Jeremiah 51
ZerrCBCJeremiah Chapter Fifty-One Verse 1 Jeremiah 51 AGAINST BABYLON (continued) (The introduction for Jeremiah 50 also applies to this chapter.) Jeremiah 51:1-5“Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind. And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bendeth, let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets. For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.““Them that dwell in Leb-kamai …” (Jeremiah 51:1). The proper name here is a kind of trick word called an athbash, devised by numbering the Hebrew alphabet from each end (for example, in English X, Y, Z, would be numbered 3,2, 1, etc.; and A, B, C, would be numbered 1,2, 3, etc.
Thus, to form an athbash, the letters of a name would be changed. The letter “A” would be written “Z,” and the letter “B” would be written “Y,” etc.). Leb-kamai here is an athbash for “Chaldea."[1]No one knows why such a device was used here. It was usually a device for concealing the meaning of a word from all except those “in the know”; but the equivalent of Chaldea, “Babylon,” has already been mentioned. We encountered another example of this in Jeremiah 25:26. Barnes believed that this word for Chaldea, Leb-kamai, was probably “known to everybody”;[2] and, if so, it could have been a kind of nickname for Babylonia, such as “Gotham” or “The Big Apple.” “A destroying wind …” (Jeremiah 51:1). Keil noted that this should be translated, “The spirit of a destroyer."[3] That rendition is most likely correct, because it was not a “wind” that mined Babylon; it was a human destroyer, Cyrus. In Hebrew, the word for “wind” and “spirit” is the same. “Strangers … they shall winnow her …” (Jeremiah 51:2). “These were the Medes (Jeremiah 51:11) who would destroy Babylon."[4] The word “winnow” was a word connected with the threshing industry; and one still hears remarks like, “He gave him a threshing!” “For Israel … Judah … is not forsaken of his God …” (Jeremiah 51:5). Throughout this chapter, the destruction of Babylon, and the protection and blessing of Israel are mentioned in that order repeatedly. Verse 6 “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed; wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.“The analogy between the literal Babylon here and the spiritual Babylon of Revelation is amazing. Note the following: (1) Both shall be utterly destroyed (2) God’s people are commanded to “come out of her.” (3) She has a golden cup in her hand. (4) The nations have become drunk with her wine. (5) Her judgment reaches all the way to heaven. (6) Her doom is like a stone cast into the river (see last paragraph of this chapter). (7) She is responsible for all the slain in the land (Jeremiah 51:49). See Vol. 12 (Revelation) in the New Testament commentaries (Revelation 17-18). “Babylon is suddenly fallen …” (Jeremiah 51:8), It happened in a single night, the tragic night dramatically described in the fifth chapter of Daniel. “She is not healed …” (Jeremiah 51:9). “Israel’s wounds could be healed by balm from Gilead, but Babylon’s fate was absolute."[5]“Babylon hath been a golden cup …” (Jeremiah 51:7). Not only that; she was called “God’s hammer” inJeremiah 50:23. “As God’s hammer, she was strong; as his cup of gold, she was rich and beautiful; but nothing could save her from the wrath of God as recompense for her sin."[6]Verse 11 “Make sharp the arrows, hold forth the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness. Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.““O thou that dwellest upon many waters …” (Jeremiah 51:13). “The great wealth of Babylon was caused not merely by the Euphrates, but by a vast system of canals, which served for defense as well as for irrigation."[7] Harrison thought that there might be, “A sarcastic reference here to the mythological tale of the Babylonians concerning a great subterranean ocean”;[8] but we believe that the obvious reference to the canals of the Euphrates is a far better interpretation. “The measure of thy covetousness …” (Jeremiah 51:13). “This is a metaphor taken from weaving; it compares Babylon to a measure of cloth cut out of the loom, which is a figure for death."[9]; Isaiah 38:12 has the same metaphor. “As with the canker-worm” (Jeremiah 51:14). The canker-worm was a very destructive insect. “It was the locust in the chrysalis stage, the most destructive phase of the locust’s life."[10] This creature was the source of many of the worst plagues that ever came upon the people of the Near East. The promise here was that God would fill Babylon with men who would do the same thing to Babylon that the horrible locust plague would do to a field of grain. Verse 15 “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult in the waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.“These verses, with the exception of a single word are a verbatim repetition of Jer 10:12-16. See my comment on these verses under that reference. Verse 20 “Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin; and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight saith Jehovah. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyeth all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith Jehovah.“No comment is necessary on Jeremiah 51:20-24, which are merely a somewhat tedious way of saying that God will break in pieces just about everything that pertained to Babylon. “O destroying mountain …” (Jeremiah 51:25). Keil uses several pages talking about a volcano here; but we believe Robinson was correct when he said, “The language here is purely figurative."[11] Why did the Lord choose such a metaphor? It could be because of that false mountain called the “Tower of Babel” that had been erected there in the remote past, or because of that Ziggurat, the mountain-like temple of Babylon’s pagan religious system. God would roll the whole nation down the multiple terraces of their false mountain. “Thou shalt be desolate forever, saith Jehovah …” (Jeremiah 51:26). Thompson complained that, “Cyrus entered Babylon without any appreciable resistance and left the city intact; and this is quite contrary to the description of devastation that appears in Jeremiah 51:26."[12] There are other phases of these prophecies against Babylon that indicate quite clearly that there would be a long period during which Babylon would be the “hindermost” of nations, and that the total desolation promised would be accomplished gradually, but that it would last forever. All of this took place exactly as prophesied. See further comment on this in the previous chapter in the discussion under Jeremiah 51:11-16. Verse 27 “Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horse to come up as the rough canker-worm. Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion. And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter: and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.““Ararat …” (Jeremiah 51:27). “This is an ancient name for part of Armenia, including the mountains where the ark rested.
It was where the sons of Sennacherib went after they murdered him; and Jeremiah mentioned it here, along with the neighboring districts of Mini and Ashkenaz."[13]“Ashkenaz …” (Jeremiah 51:27). “These people were the ancient equivalent of barbarians. Their neighbors were Ararat and Minni. They were located southeast of Lake Van."[14]“Minni …” (Jeremiah 51:27). “This is the same as Mannai of the Assyrian inscriptions. They were located in the vicinity of the lakes Van and Urmia and seem to have been a very capable people in warfare. They aided the destruction of Nineveh (612 B.C.) and also participated in the capture of Babylon in 539 B.C.)."[15] They were vassals of Babylon in the fall of Nineveh, and of the Medes in the fall of Babylon. “The rough canker-worm …” (Jeremiah 51:27). This was the name of the locust in its most devastating phase. See under Jeremiah 51:14, above. “One post shall run to meet another … one messenger to meet another …” (Jeremiah 51:31). The famed courier system of Babylon brought the drunken king (Daniel 5) the news of the city’s capture “from every quarter.” “The men of war were affrighted …” (Jeremiah 51:32). This is no wonder. The enemy were all over the city in total control of it; they had already burned the marshes, destroying any place of hiding or of ambush; the king was hopelessly drunk; and the mighty Babylon was as helpless as a woman untrained in war, with no protection, no armor, no weapons, and no hope. Let it be remembered, however, that this was a prophecy of “what would happen,” not a history of what did happen. The prophecy was so accurate, however, that some have mistaken it for history. The mention of the Medes and their allies both here and inJeremiah 51:11 are all the proof that is needed that here we have predictive prophecy, not history. No writer, writing afterward would have mentioned the Medes without bringing in the Persians. “Yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come for her …” (Jeremiah 51:33). Note the future verb. We have prophecy, not history. Also, the focus upon Israel here, along with the mention of the fall of Babylon follows the pattern already mentioned, namely, (1) the fall of Babylon, followed by (2) the God of Israel’s care for his children. Verse 34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath like a monster swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. They shall roar together like young lions; thy shall growl as lions’ whelps. When they are heated I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.“Harrison’s summary of this paragraph has this: “Nebuchadnezzar has devoured Jerusalem with the greedy gulp of a monster (the New English Bible has “dragon”), and for this excess his land shall be punished. The idiom of recompense (Jeremiah 51:35) is that of Gen 16:5)."[16]“I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry …” (Jeremiah 51:36). This writer cannot believe that Almighty God would dignify the mythological tale of a vast underground ocean by here promising to dry it up. Could God dry up something that never existed? Therefore, we reject the notion that, “This is a reference to the mythological wellsprings of life."[17] The Euphrates and its system of canals were the wellsprings of life for Babylon, not some mythological underground sea. See under Jeremiah 51:13, above.
Smith supposed that there might also be a reference here to, “The great lake dug by Nitocris to receive the waters of the Euphrates."[18]“Like a monster …” (Jeremiah 51:34). See my comment on Isaiah 27:1 regarding the monster mentioned there. Verse 41 “How is Sheshak taken and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea the wall of Babylon shall fall.““How is Sheshak taken …” (Jeremiah 51:41). This is an ashbash for Babylon. See under Jeremiah 51:1, above, and under Jeremiah 25:26. “The sea is come up upon Babylon …” (Jeremiah 51:42). This is a metaphor for the destroying army, composed of many nations under the lordship of Cyrus. “I will bring forth out of his mouth …” (Jeremiah 51:44). This reveals the true identity of the one who swallowed up Jerusalem. It was not a sea-monster at all, but Babylon, because Babylon was the one that God forced to disgorge himself of that which he had swallowed. Jeremiah 51:41-43 here are the same as Jeremiah 6:22-24. See my comments there. Verse 45 “My people, Go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah, and let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be found in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year shall come tidings, and violence is in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah. As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.““All her slain shall fall in the midst of her …” (Jeremiah 51:47). Harrison noted that this passage will bear the translation: “Just as the whole earth’s slain have fallen for Babylon, so at Babylon the whole earth’s slain shall fall."[19] Certainly this idea must be in the passage, because of what God said through the apostle John. “And in her (Mystery Babylon, the Great Harlot) was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth” (Revelation 18:24). Jeremiah 51:44-46 are taken from Jeremiah 49:19-21. See my comments there. Verse 50 “Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strongers have come into the sanctuary of Jehovah’s house. Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall the destroyers come upon her saith Jehovah.““Go ye, stand not still …” (Jeremiah 51:50). See under Jeremiah 51:6, above for comment on this. “We are confounded …” (Jeremiah 51:51). God’s people appear to be the speakers here. God’s thundering reply came in the next verse. “Fortify the height of her strength …” (Jeremiah 51:53). This may be either a reference to their famed Ziggurat, or to their high wall that surrounded the 200 square mile interior of the city. Speaking of the great wall, Smith has given us various estimates of its height. “There is in this an allusion to the vast height of the walls of Babylon, though their actual measurement is very uncertain. Herodotus gave the height as 335 English feet, Pliny 235, Q. Curtius 150, and Strabo 75!"[20]Incidentally, the above named historians regarding the walls of Babylon are among that company of pagan writers sometimes quoted by radical critics as “authorities” in remarks that are alleged to cast doubt upon or to deny something in the Bible. Can one intelligently suppose that the whole crowd of ancient writers were any more reliable than the sacred writers of the Holy Bible? Verse 54 “The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered: for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.““They shall sleep … saith the King …” (Jeremiah 51:57). Right in the midst of all the records regarding ancient kings, governors, deputies, etc., the real KING is introduced. He is Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel. “The broad walls of Babylon …” (Jeremiah 51:58). Once more, we shall allow the ancient pagan authorities to tell us about those broad walls. “Herodotus gave their breadth as 85 feet, Strabo and Curtius agreed that they were 31 feet”;[21] and Donald Wiseman found some pagan authority who gave the width as 25 feet![22] One ancient writer tells us that four chariots could be raced abreast upon the top of Babylon’s walls. Verse 59 “The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain. And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words, and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates: and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.““Seraiah… the chamberlain …” (Jeremiah 51:59).
This man was a brother of Baruch; and his being called the chamberlain indicates that he had charge of such things as accommodations and travel arrangements when Zedekiah made that trip to Babylon in the fourth year of his tenure as vassal king under Nebuchadnezzar, “in 593 B.C."[23]“Jeremiah gave Seraiah a scroll upon which was written a prophecy against Babylon."[24] This comment is incorrect, because the scroll had not “a prophecy” against Babylon, but, it had all that Jeremiah said, “even all these words” (Jeremiah 51:60). This proves that all the prophecies of Jeremiah against Babylon came early in the reign of Zedekiah (593 B.C.). Jeremiah wrote many other prophecies after that date, but all the prophecies against Babylon were concluded before the event mentioned in this paragraph. “There is no valid reason for questioning either the act recorded here or the account of it. It is dated in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah (594-593 B.C.).[25]As he did in Jeremiah 18:1-17 when he visited the house of the potter, and again in Jeremiah 32:6-15 when he bought a field, Jeremiah here reinforced his prophecy against Babylon by a symbolical action carried out for him by Seriah who read the prophecies first (publicly) and then tied a stone to the scroll and cast it into the middle of the Euphrates. The importance of this action is seen in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 18:21), where a similar action by a mighty angel of God symbolized the overthrow and destruction of Mystery Babylon the Great. With regard to that trip which Zedekiah made to Babylon on that occasion in his fourth year as king, Smith sheds some light. “Zedekiah made that trip possibly with the hope of receiving some favor from Nebuchadnezzar, or because Nebuchadnezzar summoned him to be present for some state occasion; and it is even possible that Nebuchadnezzar suspected the loyalty of Zedekiah and demanded that he appear in Babylon with an explanation of why the ambassadors that year (Jeremiah 27:3) were assembled in Jerusalem from Moab, Ammon, Edom and Phoenicia."[26]“Thus far the words of Jeremiah …” (Jeremiah 51:64). This is called a Colophon,[27] an editorial note probably inserted by the scribe who connected Jeremiah 52 to Jeremiah as an historical appendix. Very frequently in our Bible studies, we encounter allegations that editors, redactors, and interpolators have added this or that; but here we really have such an example; and let it be noted, that the addition is clearly distinguished from the words of the author. “Whoever it was that added Jeremiah 52 evidently felt that it was his duty to point out that it was not written by Jeremiah. It is an instance of the scrupulous care the Jews took in guarding the integrity of their sacred books, which God committed to their keeping."[28]The fact of this comment’s appearance here demonstrates that the postulation widely accepted by radical critics that all kinds of comments and additions were added to the original writings of the prophets is simply false. The attitude of the nameless scribe who wrote the final sentence of Jer 51:64 effectively disproves it.
Jeremiah 51:1
Jeremiah 51:1. This long chapter is a con-tinuation of Jeremiah’ s predictions against Babylon. Much of the language is figurative even as the prophetic style often is. Wind ta very destructive when It comes in great vol-umes, and the onrushing of the Persians was to be like such a wind. Rise up against me. Since the Lord was the power that was bringing the Persian army against the land of Babylon, those who opposed them were opposing Him.
Jeremiah 51:2
Jeremiah 51:2. Fanners is from a word that means a foreigner, and fan Is from ZARAH, which Strong defines, “To toss about; by implication to diffuse, winnow.” The statement means that Babylon was to he treated as chaff and the Persians were to be the workers who would use the fan. Since the empire of Babylon was become as chaff, when the fan has done its work it wit! leave the land empty.
Jeremiah 51:3
Jeremiah 51:3. The literal meaning of this verse is for the Persians to oppose the Babylonians, Him that bendeth means the Babylonian who bends the bow to shoot, an arrow. The Persian archer (a user of a bow) is told to bend his bow to shoot an arrow at the other man. A brlgandine is a coat of mail or metal armor. The Babylonian wore one and lifted himself up; that is, he stood up and trusted in the protection of his armor. The Persian soldier is told (In prediction) to stand against the other soldier who trusted in his armor.
Jeremiah 51:4
Jeremiah 51:4. This is a more direct prediction that the Chaldeans were to be slain in t.heir own land. The streets of their cities were to be strewn with dead bodies.
Jeremiah 51:5
Jeremiah 51:5. These misfortunes were to come upon the Babylonians on behaif of Israel and Judah who had been held in captivity by these heathen. And alt this was to be done in spite of the sins of God’ s people committed while they were in their own land. But the Lord would not tolerate the attitude of the Babylonians toward even an unrighteous nation when it was the peculiar possession of Him.
Jeremiah 51:6
Jeremiah 51:6. God’ s people were to flee out of the land of Babylon and this verse Is a prediction of the return to their own land. The Biblical account of the fulfillment of the prediction is in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The historical account of it was Quoted at iBaiah 14: 1 in volume 3 of this .
Jeremiah 51:7
Jeremiah 51:7. When cup is used figuratively it denotes an instrument containing the wine of wrath or other unpleasant lot to be experienced by someone. When God is said to be using the cup it is a signal that He is imposing upon some person some deserved chastisement. In the instance at. hand Babylon is the cup and God has used it against certain nations to punish them for their wrongs. But Babylon took too much joy out of the distress that was brought onto the nations by drinking from this “cup” served to them, so now the Lord is going to bring her to suffer humiliation.
Jeremiah 51:8
Jeremiah 51:8. Babylon is fallen is present tense in form but future in thought. Suddenly refers to the surprise attack described in Daniel 5.
Jeremiah 51:9
Jeremiah 51:9. The gist of this verse is that Babylon was a self-willed nation and would never have accepted any instructions that might have prevented her downfall. She was to receive the chastisement that was due her wicked stubbornness. Judgment rear,hath unto heaven (or to the skies) is a figurative expression, meaning the doom of Babylon was to be great.
Jeremiah 51:10
Jeremiah 51:10. The pronoun our refers to the Medes and Persians who were the instrument in God’s hands for the punishment of Babylon. The verse means that in attacking the nation these people will be doing the right thing.
Jeremiah 51:11
Jeremiah 51:11. This is the same thought as the preceding verse. Mention of only the Medes is merely a common manner of the Old Testament writers in referring to the Medo-Persian Empire. God was back of this kingdom in its movements upon Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:12
Jeremiah 51:12. The standard is the flag or ensign of a nation or army. The passage is a prediction that the Medes would raise their flag In triumph upon the walls of Babylon. Having taken possession of the city, they would place a guard to be on the lookout for any who might attempt to wrest their victory from them, The watchers on the walls would not he enough protection, but others would he stationed at spots in hiding to detect any attempt of the enemy to surprise the conquerors in some attack.
Jeremiah 51:13
Jeremiah 51:13. Waters refers to the River Euphrates that flowed through the city of Babylon. It is a mighty stream and was the pride of the Chaldean capital. Measure of thy coveteoumess denotes that the sad end about to come upon the city will be appropriate in view of her grasping disposition.
Jeremiah 51:14
Jeremiah 51:14, The men with whom the city was to be filled were the Medes and Persians. (See Daniel 5.) Lift up a shout refers to the cry of victory that a successful army makes when it has taken possession of the enemy position.
Jeremiah 51:15
Jeremiah 51:15, He is the Lord, of hosts mentioned in the preceding verse. The earth was made by His power and certainly he can overcome even the strongest of the governments of men. This will be accomplished soon by the hand of the Medo-Persian Empire.
Jeremiah 51:16
Jeremiah 51:16. The thought. In this verse is on God’s control over the rain and other elements of the universe. Since the entire workings of the universe are subject to the divine power, then surely such a comparatively email thing as a human monarchy cannot resist that power successfully.
Jeremiah 51:17
Jeremiah 51:17. To he brutish means to be more like a dumb brute than a human being. When a man makes a graven image to worship he manifests a mind that is foolish and one that is to be compared to that of a beast.
Jeremiah 51:18
Jeremiah 51:18. They means the graven images which the heathen nations formed to worship. Such gods are vanity or vain. Time of their visitation means the time when they are put to the test. When that time comes the weakness of these idols will be mani; tested in that all who have relied upon them will perish.
Jeremiah 51:19
Jeremiah 51:19. Portion of Jacob means that which Jacob received from the Lord, which was the favor of divine help not to be compared with the advantages of the. heathen. He means the Lord as the source “ from whom all blessings flow,”
Jeremiah 51:20
Jeremiah 51:20. Battle axe is from , which Strong defines. “A smiter, i. e., a war club.” For the sake of Israel who came from Jacob, the Lord will use the Medes (and Persians) as a war club to hammer the nations that have mistreated His people.
Jeremiah 51:21
Jeremiah 51:21. Horse and rider were used in battle, and those of the enemy nations were to be broken or brought to defeat in war.
Jeremiah 51:22
Jeremiah 51:22. All ages and ranks and sexes of the hostile nations were to be brought under. None will he able to endure when God sends his forces as his agencies to carry out his vengeance against, those who disrespect Him.
Jeremiah 51:23
Jeremiah 51:23, The reference to shepherds and husbandmen indicates that all agricultural pursuits will be stopped. Captains and rulers pertain to the governmental departments of a nation, and these also were to be overthrown in God’ s wrath.
Jeremiah 51:24
Jeremiah 51:24. This verse comes into more direct reference to the specific event which the prophet has been describing. Babylon and Chaldea are the same as to the present situation, and /Aon stands for the nation of God which had been mistreated by the mentioned people of the heathen nations.
Jeremiah 51:25
Jeremiah 51:25. Mountain in symbolic language means a government, and in this place it means the government of Babylon. God was against this “ mountain” because of the destruction that it had wrought in the earth. If a rocky mountain should be burnt into lava it would roll down and be flattened out and cease to exist as a mountain. Hence this mountain of Babylon is threatened with being dissolved by the fire of God’s anger and be brought to nothing as a kingdom.
Jeremiah 51:26
Jeremiah 51:26. They (the Medes and Persians) will not use the building materials of Babylon for their own benefit for that wit! not be the purpose of their attack. However, they will destroy the city and make it desolate for ever.
Jeremiah 51:27
Jeremiah 51:27. The worid empires such as Merlo-Persia comprised the units of government in many localities. Some of such units are mentioned in this verse and they will be among the forces that Persia will bring against the capital of the Babylonians. Set up a standard in the land means the flag of the invading army will be planted in the conquered country.
Jeremiah 51:28
Jeremiah 51:28. This is virtually the same in thought as the preceding verse, and it means the Medes will gather with their accumulated forces and come against Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:29
Jeremiah 51:29. The land, of Babylon has special application to the site of the capital city and perhaps the nearby territory. The country in general remained to be inhabited by the citizens whom it pleased the Persians to permit
Jeremiah 51:30
Jeremiah 51:30. The war had been going on in the country at large before the city of Babylon was attacked. But all the while the active soldiers were in the field in defence of their country, the princes of the land, and especially those in the capital city were shrinking from their military duty. While this cowardly attitude was being maintained their houses were being burned by the invading forces.
Jeremiah 51:31
Jeremiah 51:31. Before reading this and the following verse it is very important to read the historical note or quotation made at Isaiah 13: 78 in volume 3 of this . A post is a runner whose business it is to spread news or reports of great interest, and this verse is a prediction of the events that took place on the memorable night of Belshazzar’s feast and death, city taken at one end. While the king was absorbed in his drinking feast, the Persians were making their way into the city at one end, the place where the Euphrates River entered beneath the walls. (See note again.)
Jeremiah 51:32
Jeremiah 51:32. Passages are stopped. The Euphrates River flowed through the city of Babylon and at every street coming down to it there were means provided for crossing over. After the Persians got within the city through the lowered river, they took possession of all these crossings. Reeds is from agau, which Strong defines, “A marsh; hence a rush (as growing in swamps); hence a stockade of reeds.” A stockade is a sort ol fortification made of stout posts and these heavy reeds on the banks of the river were so used. After the stream had been lowered in the way described in the historical note, the Persians set fire to these reeds. This would produce an alarming appearance which accounts for the prediction that, the men of war are affrighted.
Jeremiah 51:33
Jeremiah 51:33. A threshing-floor is a place where grain is beaten and then the chaff is blown away. Babylon has already been compared to chaff (verse 2) and hence the prediction is repeated that the city was destined to be threshed.
Jeremiah 51:34
Jeremiah 51:34. The Lord speaks of the mistreatment of his people as if it had been done to Him. Jesus taught the same principle In Matthew 25:45. The king of Babylon named in this verse was the one in power when the “ three captivities” took place and hence he Is the one named in the complaint.
Jeremiah 51:35
Jeremiah 51:35. The complaint that God expressed in the preceding verse on behalf of his people is made in this verse by the people themselves. Zion and Jerusalem are mentioned because the former was the most important district of the latter. .
Jeremiah 51:36
Jeremiah 51:36. The invasion of Babylon by means of the Euphrates Elver is predicted by the phrase dry up her sea. Strong says the original for sea is sometimes defined as “a large river.” By the ingenuity of Cyrus (the Persian commander) the river was rendered powerless as a defence for Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:37
Jeremiah 51:37. This verse is a repetition of the prediction that Babylon was to be completely destroyed and never to be inhabited nor rebuilt.
Jeremiah 51:38-40
Jeremiah 51:38-40. I have purposely combined these verses into one paragraph because of the direct relation of all the items to each other. The passage is a prediction of the scenes in Babylon on that last night of Belshazzar, The student will do well to read again very carefully the fifth chapter of Daniel. Then read again the historical quota-tion given at Isaiah 13:1 in volume 3 of this .
Jeremiah 51:41
Jeremiah 51:41, Strong’ s lexicon says She- shach is a symbolic name of Babylon. The taking of such a great city was so unusual an event that It caused universal surprise. Braise . . . surprised. Those who had direct information on the noted event gave forth such great praise or laudation that the nations were astonished.
Jeremiah 51:42
Jeremiah 51:42. In figurative language such terms as floods and waters are often used to indicate great distress. The same thing is meant in the verse by the sea, referring to the army of the Persians that was to overflow the city of Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:43
Jeremiah 51:43. Doubtless many of the cities besides the capital were destroyed and the inhabitants slain in the general wars the Babylonians had to suffer. However, the permanent state of desolation as to inhabitants applied to Babylon only.
Jeremiah 51:44
Jeremiah 51:44. Bel was another form for Baal which was one of the heathen gods worshiped by the nations of the ancient world. They pretended to rely on the protection these idols could give them and God was determined to expose the vanity of such gods. On the night of the capture of Babylon the king and his lords “ praised the gods of gold, and of Btiver, of brass, of wood, and of stone “(Daniel 5:4). But these gods could do nothing to help Belshazzar; could not even furnish him a man who was able to explain the writing on the wall.
Jeremiah 51:45
Jeremiah 51:45, This verse is a prediction in the form of an order. God’s people were to be released after Babylon was captured by the Persians, and they were to be given the privilege of returning to their own land.
Jeremiah 51:46
Jeremiah 51:46. Lest your heart faint means that God’s people were told about the revolution that was to come upon the land wherein they were being held as captives, so that when they began to hear disquieting rumors about it they would not be faint. Moffatl renders this. ‘‘ Never be daunted or dismayed by rumors that you hear,”
Jeremiah 51:47
Jeremiah 51:47. One of the main objections that God had against the heathen nations was their worship of idols. By humiliating those nations that relied on such things, the weakness of false gods was demonstrated.
Jeremiah 51:48
Jeremiah 51:48. Sing for Babylon means that all intelligent creatures will feel jubilant, over (he downfall of the hated city. Spoilers from the north refers to the Meiles who were located north of Babylon. They were to come down upon the city and take from her the personal belongings In which she took so much pride.
Jeremiah 51:49
Jeremiah 51:49. A glance at verse 45 shows that Israel is being addressed still, and is being consoled over the downfall of the nation that had opposed them while in captivity. The original for earth is defined in the lexicon also as “ the land.” The passage means that as Babylon had caused the people of Israel to be slain, so the people all over the land of Babylon should be slain and made to fall.
Jeremiah 51:50
Jeremiah 51:50. Escaped the sword would refer to the same ones who are elsewhere considered the “ remnant” that was to survive the ravages of the captivity. (See Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:21; Isaiah 37:31; Ezra 2:64.) This group is notified through the prediction to leave the land of their captivity and return to Jerusalem their own capital city.
Jeremiah 51:51
Jeremiah 51:51. This verse expresses the sentiments of the people of Israel over their misfortunes. Strangers or people from the outside had invaded the holy places of God.
Jeremiah 51:52
Jeremiah 51:52. This sad state of mind is being comforted by the promise that divine judgment was to be poured out upon the oppressor nation. The heathens relied on their graven images and other false gods for support. The downfall of this government, therefore, would be a defeat for these idols.
Jeremiah 51:53
Jeremiah 51:53. Mount up to heaven is a figure of speech meaning the highest attainment possible for a human government. Babylon doubtless did reach such heights as a world power (see Daniel 2:36-37), but this verse predicts her final downfall.
Jeremiah 51:54
Jeremiah 51:54. The cry that is predicted refers to the wail of distress that the people of Babylon were to utter at her shameful overthrow.
Jeremiah 51:55
Jeremiah 51:55. Waves and waters are figures of speech that mean the floods of distress and ruin that would come upon the land of Babylon. All of this was to be brought about through the service of the Persians, but It would be by the decree of the Lord.
Jeremiah 51:56
Jeremiah 51:56. This verse is more along the same line as the preceding verses. A spoiler is one who takes possession of the things In the hands of another. The Medo-Persian Empire was decreed by the Lord to come as a spoiler against Babylon, To requite means to impose upon one some chastisement for his unrighteous deeds.
Jeremiah 51:57
Jeremiah 51:57. This verse has specific application to the scenes that took place In Babylon on the night of Bel-shazzar’ s drunken feast. (See Daniel 5.)
Jeremiah 51:58
Jeremiah 51:58. The broad walls of Babylon. The walls of Babylon were one of the “ Seven Wonders of the World,” and they are referred to in this verse. In view of the importance of the subject I shall copy a description of these walls out of authentic historians. The reader should take careful interest In this quotation for it will not be again produced in full in this . “ First, the walls were very prodigious [of vast dimensions]: for they were in thickness eighty-seven feet, and in compass four hundred and eighty furlongs, which make sixty of our miles. This is Herodotus’s account of them, who was himself in Babylon, and is the most ancient author that hath written of this matter.
And although there are others that differ from him herein, yet the most that agree In any measure of those walls give us the same, or very near the same, that he doth . . . These walls were drawn round the city in the form of an exact square, each side of which was one hundred and twenty furlongs, or fifteen miles in length, and all built of large bricks, cemented together with bitumen, a glutinous slime arising out of the earth in that country, which binds in building much stronger and firmer than lime, and soon grows much harder than the brick or stones themselves which It cements together.
These walls were surrounded on the outside with a vast ditch filled with water, after the manner of scarp [a steep wall] or counterscarp, and the earth, which was dug out of it, made the bricks, wherewith the walls were built; and therefore, from the vast height and breadth of the walls may be inferred the greatness of the ditch. In every side of this great square were twenty-five gates, that is, a hundred in all, which were all made of solid brass; and hence it is, that when God promised Cyrus (the Persian commander] the conquest of Babylon, he tells him, ‘ that he would break In pieces before him the gates of brass’ (Ialah 45: 2). Between every two of these gates were three towers, and four more at the four corners of this great square, and three between each of these corners and the next gate on either side; and every one of these towers was ten feet hlgher than the walls. But this is to be understood only of those parts of the wall where there was need of towers; for some parts of them lying against morasses always full of water, where they could not be approached by an enemy, they had there no need of any towers at all for their defence; and therefore in them there were none built; for the whole number of them amounted to no more than two hundred and fifty; whereas, had the same uniform order been observed in tbeir disposition all round, there must have been many more. From the twenty-five gates on each side of this great square, went twenty-five streets in straight lines to the gates, which were directly over against them in the other side opposite to it. So that the whole number of the streets was fifty, each fifteen miles long, whereof twenty-five went one way, and twenty-five the other, directly crossing each other at right angles."— Prideaux’ s Connexion, 570 B. C.
The magnitude of the feat of Cyrus in taking Babylon may the better be realized after we ponder this description of the walls and gates. The people shall labor in vain means the labor the people had put on this vast structure will prove to have been in vain, for it was all destined to be lost in destruction that the Persians would bring to the city.
Jeremiah 51:59
Jeremiah 51:59. Jeremiah wrote a special copy of his predictions to be used as herein directed. We know it was a special copy, for it was to be destroyed, while we still have the major writing of the prophet. This was done in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah which was only seven years before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Went with Zedekiah means he went on behalf of the king since Zedekiah never went to Babylon until after his reign came to an end. Quiet prince is properly translated according to the lexicon of Strong. The point is that Seraiah was a chamberlain who was not active in any of the disturbances of the city and would be the most dependable kind of man for such a delicate mission,
Jeremiah 51:60
Jeremiah 51:60, The purpose of taking this special document with him was to console the Jews who were in captivity in Babylon. He was to read it (to himself) after he got there which doubtless was in order to have it fresh in his memory to relate orally to his people, for he was to destroy it as soon as he had read it.
Jeremiah 51:61
Jeremiah 51:61. Jeremiah instructed Seraiah to read the document after he had seen the situation at Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:62
Jeremiah 51:62. As a “check” on the correctness of his reading and his understanding of the words. Seraiah was to “ repeat hack” to the Lord what the prophecy contained. Since this was directly addressed to the Lord, we would understand that the people would not yet have learned about the message.
Jeremiah 51:63
Jeremiah 51:63, From now on the actions of Seraiah were in the presence and hearing of the Jews. He had told them of the contents of the message, that it predicted the downfall of Babylon. Furthermore, that the city would never be rebuilt hut would he a perpetual desolation. In keeping with one of the practices where men of God ‘‘acted out” their predictions, Seraiah was to fasten a stone to the book and cast it into the River Euphrates. Of course it would not be expected that the book would rise to the surface with the weight tied to it. By that same token the city of Babylon, which boasted so much of its great river, was to be caused to sink, never to rise again. And it is significant that Babylon’s ruin will he accomplished by means of this very stream into which the weighted book was thrown.
Jeremiah 51:64
Jeremiah 51:64, After explaining the meaning of his actions to his people, Seraiah was to cast the book into the river. He was then to add the words orally, and they shall be weary. That means that when Babylon is attacked her citizens shall tire of defending her and will surrender. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. This concludes the book of Jeremiah, hence the next chapter was added by some man of God, taking it from the history already iu existence, either as a separate document, or from the records of the kings that were kept in the royal accounts.