commanded thee.
d See ver.3,9-15.
4 Or, of the rebels.
e Eze.23.23.
5 Or, visitation. [Merethaim and Pekod are not names of distinct countries, but descriptive epithets applied to Babylon. The former signifies 'twofold rebellion,' and most probably refers to the twofold invasion of Palestine—first by the Assyrians, and second by the Babylonians who succeeded them. Pekod means 'punishment,' and is intended to denote the judgment to be inflicted upon the whole Babylonian empire, as fully described in the succeeding verses.—P.]
g 2 Sa.16.11. 2 Ch.36.23. Is.10.6. ch.34.22; 48.10.
22 A hsound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
h ch.51.31,54-56; 4.19-21. Is.15.3-5,8; 21.3,4.
23 Howi is the hammer6 of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
i ch.51.20-24. Is.14.4-6,15-23; 13.19-22. Re.xiii.-xix.
6 'The hammer,' i.e. the breaker of all the nations of the earth. How descriptive is the title! The Babylonian monarch swept over nearly the whole known world, crushing all before him.—P.
24 Ij have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hastk striven against the LORD.7
j ch.51.31,39. Da.5.30,31. 1 Th.5.3. Re.18.7. Ec.9.12.
k ch.25.12,14,26; 50.11,29,38; 51.1,6-8,33-36, &c. Is.13.11.
7 Babylon strove against the LORD in her efforts to establish idolatry and perpetuate slavery.—C.
25 Thel LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this nis the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
l Is.13.2-5,17,18; 21.7,9. ver.29,35-38,42. Ps.45.3,5.
n Am.3.6. ch.51.1,11,12,25,55; ver.15.
26 Comeo against her from the utmost8 border, open her 9storehouses; pcast her1 up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
o Is.13.2-5; 21.2; 46.11; 48.14. ver.41; ch.51.11,27,28.
8 Heb. the end.
9 Rifle all her treasures.
p ver.13,15,23,39,40,45; ch.51.25,26,37,43,62. Is.14.21,22.
1 Or, tread her.
27 Slay all her bullocks;2 let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for qtheir day is come, the time of their visitation.3
2 i.e. grandees, ch.46.21. Is.34.7. Ps.22.12. Re.19.17,18. Ps.68.30.
q Ps.37.13. Is.63.4. ver.31; ch.27.7; 46.21. Eze.7.7,10,12.
3 This may either be meant for the total destruction of her agriculture, or for the ruin of her 'strong and mighty ones.' See ver.30,35.—C.
28 Ther voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his stemple.4
r ch.51.50,51. Is.48.20, with Da.5.1-3,5,30. ch.51.10,11.
4 Cyrus continued to ravage the empire for twenty years before the fall of Babylon, so that there was abundant time for the escape of such captives as would listen to the prophetic warning, ver.8; ch.51.6.—C.
29 Callt together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: urecompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for vshe hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Thereforex shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD.
x ch.9.21; 18.21; 48.15; 49.26; 51.3,4. Is.13.15-18.
31 Behold, I am against thee, yO thou most proud,5 saith the Lord GOD of hosts: zfor thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 Anda the most proud6 shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I bwill kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
a Pr.16.18; 18.12. Hab.2.5-8,15-18. ch.51.58,64. Re.18.21. Is.14.4-23; 13.6-22; 21.9.
6 Heb. pride.
b ch.21.14; 49.27; 51.25,26,58. Re.18.8,18; 19.3.
33 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, cThe children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together; and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
c 2 Ki.17.6; xxiv. xxv. ch.xxxix. lii. 2 Ch.xxxvi.
34 Theird Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name; he shall ethroughly plead their cause, that he may ggive rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, hand upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
h Da.5.2-30. ch.51.39. Is.47.13,14.
36 A sword is upon the 7liars,8 and they shall idote: a sword is jupon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
7 Heb. bars or chief stays, ch.48.30. Is.44.25, i.e. soothsayers and wizards.
8 The Chaldeans were great pretenders to augury, by astrology, the examination of victims, and other superstitious means; and, like all other impostors, might sometimes accidentally succeed, but be found generally liars.—C.
i 2 Th.2.11.
j ver.35,37; ch.51.39.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all kthe mingled 9people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become las women: a sword is upon her treasures; and nthey shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters;1 and they shall be dried up: for it is othe land of graven images, and they are mad2 upon their idols.3
1 ch.51.32,36. Is.44.27. Re.16.12. Euphrates shall be dried up.
o ver.2; ch.51.44,47,52. Da.iii.; 5.4. Is.46.1,6,7. Hab.2.18,19.
2 Those who form their ideas of worship from the humble, sober, heart-worship of Christianity, can form little conception of the frantic gestures, violent contortions, and outrageous shoutings with which the heathen hail the coming forth of their idols from their secret shrines.—C.
3 Heb. terrors.
39 Thereforep the wild beasts of the desert, with the wild beasts of the islands, shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for qever: neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.4
p Is.13.20-22; 14.23. ch.51.37,38,43,62,64.
q ch.25.12.
4 This remarkable prophecy has been fulfilled. The site of Babylon is now occupied by heaps of rubbish, dry beds of ancient canals, vast mounds of crumbling brick, mingled with fragments of glass and pottery. The soil is nitrous and destroys vegetation, rendering the region 'a naked and hideous waste, re-echoing only the dismal sounds of the owl and jackal, of the hyena and lawless robber.' So terribly desolate is the place, so completely has the great city been swept away, that its site was long a mystery. Now that it has been identified, modern research has tended more and more to illustrate the prophetic judgments.—P.
40 Asr God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41 Behold,s a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
s ch.6.22. Re.17.16. ver.2,3,9,26; ch.51.1,2,27,28,33. Is.13.2-5,17,18. ch.25.14.
42 Theyt shall hold the bow and the lance; uthey are cruel,5 and will not show mercy: vtheir voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 Thex king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
44 Behold, he shall come up ylike a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong; but I will make them suddenly run away from her:6 and who is za chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and awho will appoint me the time?7 and who is that bshepherd that will stand before me?8
y ch.49.19; 25.9,38.
A.M. cir. 3409. B.C. cir. 595.
6 Or, upon her, ch.49.19. 1 Ki.9.5.
z Is.41.2,3,25; 46.11. Da.7.5.
a Job 41.10. ch.49.19. Ps.76.7.
7 Or, convent me to plead.
b ch.49.19. Na.3.18. Da.5.2,6,30.
8 See note on ch.49.19.—C.
45 Therefore hear ye cthe counsel of the LORD that he hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans; surely dthe least of the flock shall draw them out; surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
c Is.14.24,27; 46.10. Ps.33.9-11. Ac.15.18.
46 Ate the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
e ch.49.21. Re.18.9,15,19. Is.14.9,10. Eze.26.18; 31.16; 32.9,10.
Notes
Ver. 4. In those days. That is, during the days of Babylon's desolation. That desolation still continues, and the conversion and restoration of Israel is still future; but the visible ruin of Babylon is not more certain than the fulfilment of the promise of God to his people Judah and Israel. C.
Ver. 13. Wholly desolate. 'The abundance of the country has vanished as clean away as if the besom of desolation had swept it from north to south,—the whole land from the outskirts of Babylon to the farthest stretch of sight, lying a melancholy waste. Not a habitable spot appears for countless miles' (Sir R. K. Porter's Travels; see Rich, Keith, &c.)—Note, He that would interpret the awful phrase 'wrath of the Lord,' will find a most intelligible exposition in comparing the histories of ancient and modern Babylon. The picture will present conquest pursued, pride inflated, idolatry established, luxury indulged, slavery maintained, mercy forgotten, and ruin, utter ruin, inflicted in return by the hand of a righteous God! C.
Ver. 19. Israel. The distinction between Judah and Israel is not to be overlooked. Judah was restored under Zerubbabel, Ne. i.—Israel never returned. But God has given the promise, and it will yet be fulfilled. See ver. 33. C.
Ver. 20 Satan, as the 'accuser,' will seek for their iniquity, as he did for iniquity in Job, but it shall not be found; because 'they shall have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' See He. 8. 8-12. C.
Ver. 40. Let the infidel compare the ancient with the modern state of Babylon, and the whole with this prophecy—not a description vague and general, but specific and particular—and then let him acknowledge that 'the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,' and remain an infidel no longer. C.
Reflections.—Certain but dreadful is the ruin of arrogant sinners, and especially those who oppress or murder the people of God. How unstable are all earthly things! The Medes and Persians, whom the Chaldeans had but lately subdued, now tread their conquerors under their feet. And no idols, no princes, no counsellors, no diviners, no armies, no lofty walls or deep rivers, no wealth or bravery can protect them from the weakest foe. The measure which they had meted out to others is meted out to them again, pressed down and running over. And their fearful judgments exactly correspond to their horrid iniquities.—But in what fearful things in righteousness doth God answer the prayers of his people! Yet certain is their deliverance, their restoration to fellowship with God, to safety, comfort, and full forgiveness. And if we begin to be tenderly affected under God's corrections, it is a token that our merciful deliverance is near. In promoting a good cause, it is good to be zealously affected, and to be among the first to lead the way. It is highly honourable to return to God and our covenant obligations to him. And happy is it when the cruel insults and upbraiding of our enemies are exchanged for the smiles, the vindications of our God. And when our hearts and lives are reformed, and our sins are forgiven, how sweet are even the temporal mercies which we then enjoy!