God will stir up a destroying spirit against Babylon and the Chaldeans who rose up against Judah. He will send foreign invaders called "winnowers" to ravage Babylon, emptying the land. The invaders will slay Babylon's young men and utterly destroy its entire army. Though Judah's land is full of guilt, Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by God.

1. JEREMIAH 51 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 This is what the Lord says:
“See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon and the people of Leb
Kamai.[a]
BARNES, "In the midst of them that rise up against me - Or, in Leb-kamai,
the cipher for Kasdim, i. e., Chaldaea. This cipher was not necessarily invented by
Jeremiah, or used for concealment. It was probaby first devised either for political
purposes or for trade, and was in time largely employed in the correspondence between
the exiles at Babylon and their friends at home. Thus, words in common use like
Sheshach Jer_25:26 and Leb-kamai, would be known to everybody.
CLARKE, "Thus saith the Lord - This chapter is a continuation of the preceding
prophecy.
A destroying wind - Such as the pestilential winds in the east; and here the emblem
of a destroying army, carrying all before them, and wasting with fire and sword.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up against Babylon,.... This is
not a new prophecy, but a continuation of the former, and an enlargement of it. The
Babylonians being the last and most notorious enemies of the Jews, their destruction is
the longer dwelt upon; and as they were against the Lord's people the Lord was against
them, and threatens to raise up instruments of his vengeance against them:
and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me; that
dwell in Babylon, the metropolis of the Chaldeans, the seat and centre of the enemies of
God and his people. It is a periphrasis of the Chaldeans; and, so the Targum renders it,
"against the inhabitants of the land of the Chaldeans;''
and so the Septuagint version, against the Chaldeans; and Jarchi and Kimchi observe
that according to "athbash", a rule of interpretation with the Jews, the letters in "leb
1

2. kame", rendered "the midst of them that rise up against me", answer to "Cashdim" or the
Chaldeans; however they are no doubt designed; for they rose up against God, by setting
up idols of their own; and against his people, by taking and carrying them captive: and
now the Lord says he would raise up against them
a destroying wind; a northern one, the army of the Modes and Persians, which should
sweep away all before it. The Targum is,
"people that are slayers; whose hearts are lifted up, and are beautiful in stature, and
their spirit destroying.''
HENRY 1-8, “The particulars of this copious prophecy are dispersed and interwoven,
and the same things left and returned to so often that it could not well be divided into
parts, but we must endeavor to collect them under their proper heads. Let us then
observe here,
I. An acknowledgment of the great pomp and power that Babylon had been in and the
use that God in his providence had made of it (Jer_51:7): Babylon hath been a golden
cup, a rich and glorious empire, a golden city (Isa_14:4), a head of gold (Dan_2:38),
filled with all good things, as a cup with wine. Nay, she had been a golden cup in the
Lord's hand; he had in a particular manner filled and favoured her with blessings; he
had made the earth drunk with this cup; some were intoxicated with her pleasures and
debauched by her, others intoxicated with her terrors and destroyed by her. In both
senses the New Testament Babylon is said to have made the kings of the earth drunk,
Rev_17:2; Rev_18:3. Babylon had also been God's battle-axe; it was so at this time,
when Jeremiah prophesied, and was likely to be yet more so, Jer_51:20. The forces of
Babylon were God's weapons of war, tools in his hand, with which he broke in pieces,
and knocked down, nations and kingdoms, - horses and chariots, which are so much the
strength of kingdoms (Jer_51:21), - man and woman, young and old, with which
kingdoms are replenished (Jer_51:22), - the shepherd and his flock, the husbandman
and his oxen, with which kingdoms are maintained and supplied, Jer_51:23. Such havoc
as this the Chaldeans had made when God employed them as instruments of his wrath
for the chastising of the nations; and yet now Babylon itself must fall. Note, Those that
have carried all before them a great while will yet at length meet with their match, and
their day also will come to fall; the rod will itself be thrown into the fire at last. Nor can
any think it will exempt them from God's judgments that they have been instrumental in
executing his judgments on others.
JAMISON, "Jer_51:1-64. Continuation of the prophecy against Babylon begun in
the fiftieth chapter.
in the midst of them that rise ... against me — literally, “in the heart” of them.
Compare Psa_46:2, “the midst of the sea,” Margin; Eze_27:4, “the heart of the seas”;
Margin; Mat_12:40. In the center of the Chaldeans. “Against Me,” because they
persecute My people. The cabalistic mode of interpreting Hebrew words (by taking the
letters in the inverse order of the alphabet, the last letter representing the first, and so
on, Jer_25:26) would give the very word Chaldeans here; but the mystical method
cannot be intended, as “Babylon” is plainly so called in the immediately preceding
parallel clause.
wind — God needs not warlike weapons to “destroy” His foes; a wind or blast is
2

3. sufficient; though, no doubt, the “wind” here is the invading host of Medes and Persians
(Jer_4:11; 2Ki_19:7).
CALVIN, "He proceeds with the same subject. Jeremiah seems, indeed, to have used
more words than necessary; but we have stated the reason why he dwelt at large on
a matter so clear: His object was not only to teach, for this he might have done in a
few words, and have thus included all that we have hitherto seen and shall find in
the whole of this chapter; but as it was an event hardly credible, it was necessary to
illustrate the prophecy respecting it with many figures, and to inculcate with many
repetitions what had been already said, and also to confirm by many reasons what
no one hardly admitted.
He then says, Behold, I will, etc. God is made the speaker, that the word might have
more force and power. Behold, he says, I will raise up a destroying wind against the
Chaldeans. The similitude of wind is very appropriate, for God thus briefly
reminded them how easy it was for him to destroy the whole world even by a single
blast. The wind is, indeed, indirectly set in opposition to instruments of war; for
when any one seeks to overcome an enemy, he collects many and strong forces, and
procures auxiliaries on every side; in short, he will not dare to attempt anything
without making every possible preparation. As, then, men dare not attack their
enemies without making strenuous efforts, God here extols his own power, because
it is enough for him to raise up a wind. We now, then, perceive the design of the
similitude, when he says, that he would raise up a wind that would destroy or
scatter the Chaldeans.
In the following words there is an obscurity; literally, they are, the inhabitants of
the heart; for as the word ‫ישבי‬ ,ishebi, is in construction, another word necessarily
follows it, as for instance, the country of the Chaldeans. But the relative, ‫,ה‬ He,
referring to Babylon, ought to have been put down. Yet as the words occur, we are
compelled to read, and against the inhabitants of the heart Some will have the
relative, ‫,אשר‬ asher, to be understood, but that is harsh, for it is an unnatural mode
of speaking. They, however, give this rendering of ‫לב‬ ‫אשר‬ , asher leb, “those who in
heart rose up against me.” But what if we read the words inhabitants of the heart
metaphorically, as meaning those who gloried in their own wisdom? for the
Babylonians, as it is well known, thought other men dull and foolish, and were so
pleased with their own astuteness, as though they were fortified by inclosures on
every side. They dwelt then in their own heart, that is, they thought themselves well
fortified around through their own wisdom. In this sense the Prophet seems to call
the Babylonians the inhabitants of the heart (80)
He adds, at the same time, that they rose, up against God, even because they had
cruelly treated his people, and nearly destroyed them. And we know that God
undertook the cause of his Church, and therefore complained that war was made on
him by the ungodly, whenever they molested the faithful. It is also at the same time
generally true, that all who arrogate to themselves wisdom rise up against God,
3

4. because they rob God of the honor due to him. But it ought properly to be referred
to the union which exists between God and his Church, when he charges the
Chaldeans, that they rose up against him. It follows,—
Against the inhabitants of the metropolis
of my adversaries.
— Ed.
COFFMAN, “Verse 1
JEREMIAH 51
PROPHECY 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,
4

5. "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!"
, “Verses 1-14
YHWH’s Vengeance On Babylon And The Vindication Of Israel/Judah (Jeremiah
51:1-14).
The proclamation of the certainty of YHWH’s coming judgment on Babylon, and on
all that it stands for, continues. While it may be necessary to pay tribute to it for a
while, it is with the knowledge that God will judge it in the end. The same is true in
all centuries. It is true today. Today Babylon controls the world, and we as
Christians have to pay it tribute, but that does not mean that we should conform to
its ways. We may be in Babylon, but we should not be of Babylon. Rather we are to
flee from it, recognising that it will be brought into judgment, and that our
citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20).
Jeremiah 51:1
“Thus says YHWH,
This phrase probably introduces a new prophecy, the prophet thereby emphasising
that he is not just declaring his own ideas, but is bringing a true message from God..
Jeremiah 51:1-2
Behold, I will raise up (or ‘stir up’) against Babylon,
And against those who dwell in Leb-kamai,
The spirit of a destroyer (or ‘a destroying wind’) - ruach).
And I will send to Babylon strangers (or ‘winnowers’),
Who will winnow her,
And they will empty her land,
For in the day of trouble,
They shall be against her round about.”
5

6. The word ruach can mean ‘wind’, when speaking of nature, or ‘spirit’, when
speaking of attitude of mind (see Jeremiah 51:11). It may well be that here both
meanings are combined. The destroying spirit may be seen as present in the
foreigners, sent by YHWH and moving them to act as they do (Jeremiah 51:11), or
the destroying wind could be seen as YHWH’s activity in doing the winnowing (the
removing of the chaff from the grain by it being tossed up into the wind with a
winnowing-fork. See Psalms 1:4; Psalms 35:5; Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 29:5). Either way
the idea is that Babylon will be ravaged by foreigners in ‘the day of trouble’, who
will bring on her a sifting which will destroy her. This may include the idea that the
good grain, those who are ready and willing to flee Babylon (prominent in what
follows), will come out of the situation still whole, while the chaff which is what
Babylon essentially is, will be ‘blown away’. And it is emphasised that this will be at
the hand of invading forces (‘they will be against her round about’).
The word for strangers (zrym) could with different vowel points signify ‘winnowers’
and would seem to suggest a play on words so common to Hebrew writers. The
following verb ‘winnow’ (zrh) is based on the same stem.
‘Leb-kamai’ may be seen as an athbash for ‘Chaldea’ i.e. Babylon. An ’athbash is a
cryptogram, regularly used in ancient days, whereby the last letter of the alphabet
was put in the place of the first latter, the second last letter put in the place of the
second letter, and so on. (In English that would mean that we would put ‘z’ instead
of ‘a’, ‘y’ instead of ‘b’ and so on. In Hebrew tau instead of aleph, shin instead of
beth and so on). But we must remember that in ancient Hebrew only consonants
were used (with rare exceptions). Thus lbqmy becomes cshdym. Clearly its use here
was not cryptographic as it is made plain in the parallel that Babylon is meant. This
may suggest that the usage was rather openly derogatory of Babylon, with Leb-
kamai having become a regularly used insulting epitaph.
"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.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:1
Against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me. The Hebrew
has lēb-kāmai, which is Kasdim, or Chaldea, written in the cypher called Athbash
(see on Jeremiah 25:26); just as Sheshach in Jeremiah 51:41 is equivalent to Babel.
The question arises whether the prophet himself is responsible for this covert way of
writing, or a scribe in later times (so Ewald). In favour of the former view it may be
urged that Babylon and Chaldea receive symbolic names (though not in Athbash) in
the connected chapter (Jeremiah 50:21, Jeremiah 50:31, Jeremiah 50:32); in favour
of the latter, that the Septuagint has χαλδαίους in Jeremiah 51:1, and does not
express Sheshach in Jeremiah 51:41, also that the clause to which Sheshach belongs
in Jeremiah 25:26 is of very dubious genuineness. A destroying wind; rather, the
spirit (ruakh) of a destroyer (or perhaps, of destruction). The verb rendered in this
6

7. verse "raise up," when used in connection with ruakh, always means "to excite the
spirit of any one" (Jeremiah 25:11; Haggai 1:14; 1 Chronicles 5:26).
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon
to winnow her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
in the day of her disaster.
CLARKE, "And will send - fanners - When the corn is trodden out with the feet
of cattle, or crushed out with a heavy wheel armed with iron, with a shovel they throw it
up against the wind, that the chaff and broken straw may be separated from it. This is
the image used by the prophet; these people shall be trodden, crushed, and fanned by
their enemies.
GILL, "And I will send unto Babylon farmers, that shall fan her, and shall
empty her land,.... Or, "strangers that shall fan her" (c); meaning the Medes and
Persians, who should be like a strong wind upon the mountains, where corn, having
been threshed, was fanned, and the chaff carried away by the wind; and such would the
Chaldeans be in the hand of the Persians, scattered and dispersed among the nations as
chaff with the wind, and their cities be emptied of inhabitants, and of their wealth and
riches. The Targum is,
"I will send against Babylon spoilers, that shall spoil and exhaust the land:''
for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about; in the time of
the siege they shall surround her on all sides, so that none might escape; as Babylon had
been a fanner of the Lord's people, now she should be fanned herself, and stripped of all
she had; see Jer_15:7.
JAMISON, "fanners — (See on Jer_15:7). The fanners separate the wheat from the
chaff; so God’s judgments shall sweep away guilty Babylon as chaff (Psa_1:4).
CALVIN, "Here he explains himself more clearly, without the metaphor he had
used. He no longer uses the similitude of wind when he declares that he would send
fanners At the same time some take ‫,זארים‬ zarim, in the sense of aliens, who would
banish her; but this would be harsh. I then doubt not but that the Prophet alludes to
the wind before mentioned. He does not indeed continue that metaphor; but yet
7

8. what he says corresponds with it. Instead of wind he now mentions fanners, or
winnowers; but this cannot be understood except of enemies. A clearer explanation
is still found in the word empty, after having said that the Persians and the Medes
would fan or winnow Babylon. He compares her, no doubt, to chaff. As then the
chaff, when ventilated, falls on the ground, so he says a similar thing would happen
to the Babylonians.
But he adds, And shall make empty her land, that is, the land of Babylon. He says
that the whole country would be so plundered, that nothing would be left remaining.
And he confirms this declaration, because they shall be, he says, around her. By this
expression he intimates that there would be no escape for the Chaldeans.
It often happens that men stealthily escape, when pressed by their enemies; for
though enemies may watch all passages, yet they often do not find out all hiding-
places. But the Prophet says, that their enemies would so surround them, that the
Chaldeans would not be able to take with them anything which they might save
from their enemies’ hands. He adds, in the day of evil. By this phrase he intimates
again, that the Chaldeans were already devoted by God to destruction. It is, then,
the same thing as though he had said, that as soon as her enemies came, it would be
all over with Babylon and the whole nation, — how so? for it would be the day of
her utter ruin. It follows, —
PULPIT, “Farmers. This is supported by the Septuagint, Peshito, Targum, Vulgate,
according to the Massoretic pointing, however, we should render "enemies."
Possibly the prophet intended to suggest both meanings, a and o being so nearly
related. Shall empty her land. The original has a much mere striking word, shall
pour out (for the figures, comp. Jeremiah 48:12), which occurs again in similar
contexts in Isaiah 24:1; Nahum 2:3 (Hebrew, 2).
3 Let not the archer string his bow,
nor let him put on his armor.
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy[b] her army.
BARNES, "The man who bends the bow, and the heavy-armed soldier who vaunts
himself in his coat of mail (Jer_46:4 note), represent the Babylonians who defend the
city.
8

9. GILL, "Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow,.... These are
either the words of the Lord to the Medes and Persians, to the archers among them, to
bend their bows and level their arrows against the Chaldeans, who had bent their bows
and shot their arrows against others; or of the Medes and Persians stirring up one
another to draw their bows, and fight manfully against the enemy:
and against him that lifteth up himself in his brigandine; or coat of mail; that
swaggers about in it, proud of it, and putting his confidence in it, as if out of all danger.
The sense is, that they should direct their arrows both against those that were more
lightly or more heavily armed; since by them they might do execution among the one
and the other:
and spare ye not her young men; because of their youth, beauty, and strength:
destroy ye utterly all her host; her whole army, whether officers or common
soldiers; or let them be accoutred in what manner they will. The Targum is,
"consume all her substance.''
JAMISON, "Against him that bendeth — namely, the bow; that is, the
Babylonian archer.
let the archer bend — that is, the Persian archer (Jer_50:4). The Chaldean version
and Jerome, by changing the vowel points, read, “Let not him (the Babylonian) who
bendeth his bow bend it.” But the close of the verse is addressed to the Median invaders;
therefore it is more likely that the first part of the verse is addressed to them, as in
English Version, not to the Babylonians, to warn them against resistance as vain, as in
the Chaldean version. The word “bend” is thrice repeated: “Against him that bendeth let
him that bendeth bend,” to imply the utmost straining of the bow.
CALVIN, "Interpreters give various expositions of this verse. Some understand a
soldier of light armor by him who bends the bow; and by him who elevates himself
in his coat of mail, they understand a heavy-armed, soldier, There is also another
difference; some take ‫,אל‬ al, for ‫,לא‬ la, when it is said ‫יתעל‬ ‫ואל‬ , veal itol, because a
copulative follows; and the words seem not to be well connected, if we read thus,
“As to him who raises himself up in his coat of mail, and spare ye not,” etc.; and
hence they take negatively the particle ‫,אל‬ al, instead of ‫לא‬ la, “and he may not raise
up himself in his coat of mail.” But it is probable that the copulative in the second
place is redundant The simple meaning would therefore be, As to him who bends
the bow, and who raises himself up in his coat of mall (81)
I do not, indeed, give such a refined interpretation as some do, respecting the light
and heavy armed soldiers. I doubt not, then, but that he points out the archers, and
those clad in mail. If, however, any one prefers the other explanation, let him enjoy
his own opinion. As to the main point, it is evident that the Prophet exhorts the
Persians and the Medes not to spare the young men among the Chaldeans, but to
destroy their whole army, so that no part of it should be left remaining.
9

10. At him who bends let the bender bend his bow, And at him who glories in his coat of
mail; And spare ye not her chosen men, Utterly destroy all her host.
There is here perfect consistency. They who take ‫אל‬ as a negative say, that the first
part is addressed to the Chaldeans, and the second to their enemies; but this would
be strangely abrupt. — Ed.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:3. Against him that bendeth— Let not him who bendeth the
bow relax his hand; let him not put off his armour. Houbigant.
And against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine— And let him not lift up
himself in his brigandine. This is exactly parallel in sense to the preceding part of
the verse, if the posture of him that stoops to bend the bow be considered. For in
using the large and strong steel bows, which could not be bent by the force of the
arms, they rested one end upon the ground, and pressing the other with the foot or
knee, they drew back the arrow with their hands as far as ever they could, in order
that it might fly with greater force. Hence the archer is called ֶ‫דרך‬ ‫קשׁת‬ dorec
kesheth, one that treadeth the bow. And therefore when he is bid not to lift himself
up in his coat of mail, it is the same as bidding him not to desist from shooting with
his bow.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:3-4
“Against the one who bends (i.e. is an archer) let the archer (bender) bend his bow,
And against the one who lifts himself up in his coat of mail,
And do not you spare her young men,
Destroy you utterly all her host,
And they will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
And thrust through in her streets.”
For the first line the Hebrew is very repetitive. ’l ydrk ydrk hdrk. In Hebrew an
archer is ‘a bender (of the bow)’. Thus both the trained Babylonian archer, and the
fully-armoured Babylonian soldier, will have the bows of the enemy bent against
them. Nor are the young men to be spared. Indeed there is to be widespread death
(‘all her host’) as men fall down slain, and are thrust through in the streets of her
cities. This would necessarily occur as resistance was made to a powerful invader in
a day when fighting and bloodshed was commonplace. Note that this ‘in the land of
the Chaldeans’ not necessarily in the city of Babylon itself.
PULPIT, “Against him that bendeth, etc. There are two readings in the Hebrew
Bible—one that given by the Authorized Version; the other, "Against him that
10

11. bendeth (let) him that bendeth his bow (come)." The difficulty, however, is in the
first two words of the clause, which are the same in either reading. It would be
much simpler to alter a single point, and render, "Let not the archer bend his bow;
and let him not lift himself up in his coat of mail" (for the old word "brigandine,"
see on Jeremiah 46:4); which might be explained of the Babylonians, on the analogy
of Jeremiah 46:6, "Let him not bend his bow, for it will be useless;" but then the
second half of the verse hardly suits the first—the prohibitions seem clearly
intended to run on in a connected order. On the other hand, the descriptions, "him
that bendeth," and "him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine," seem hardly a
natural way of putting "the Chaldean army."
4 They will fall down slain in Babylon,[c]
fatally wounded in her streets.
BARNES, "Translate it: “And they,” i. e., the young men who form her host Jer_51:3,
“shall fall slain in the land of the Chaldaeans, and pierced through in her streets,” i. e.,
the streets of Babylon.
GILL, "Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans,.... By the sword, or
by the arrows and darts of the Medes and Persians:
and they that are thrust through in her streets; either by the one or by the other,
especially the latter, since they only are mentioned; See Gill on Jer_50:30.
JAMISON, "(See on Jer_49:26; see on Jer_50:30; see on Jer_50:37).
CALVIN, "HE proceeds with what we began yesterday to explain, — that the time
was nigh when God would take vengeance on the Babylonians. As, then, this could
not be without great destruction in a city so very populous, and as it could not be
overthrown except calamity extended itself through the whole country, hence, he
says, that though Babylon should prepare great and powerful armies, it would yet
be in vain, because they shall fall, he says, wounded everywhere in the land; and
then he adds, and pierced through in her streets By these words he means, that the
Chaldeans would be slain not only in the open fields, but also in the midst of the
city. he afterwards adds, —
11

12. 5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[d] is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Israel.
CLARKE, "For Israel hath not been forsaken - God still continued his prophets
among them; he had never cast them wholly off. Even in the midst of wrath - highly
deserved and inflicted punishment, he has remembered mercy; and is now about to
crown what he has done by restoring them to their own land. I conceive ‫אשם‬ asham,
which we translate sin, as rather signifying punishment, which meaning it often has.
GILL, "For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God,
of the Lord of hosts,.... That is, not totally and finally; for though they might seem to
be forsaken, when carried captive by their enemies, yet they were not in such sense as a
woman is deprived of her husband when dead, and she is become a widow, as the word
(d) used may signify; or when divorced from him; or as children are deprived of their
parents, and become orphans; but so it was not with Israel; for thought they were under
the frowns of Providence, and the resentment of God they had sinned against, yet the
relation between them still subsisted; he was their covenant God and Father, their
husband and protector, and who would vindicate them, and avenge them on their
enemies:
though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel; which was
the reason why they were carried captive, and so seemed to be forsaken of God; or
though their land was filled with punishment, with devastation and destruction, yet
nevertheless God would appear for them, and restore that and them unto it; or rather
this is to be understood of the land of the Chaldeans, as it is by Jarchi and Kimchi; and
be rendered, "for their land is filled with punishment for sin, from", or "by", or
"because of the Holy One of Israel" (e); by which it appears, that the people of God were
not forsaken by him, and were not without a patron and defender of them; since it was a
plain case that the land of the Chaldeans was filled with the punishment of the sword
and other calamities by the Holy One of Israel, because of the sins they had committed
against him, and the injuries they had done to his people. So the Targum,
"for their land is filled with, (punishment for) the sins of murder, by the word of the
Holy One of Israel.''
12

13. JAMISON, "forsaken — as a widow (Hebrew). Israel is not severed from her
husband, Jehovah (Isa_54:5-7), by a perpetual divorce.
though ... sin — though the land of Israel has been filled with sin, that is, with the
punishment of their sin, devastation. But, as the Hebrew means “for,” or “and
therefore,” not “though,” translate, “and therefore their (the Chaldeans’) land has been
filled with (the penal consequences of) their sin” [Grotius].
K&D, "Because of the righteousness of Israel, Babylon is to be irretrievably destroyed.
Jer_51:5. "For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jahveh of hosts; but their
land is full of guilt because of the Holy One of Israel. Jer_51:6. Flee out of the midst of
Babylon, and save ye every one his life: do not perish for her iniquity; because it is a
time of vengeance for Jahveh; He renders to her what she has committed. Jer_51:7.
Babylon [was] a golden cup in the hand of Jahveh, that intoxicated all the earth.
Nations have drunk of her wine, therefore nations are mad. Jer_51:8. Babylon has
fallen suddenly and been broken: howl over her: take balsam for her pain; perhaps she
may be healed. Jer_51:9. 'We have tried to heal Babylon, but she is not healed. Leave
her, and let us go each one to his own land; for her judgment reaches unto heaven, and
is lifted up to the clouds.' Jer_51:10. Jahveh hath brought forth our righteousnesses;
come, and let us declare in Zion the doing of Jahveh our God. Jer_51:11. Sharpen the
arrow, fill the shields: Jahveh hath roused the spirit of the kings of Media; for His
counsel is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of Jahveh, the
vengeance of His temple. Jer_51:12. Against the walls of Babylon raise a standard;
strengthen the watch, set watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for Jahveh hath both
devised and done what He spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. Jer_51:13. O thou
that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thine end hath sworn by Himself,
'Surely I have filled thee with men, as [with] the locust; and they shall raise a shout of
joy against thee.'"
The offence of Babylon against the Holy One of Israel demands its destruction. In Jer_
51:5, two reasons are given for God's determination to destroy Babylon. The Lord is
induced to this (1) by His relation to Israel and Judah, whom Babylon will not let go; (2)
by the grave offence of Babylon. Israel is ‫ֹא‬‫ל‬ ‫ן‬ ָ‫מ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫,א‬ "not widowed," forsaken by his God;
i.e., Jahveh, the God of hosts, has not rejected His people for ever, so as not to trouble
Himself any more about them; cf. Isa_50:1; Isa_54:4. "Their land" - the land of the
Chaldeans - "is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel," partly through their relation to
Israel (Jer_50:21), partly through their idolatry (Isa_50:2, 38). ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ does not mean here
"on the side of," but "on account of," because they do not acknowledge Jahveh as the
Holy One of Israel.
CALVIN, "The Prophet shows here the cause why God had resolved to treat the
Babylonians with so much severity, even because he would be the avenger of his
own people. He also obviates a doubt which might have disturbed weak minds, for
he seemed to have forsaken his people when he suffered them to be driven into exile.
As this was a kind of repudiation, as we have seen elsewhere, the Prophet says now,
that Israel had not been wholly widowed, nor Judah, by his God; as though he had
said, that the Jews and the Israelites were indeed, for a time, like widows, but this
was not to be perpetual. For, as we have said, the divorce was temporary, when God
13

14. so forsook his Temple and the city, that the miserable people was exposed to
plunder. As long, then, as the will of their enemies prevailed, God seemed to have
forsaken his people. It is of this widowhood that the Prophet now speaks; but he yet
testifies that Israel would not be wholly widowed by Jehovah his God.
He indeed alludes to that spiritual marriage, of which frequent mention is made; for
God had, from the beginning, united the Church to himself, as it were, by a
marriage-bond; and the people, as it is well known, had been so received into
covenant, that there was contracted, as it were, a spiritual marriage. Then the
Prophet now says, that they were not widowed; in which he refers to the hope of
deliverance; for it could not have been denied but that God had repudiated his
people. But he shows that their chastisement would not be perpetual, because God
would at length reconcile to himself the people from whom he had been alienated,
and would restore them to the ancient condition and honor of a wife. He speaks of
both kingdoms.
Then he adds, by Jehovah of hosts By this title he sets forth the power of God, as
though he had said, that as God is faithful in his promises, and constantly keeps his
covenant, so he is not destitute of power, so as not to be able to save his people and
to rescue them, when it pleases him, from death itself. He confirms this truth, when
he says, for the land of the Chaldeans is filled with sin on account of the Holy One of
Israel, as though he had said, that the land was abominable, because it carried on
war against God.: For when he speaks of the Holy One of Israel, he shows that God
had such a care for his people that he was prepared, when the suitable time came, to
show himself as their avenger. We now perceive what the Prophet means when he
says, that Chaldea was filled with sin, even because it provoked God when it thought
that the wrong was done only to men. (82) It follows, —
For not widowed is Israel, By his God, by Jehovah of hosts; Though their land has
been filled With judgement by the Holy One of Israel.
But if we render ‫מ‬ before or against, then the last line would be, —
With guilt (or sin) before the Holy One of Israel.
— Ed
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:5. For Israel hath not been forsaken— For Israel shall not
therefore be forsaken, or Judah without his God, the Lord of Hosts, because their
land hath been filled with desolation by the Holy One of Israel. Houbigant. Though
God was justly displeased with his people; yet he will not cast them off utterly as a
nation, or deprive them of his protection, though he will do so to those who have
been the rod in his hand to chastise and scourge his people.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:5 For Israel [hath] not [been] forsaken, nor Judah of his
God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy
14

15. One of Israel.
Ver. 5. For Israel hath not been forsaken.] Heb., Widowed.
Though their land was filled with sin.] Heb., Guilt, or delinquency, or devastation.
The Scripture hath been fully made good to us of this nation, while the fulness of sin
in us hath not yet abated the fulness of grace in God toward us. See those four
gracious yets, Zechariah 1:17. {See Trapp on "Zechariah 1:17"}
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:5
“For Israel is not forsaken (literally ‘widowed’),
Nor Judah, of his God, of YHWH of hosts,
Though their land is full of guilt,
Against the Holy One of Israel.”
The reason why Babylon is being treated in this way is revealed. It is because
YHWH has been so much aware of what they have done to His people, and that
even though His people too were undeserving. For He wants His people to know that
He has not forgotten them or forsaken them, even though their land is full of guilt
against ‘the Holy One of Israel’. He has not ceased to be their husband (compare
Hosea 2-3). Thus what is to happen to Babylon is partly due to His faithfulness to
His people. He has not overlooked what Babylon has done to them.
The contrast with ‘the Holy One of Israel’, the One uniquely separate from all
others as ‘Wholly Other’ (totally unlike all others in Being and essence and purity),
suggests that the main guilt in mind was with regard to idolatry. They had chosen to
worship what was of this world (‘the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of
birds and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things -’ - Romans 1:23) , rather than
the One Who was not of this world, resulting in their own physical and moral
debasement. And the signs of their guilt were everywhere, the land was full of them.
But it would also include the fact that they were ignoring the requirements of the
covenant in other ways as well, as Jeremiah has previously made clear. All breaches
of the covenant brought them into a position of guilt, and they were, at the time at
which Jeremiah was prophesying, making huge breaches in that covenant.
SIMEON, “GOD’S MERCY CONTRASTED WITH OUR SINFULNESS
Jeremiah 51:5. Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of Ms God, of the Lord of
Hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
THE peculiar people of God in their most afflictive circumstances have a sure
prospect of a happy deliverance. But his enemies in their most prosperous state are
15

16. only like beasts fattening for the slaughter. The Jews were reduced to the lowest ebb
of misery in Babylon, on account of their multiplied iniquities: yet did God promise
to restore them to their native land. On the contrary, the Babylonians, who were
exalted to the highest pitch of grandeur, were in due time to be altogether
extirpated. Both these events were foretold by the prophet in this and the preceding
chapters: and, in the text, he appeals to the Jews that they had not been forsaken,
notwithstanding the abundant cause they had afforded for an utter dereliction—
From these words we shall take occasion to consider,
I. The provocations we have given to God,
1. In our national capacity—
[All “sin,” of whatever kind, is properly and primarily “against the Holy One of
Israel [Note: Psalms 51:4.].” Now there is no sin, whether against the first or second
table of the law, which has not abounded in this land — — — Nor is there any rank
or order of men, from the highest to the lowest, that have not yielded up themselves
as willing servants to sin and Satan — — — Even the flock of Christ itself, both the
pastors who watch over it, and the people who compose it, have contributed in no
small degree to the tremendous mass of iniquity, that has incensed our God against
us — — —]
2. In our individual capacity—
[Since a sight of others’ sins rarely begets any true humiliation in us, let each of us in
particular search out his own. Let our thoughts, words, and actions be strictly
scrutinized. Let those sins which are more immediately against God, be inquired
into; our pride, our impenitence, our unbelief, our ingratitude for temporal
blessings, and especially for the unspeakable gift of God’s dear Son; our obstinate
resistance of God’s Holy Spirit, together with all our neglect of duties, or our
coldness in the performance of them; let these be counted up, and be set in order
before us; and the very best of men will see cause for the deepest humiliation; yea,
we shall wonder that we have not long since been made like to Sodom and
Gomorrha.]
Having taken a view of our sins, let us contrast with them,
II. The mercies God has vouchsafed to us—
Justly have we deserved to be entirely abandoned by our God—
[The history of the Jews shews us what we ourselves deserve. He himself bids us go
to Shiloh, and see what he did to it for the wickedness of his people [Note: Jeremiah
7:12. with 1 Samuel 4:10-11.]. Indeed the whole of his dealings with them in their
Assyrian and Babylonish captivity, and in their present dispersion, may teach us
16

17. what we might well expect at his hands — — —]
But he has not dealt with us according to our desert—
[He has “not forsaken us” as a nation. In proof of this, we appeal to the comparative
lightness of our troubles—the signal interpositions with which we have been
favoured in the midst of our troubles—and lastly, the happy termination of them, by
a seasonable restoration both of peace and plenty [Note: October 4, 1801, on a
Thanksgiving for peace and plenty.].
Nor has he forsaken us as individuals. He is yet calling us by his word, and striving
with us by his Spirit. And we behold amongst us the evident tokens of his presence,
in that sinners are yet awakened to repentance, and saints are edified in faith and
love.]
Address—
1. Let the long-suffering of God be gratefully acknowledged—
[We should “account the long-suffering of God to be salvation [Note: 2 Peter 3:15.].”
Let us not, however, rest in carnal mirth; but let his temporal mercies to our land,
and his spiritual mercies to our souls, call forth our liveliest gratitude and our
devoutest praise.]
2. Let it also be practically improved—
[In the words immediately following our text, the prophet says, “Flee out of the
midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his own soul.” It was the duty of the Jews
to cast on their bondage as soon as God should open a way for their escape. Thus
must we also cast off the servitude in which we have been detained, and go forth
from amongst all the enemies of God. If we continue in sin, we must take our
portion with the ungodly. But if we give up ourselves unreservedly to God, he will
blot out our past iniquities in the blood of his Son, and make us partakers of an
everlasting salvation.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:5-14
The covenant between Jehovah and Israel is one reason why Babylon must fall; and
Babylon's own guilt is another. Hence pity is out of place.
"Here liveth piety where pity ends;
Can any man be guilty more than he
Whose bias with the doom of God contends?"
17

18. (Dante, 'Inferno,' 20.28, Cayley.)
Flee, therefore, lest ye be involved in Babylon's ruin. For Jehovah's purpose of
vengeance cannot be reversed.
Jeremiah 51:5
Hath not been forsaken. The Hebrew is much more forcible, "is not widowed"—
alluding to the fundamental Old Testament idea of a mystic marriage between God
and his people (comp. Isaiah 50:1; Isaiah 54:4-6; Hosea 2:1-23.). Was filled with sin;
rather, with guilt (Hebrew, āshām).
6 “Flee from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the Lord’s vengeance;
he will repay her what she deserves.
GILL, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon,.... This is said either to such as were there
of other nations upon trade and business, as Kimchi, to get out of it as fast as they could,
that they might not be consumed; or to the Israelites, as Jarchi, the Jews that were
captives there. This is applied to the people of God in mystical Babylon, Rev_18:4;
and deliver every man his soul; or "life"; from the destruction coming on the city,
and the inhabitants of it;
be not cut off in her iniquity; or, "that he be not cut off" (f); with her, in the
punishment inflicted upon her for her iniquities; which is the same as partaking of her
plagues, Rev_18:4;
for this is the time, of the Lord's vengeance; the time fixed by him to take
vengeance on Babylon for her sins against him, and the wrongs done to his people:
he will render unto her a recompence; the just demerit of their sins; a recompence
or reward by way of punishment for them; see Rev_18:6.
18

19. JAMISON, "Warning to the Israelite captives to flee from Babylon, lest they should
be involved in the punishment of her “iniquity.” So as to spiritual Babylon and her
captives (Rev_18:4).
K&D, "Jer_51:6
In order to escape the punishment that is to fall on the guilt-laden city, the Israelites
living in Babylon must flee to save their lives; cf. Jer_50:8, and on the mode of
expression, Jer_48:6. "Be not destroyed ‫ָהּ‬‫נ‬‫ֲו‬ֹ‫ע‬ ַ‫,בּ‬ for her iniquity," (‫בּ‬ of price), not "in her
guilt" = punishment for sin (Graf), or "through her guilt" (Nägelsbach). Both of these
last two views are against the context; for the idea is, that Israel must flee to save his life,
and that he too may not atone for the guilt of Babylon. On the expression, "It is a time of
vengeance," etc., cf. Jer_50:15, Isa_34:8. ‫מוּל‬ְ‫גּ‬ , as in Isa_59:18; Isa_66:6. ‫מוּל‬ְ‫,גּ‬ prop.
accomplishment, actual proof, is used both of human and divine doing and working, of
human misdeeds and divine recompense. ‫הוּא‬ is used emphatically.
CALVIN, "He goes on with the same subject, but illustrates it by various figures;
for otherwise he would not have penetrated into the hearts of the godly. Were any at
this day to predict the destruction of Rome, it could hardly be believed; and yet we
know that it has in our life been stormed, and now it hangs as it were by a thread,
though hitherto it has been supported and fortified by the greatest forces. But the
dignity of the city so confounded the minds of men, that it was hardly credible that
it could have been so soon subverted. How, then, was it possible for such a thing to
have happened at that time? for Babylon was the mistress of the East. The
Assyrians had previously possessed the empire; but they had been subdued, and
had, as it were, been brought under the yoke. As, then, Babylon now flourished in
power so great and invincible, Jeremiah seemed to be labeling when he spoke of its
approaching destruction. It was hence necessary that what he said should be
confirmed, as it is now done. And so he now turns to foreigners and guests, and
exhorts them to flee lest they should perish in the accursed city.
Flee, he says, from the midst of Babylon But there was then no safer place in the
land; for had all the regions of the world been shaken, yet Babylon would have been
deemed beyond any danger. But he says that all guests were to flee from the midst of
it, if they wished to save their lives. Then he adds, lest ye perish in her iniquity He
assigns a reason why those who then dwelt in Babylon could not be safe except they
fled, even because God was about to punish the city for its iniquities. He then sets
the iniquity of Babylon in opposition to the multitude of its men, as well as to its
wealth and defenses, and other means of strength. Babylon was populous; it might
also be aided by many auxiliaries; and there were ready at hand those who might
hire their services. As, then, there was nothing wanting to that city, the Prophet here
shows that wealth and abundance of people, and all other helps would be of no
moment, because it was God’s will to punish her iniquity. This is the reason why
Jeremiah now says, lest ye perish in her iniquity; that is, “do not mingle with those
ungodly men whom God has given up to destruction.”
19

20. And for the same purpose he adds, For it is the time of the vengeance of Jehovah
Here, again, he obviates an objection; for as God had suspended his judgment, no
one thought it possible that a fire could so soon, and, as it were, in a moment be
kindled to destroy Babylon. Then the Prophet says, that it was the time; by which he
intimates, that though God does not immediately execute his judgments, yet he does
not he down as it were idly, so as to forget what he has to do, but that he has his own
times. And this doctrine deserves to be noticed, because through our intemperate
zeal we make much ado, except God brings us help as soon as we are injured; but if
he delays even a short time, we complain and think that he has forgotten our
welfare. And even saints, in depositing familiarly their cares and anxieties in his
bosom, speak thus,
“Arise, O Lord, why sleepest thou” (Psalms 44:23)
As, then, we are by nature inclined to impatience, we ought to observe what
Scripture so often inculcates, even this — that God has his certain and fixed times
for punishing the wicked. Hence Jeremiah now teaches us, that the time of God’s
vengeance was come.
He then adds, A reward will he render to her; as though he had said, that though
Babylon would not have to suffer punishment immediately, yet she would not escape
from God’s hand, for the reward which God would render her was already
prepared. And this doctrine arises from a general principle, that God will ever
render to every one his just reward. We now, then, perceive the design of the
Prophet.
We have said that the words were addressed to the strangers and the guests who
were in Chaldea, or in the city Babylon. They then pervert this passage, who think
that the faithful are here exhorted immediately to depart from Babylon, That is, to
withdraw themselves from superstitions and the defilements of the world; for the
Prophet means no such thing. A passage might, however, be made from one truth to
another. It now follows, —
COFFMAN, “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."
20

21. 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" in Jeremiah 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]
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his
soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this [is] the time of the LORD’S vengeance;
he will render unto her a recompence.
Ver. 6. Flee out of the midst of Babylon.] See Jeremiah 18:1-23. So, in the Hew
Testament, we are called upon to flee and avoid the corruptions of the world and of
Antichrist. [1 John 2:7-8 Ephesians 5:6 Revelation 14:3-5; Revelation 18:4]
For this is a time, &c.] As Jeremiah 50:15; Jeremiah 50:25; Jeremiah 50:27-28;
Jeremiah 46:10.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:6
“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 YHWH’s vengeance,
He will render to her a recompense.”
All who are in Babylon are called on to flee for their lives so that they will not share
in her guilt. Babylon was no longer the place to be. The message is addressed to all
sojourners in Babylon who are called on to return to their own countries (see
Jeremiah 51:9). But following on Jeremiah 51:5 we may see this as especially an
injunction to His erring people. They especially are not to cling to Babylon, for
21

22. YHWH’s vengeance is coming on Babylon, and it is about to receive what is due to it
at His hand.
Babylon was a centre to which men had flocked from all countries as they had
sought wealth, pleasure and lascivious living within its walls. It was a hotbed of all
that appealed to man’s lowest nature, and men loved it. Indeed many Israelites also
would be reluctant to leave such things behind. But they are being reminded here
that if they continue to associate themselves with Babylon they will share in its guilt
and in the consequences of YHWH’s vengeance.
It is a warning to us all today. We too must choose between the degradation of
Babylon and the purity of the Holy One of Israel. We must flee from Babylon. ‘Love
not the world, nor the things that are in the world, for if any one loves the world the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh,
the desires of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the
world. And the world passes away and all its desires, but he who does the will God
abides for ever’ (1 John 2:15-17). For Babylon will perish, and all that it clings to,
and only what is of God will endure.
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore they have now gone mad.
BARNES, "Literally, “A golden cup is Babel in the hand of Yahweh, intoxicating the
whole earth.” Jeremiah beholds her in her splendor, but the wine whereof she makes the
nations drink is the wrath of God. As God’s hammer Jer_50:23, Babylon was strong: as
His cup of gold, she was rich and beautiful, but neither saves her from ruin.
CLARKE, "Made all the earth drunken - The cup of God’s wrath is the plenitude
of punishment, that he inflicts on transgressors. It is represented as intoxicating and
making them mad.
GILL, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord,.... Either so
called from the liquor in it, being of a yellow colour, or pure as gold, as the Jewish
22

23. commentators generally; or from the matter of it, being made of gold, denoting the
grandeur, splendour, and riches of the Babylonian empire; which, for the same reason, is
called the head of gold, Dan_2:38; this was in the hand of the Lord, under his direction,
and at his dispose; an instrument he make use of to dispense the cup of his wrath and
vengeance to other nations, or to inflict punishment on them for their sins; see Jer_
25:15; or else the sense is, that, by the permission of God, Babylon had by various
specious pretences drawn the nations of the earth into idolatry, and other sins, which
were as poison in a golden cup, by which they had been deceived; and this suits best with
the use of the phrase in Rev_17:4;
that made all the earth drunken; either disturbed them with wars, so that they were
like a drunken man that reels to and fro, and falls, as they did, into ruin and destruction;
or made them drunk with the wine of her fornication, with idolatry, so that they were
intoxicated with it, as the whore of Rome, mystical Babylon, is said to do, Rev_17:2;
the nations have drunken of her wine, therefore the nations are mad: they
drank of the wine of God's wrath by her means, being engaged in wars, which proved
their ruin, and deprived theft of their riches, strength, and substance, as mad men are of
their reason; or they drank in her errors, and partook of her idolatry, and ran mad upon
her idols, as she did, Jer_50:38; see Rev_18:3.
JAMISON, "Babylon is compared to a cup, because she was the vessel in the hand of
God, to make drunken with His vengeance the other peoples (Jer_13:12; Jer_25:15, Jer_
25:16). Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Rev_14:8; Rev_17:4. The cup is termed
“golden,” to express the splendor and opulence of Babylon; whence also in the image
seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan_2:38) the head representing Babylon is of gold (compare
Isa_14:4).
K&D, "Jer_51:7-10
Babylon, certainly, in its former power and greatness, was a golden goblet, by means
of which Jahveh presented to the nations the wine of His wrath, and intoxicated them;
but now it is fallen, and broken without remedy. Isa_21:9 finds an echo in the
expression, "Babylon is fallen." The figure of the cup refers us back to Jer_25:15., where,
however, it is applied in a different way. The cup is said to be of gold, in order to point
out the splendour and glory of Nebuchadnezzar's dominion. "In the hand of Jahveh,"
i.e., used by Him as His instrument for pouring out His wrath to the nations. But
Babylon has suddenly fallen and been broken in pieces. At this point Jeremiah drops the
figure of the cup, for a golden cup does not break when it falls. The fall is so terrible, that
the nations in Babylon are summoned to participate in the lamentation, and to lend their
aid in repairing her injuries. But they answer that their attempts to heal her are fruitless.
(On ‫י‬ ִ‫ֳר‬‫צ‬, cf. Jer_46:11 and Jer_8:22.) The terrible and irreparable character of the fall is
thus expressed in a dramatic manner. We must neither think of the allies and
mercenaries as those who are addressed (Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Maurer, Hitzig), nor
merely the Israelites who had been delivered from Babylon (Umbreit). The latter view is
opposed by the words which follow, "Let every one go to his own country;" this points to
men out of different lands. And the former assumption is opposed by the consideration
that not merely the mercenaries, but also the allies are to be viewed as fallen and ruined
together with Babylon, and that Babylon, which had subdued all the nations, has no
23

24. allies, according to the general way in which the prophet views these things. Those
addressed are rather the nations that had been vanquished by Babylon and detained in
the city, of which Israel was one. Inasmuch as these were the servants of Babylon, and as
such bound to pay her service, they are to heal Babylon; and because the attempts to
heal her prove fruitless, they are to leave the ruined city. They answer this summons by
the resolve, "We will go every one to his own land;" cf. Jer_50:8, Jer_50:16. The motive
for this resolution, "for her guilt reaches up to heaven," certainly shows that it is
Israelites who are speaking, because it is only they who form their opinions in such a
way; but they speak in the name of all the strangers who are in Babylon. ‫ט‬ָ‫פּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ is the
matter upon which judgment is passed, i.e., the transgression, the guilt, analogous to
‫ט‬ַ‫פּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫מ‬ ָ‫,דּ‬ Eze_7:23, and ‫ט‬ַ‫פּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ֶת‬‫ו‬ ָ‫מ‬ , Deu_19:6; Deu_21:22; it does not mean the
punishment adjudged, of which we cannot say that it reaches up to heaven. On this
expression, cf. Psa_57:11; Psa_108:5. Through the fall of Babylon, the Lord has made
manifest the righteousness of Israel; the redeemed ones are to proclaim this in Zion.
‫ת‬ ‫ק‬ ָ‫ד‬ ְ‫צ‬ does not mean "righteous acts" (Jdg_5:11), but proofs of the righteousness of
Israel as opposed to Babylon, which righteousness Babylon, through tyrannical
oppression of the people that had been delivered up to it merely for chastisement, has
failed to perceive, and which, so long as the Lord did not take His people to Himself
again in a visible manner, was hidden from the world; cf. Psa_37:6.
CALVIN, "Here again he anticipates an objection which might have been made; for
we know that the kingdoms of the world neither rise nor stand, except through the
will of God; as, then, the Prophet threatens destruction to Babylon, this objection
was ready at hand. “How comes it, then, that this city, which thou sayest is
accursed, has hitherto so greatly flourished? for who hath honored Babylon with so
great dignity, with so much wealth, and with so many victories? for it has not by
chance happened that this monarchy has been elevated so high; for not only all
Assyria has been brought, under its yoke, but also the kingdom of Israel, and the
kingdom of Judah is not far from its final ruin.” To this the Prophet answers, and
says, that Babylon was a cup in God’s hand to inebriate the earth; as though he had
said, that God was by no means inconsistent with himself when he employed the
Babylonians as his scourges, and when he now chastises them in their turn. And he
shows also, that when things thus revolve in the world, they do not happen through
the blind force of chance, but through the secret judgments of God, who so governs
the world, that he often exalts even the ungodly to the highest power, when his
purpose is to execute through them his judgments.
We now, then, understand the design of this passage; for otherwise what the
Prophet says might seem abrupt. Having said that the time of God’s vengeance had
already come, he now adds, A golden cup is in God’s hand; — to what purpose was
this added? By what has been stated, it appears evident how aptly the words run,
how sentences which seem to be wide asunder fitly unite together; for a doubt might
have crept in as to this, how could it be that God should thus bestow his benefits on
this city, and then in a short time destroy it. As, then, it seems unreasonable that
God should vary in his doings, as though he was not consistent with himself, the
Prophet on the other hand reminds us, that when such changes happen, God does in
24

25. no degree change his purposes; for he so regulates the government of the world, that
those whom he favors with remarkable benefits, he afterwards destroys, they being
worthy of punishment on account of their ingratitude, and that he does not without
reason or cause use them for a time as scourges to chastise the wickedness of others.
And it is for this reason, as I think, that he calls it a golden cup; for God seemed to
pour forth his benefits on the Babylonians as with a full hand. When, therefore, the
splendor of that city and of the monarchy was so great, all things were there as it
were golden.
Then he says, that it was a golden cup, but in the hand of God By saying that it was
in God’s hand, he intimates that the Babylonians were not under the government of
chance, but were ruled by God as he pleased, and also that their power, though very
great, was yet under the restraint of God, so that they did nothing but by his
permission, and even by his command.
He afterwards adds how God purposed to carry this cup in his hand, a cup so
splendid as it were of gold; his will was that it should inebriate the whole earth
These are metaphorical words; for the Prophet speaks here, no doubt, of
punishments which produce a kind of fury or madness. When God then designed to
take vengeance on all these nations, he inebriated them with evils, and this he did by
the Babylonians. For this reason, therefore, Babylon is said to have been the golden
cup which God extended with his own hand, and gave it to be drunk by all nations.
This similitude has also been used elsewhere, when Jeremiah spoke of the Idumeans,
“All drank of the cup, yea, drank of it to the dregs, so that they were inebriated,”
(Jeremiah 49:12)
He there also called the terrible punishment that was coming on the Idumeans the
cup of fury. Thus, then, were many nations inebriated by the Babylonians, because
they were so oppressed, that their minds were infatuated, as it were, with troubles;
for we know that men are stupefied with adversities, as though they were not in a
right mind. In this way Babylon inebriated many nations, because it so oppressed
them that they were reduced to a state of rage or madness; for they were not in a
composed state of mind when they were miserably distressed. (83)
To the same purpose is what is added: The nations who drank of her cup became
mad. Here he shows that the punishments were not ordinary, by which divers
nations were chastised by the Babylonians, but such as deprived them of mind and
judgment, as it is usually the case, as I have just said, in extreme evils.
Moreover, this passage teaches us, that when the wicked exercise their power with
great display, yet God overrules all their violence, though not apparently; nay, that
all the wicked, while they seem to assume to themselves the greatest license, are yet
guided, as it were, by the hand of God, and that when they oppress their neighbors,
it is done through the secret providence of God, who thus inebriates all who deserve
to be punished. At the same time, the Prophet implies, that the Babylonians
25

26. oppressed so many nations neither by their own contrivance, nor by their own
strength; but because it was the Lord’s will that they should be inebriated:
otherwise it would have greatly perplexed the faithful to think that no one could be
found stronger than the Babylonians. Hence the Prophet in effect gives this answer,
that all the nations could not have been overcome, had not the Lord given them to
drink the wine of fury and madness. It follows, —
Therefore shall nations glory, [saying,] Babylon is suddenly fallen, etc.
— Ed
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:7. Babylon hath been a golden cup— "The Lord has
presented by the hand of Babylon and her kings the cup of his wrath to all the
people of the earth: Egypt, Judaea, Phoenicia, Syria, Idumaea, and many other
countries, have been drunk with the wine of the fury of the Lord, by the
ministration of Nebuchadrezzar." The sense of this verse is plainly applied by St.
John to spiritual Babylon, Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:4. See the note on ch.
Jeremiah 25:15.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD’S hand,
that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore
the nations are mad.
Ver. 7. Babylon hath been a golden cup.] See Jeremiah 25:15, Revelation 17:4.
In the Lord’s hand,] i.e., Oeconomia et dispensatione eius: He had the mixing and
distributing of it.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:7
“Babylon has been a golden cup in YHWH’s hand,
Which made all the earth drunk,
The nations have drunk of her wine,
Therefore the nations are mad.”
For Babylon is like a golden cup, abounding in wealth, showy, and extravagant, full
of intoxicating drink. And it has forced all the known world to drink of that cup, as
it has ravaged and pillaged the nations, resulting in their behaving madly, partaking
in her idolatry and her evil ways. But we are here reminded that Babylon has not
just gone on its way randomly. For that cup is in YHWH’s hand. Nothing is outside
His control, not even Babylon. And through that cup YHWH has brought judgment
on the nations. For as we have seen described in the previous chapters He has had
His purposes to fulfil against those other nations. And they have drunk of the cup of
26

27. Babylon and are beside themselves at what has come upon them. Once more we are
faced with the paradox of sovereignty and freedom. Babylon carried out its
activities in accordance with its own evil desire, and the way it went about it was its
own choice. It was not God Who made it do evil. It was Babylon’s inhumanity. But
behind all, overruling history, was God, as He sought to bring about His purposes
for all nations.
PULPIT, “Babylon, as the instrument used by God for his judicial purposes, is
likened to a wine cup, which "made all the earth drunken" (comp. Jeremiah 25:15,
Jeremiah 25:16); and, more than this, to a golden cup, such was the impression
made upon the Jewish prophets, by Babylon's unexampled splendour. So, in
Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the image, the head of the image is of gold (Daniel 2:32,
Daniel 2:38). But neither her splendour nor her honourable position as God's
minister could save her from merited destruction.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
BARNES, "Destroyed - literally, broken, as was the hammer Jer_50:23. The cup,
though of metal, is thrown down so violently as to be shattered by the fall.
Howl for her - The persons addressed are the many inhabitants of Babylon who
were dragged from their homes to people its void places, and especially the Israelites.
They have dwelt there long enough to feel pity for her, when they contrast her past
magnificence with her terrible fall. Compare Jer_29:7.
CLARKE, "Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed - These appear to be the
words of some of the spectators of Babylon’s misery.
GILL, "Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed,.... Or "broken" (g); even into
shivers, as a cup is; for when it had been used to answer the purposes designed by the
Lord, he let it fall cut of his hands at once, and it was broken; or rather he dashed it in
pieces, as a potter's vessel. The destruction of Babylon was brought about in a very short
time, considering the strength of it; and was unexpected by the inhabitants of it, and by
27

28. the nations round about; but, when it was come, it was irreparable: so the destruction of
mystical Babylon will be in one hour, and it will be an utter and entire destruction, Rev_
18:8;
howl for her; as the inhabitants of Babylon, and her friends and allies that loved her,
did no doubt; and as the kings and merchants of the earth, and others, will howl for
spiritual Babylon, Rev_18:9;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed: or balsam; see Jer_46:11;
which is said by way of derision and mockery, as Kimchi and Abarbinel observe; or in an
ironical and sarcastic manner; suggesting, that, let what means soever be made use of,
her wound was incurable, her ruin inevitable, and her case irrecoverable.
JAMISON, "Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed,.... Or "broken" (g); even
into shivers, as a cup is; for when it had been used to answer the purposes designed by
the Lord, he let it fall cut of his hands at once, and it was broken; or rather he dashed it
in pieces, as a potter's vessel. The destruction of Babylon was brought about in a very
short time, considering the strength of it; and was unexpected by the inhabitants of it,
and by the nations round about; but, when it was come, it was irreparable: so the
destruction of mystical Babylon will be in one hour, and it will be an utter and entire
destruction, Rev_18:8;
howl for her; as the inhabitants of Babylon, and her friends and allies that loved her,
did no doubt; and as the kings and merchants of the earth, and others, will howl for
spiritual Babylon, Rev_18:9;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed: or balsam; see Jer_46:11;
which is said by way of derision and mockery, as Kimchi and Abarbinel observe; or in an
ironical and sarcastic manner; suggesting, that, let what means soever be made use of,
her wound was incurable, her ruin inevitable, and her case irrecoverable.
CALVIN, "The Prophet now declares that the fall of Babylon would be sudden, that
the faithful might understand that God could accomplish in one moment what he
had decreed. For when the prophets spoke of God’s judgments, the people
questioned among themselves, how could that be which surpassed the common ideas
of men. That men, therefore, might not estimate God’s power according to their own
thoughts, he introduces this word, suddenly; as though he had said, that God had no
need of warlike forces; for though he makes no preparations, yet he can subvert
every power that exists in the world.
He then adds, Howl for her; and this is said, because it could not be but that many
nations would either bewail the ruin of so great a monarch, or be astonished at her,
and thus many things would be said. He then says, that though the whole world
were to howl for Babylon, it would yet fall and be suddenly broken, whenever it
pleased God. And he says, by way of irony, Take balm, if peradventure it can be
healed The word ‫,צרי‬ tsari, is, by some, rendered balsam, but it means rosin, for we
know that it was deemed precious in Judea; and the Prophet no doubt
accommodated what he said to what was commonly known. As then that
28

29. medicament was in common use among the Jews, he now says, Take rosin As there
is hardly any country which has not its peculiar remedies; so we see that Jeremiah
refers not to what was usually done at Babylon, or to medicaments used by the
Chaldeans, but to what was commonly used in his own country, as it appears from
other places. Now rosin was a juice which flowed from trees, and it was a thick
juice. The best rosin which we now use is from the terebinth; but in these parts they
have what proceeds from the fir, for here the terebinth is not found. But Judea had
a most valuable rosin, as we learn from many parts of Scripture. And under this one
thing is included everything, Take rosin; as though he had said, “Let physicians
come together (otherwise she will perish) from every place, if peradventure she can
be healed. ” This is said ironically, that the faithful might know that the diseases of
Babylon would be incurable.
We have said elsewhere, that Babylon was not wholly demolished when taken by
Cyrus, and that the people were not then driven away. They dwelt there as usual,
though made tributary, as they were afterwards, under the dominion of the
Persians. Babylon was also grievously oppressed, when punished for its revolt, until
what Jeremiah and others prophesied was fulfilled. Then the time of which he
speaks ought not to be confined to one calamity only, which was only a prelude to
others still greater. He afterwards adds, —
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
Ver. 8. Babylon is suddenly fallen.] Jeremiah 50:2. So ruet alto a culmine Roma So
Rome will be destroyed from its highest heights. [Revelation 14:8; Revelation 18:2;
Revelation 18:10]
If so be she may be healed,] q.d., Try you may, but it is to no purpose. See Jeremiah
46:11.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:8-9
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,
29

30. And let us go every one into his own country,
For her judgment reaches to heaven,
And is lifted up even to the skies.”
In a striking display of compassion Jeremiah calls on Israel/Judah, not to exult in
Babylon’s downfall, but to weep for her and even to take some balm to her in order
to aid in her healing. But this is only in order to emphasise the doubt as to whether
she can be healed. For Israel’s reply comes back, saying, ‘We would have healed
Babylon but she is not healed’. Babylon was never willing to receive the truth, even
when in extremity.
It is of great interest in this regard to note that Scripture depicts both Assyria and
Babylon as having had their moments of revelation to which had they responded
permanently they might have been healed. Jonah went to Nineveh which
experienced a short term revival (Jonah 3:5-10), and Nebuchadrezzar had a unique
experience of God Most High, the King of Heaven and responded in humility and
worship (Daniel 4:34-37). Both were given the opportunity to be healed. But both in
the end failed to respond to that healing. So Israel makes clear here that they have
sought to heal Babylon by going there with Biblical truth, but that it has proved
fruitless. In consequence the only thing left is to forsake her, and for everyone
sojourning there to return to their home countries, because Babylon’s situation is
hopeless. Her judgment is heaven sent.
‘For her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.’ There may
well here be a reference to the tower Babel which also reached up to heaven
bringing judgment on itself (Genesis 11:1-9). The point is that Babel (Babylon) has
not changed, and is still calling down judgment on herself. That is why she cannot
be healed.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:8
Destroyed. The Hebrew, more forcibly, has "is broken." The Authorized Version
wished, perhaps, to avoid the objection that a golden cup could not, properly
speaking, be broken. But if we once begin to harmonize the language of Hebrew
poetry, we shall have no end. It is not the cup which falls, but the state, considered
as a house (the "breach" of God's people is constantly referred to; e.g. Psalms 60:2;
Isaiah 30:26). Howl for her. Sympathetic bystanders are dramatically appealed to.
From the next verse it would seem that they are the various foreigners who, whether
by choice or force, have been resident in Babylon, and who have acquired an
interest in her fate. Hitzig thinks the foreign mercenaries (Jeremiah 50:37) or allies
are specially referred to. Take balm for her pain (comp. Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah
46:11). The images of fracture and wound are combined, as in Isaiah 30:26.
30

31. 9 “‘We would have healed Babylon,
but she cannot be healed;
let us leave her and each go to our own land,
for her judgment reaches to the skies,
it rises as high as the heavens.’
BARNES, "Omit would. All was done that it was possible to do to heal her.
To the skies - Or, to the clouds.
CLARKE, "We would have healed Babylon - Had it been in our power, we
would have saved her; but we could not turn away the judgment of God.
GILL, "We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed,.... These are
either the words of the friends of Babylon of her auxiliaries and allies, who did all they
could to defend her against the Persians, but to no purpose; it was not in their power to
help her; the time of her destruction was come, and there was no avoiding it; or of the
prophets and good people of the Jews that were in Babylon, that took pains to convince,
the inhabitants of Babylon of their idolatries and other sins, and reform them, that so
they might not be their ruin; but all instructions and admonitions were in vain; in like
manner many worthy reformers have laboured much to reclaim mystical Babylon, or the
church of Rome, from her errors and idolatries; but still she retains them; wherefore it
follows:
forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; so said the auxiliary
troops that were in the service of the king of Babylon; since we can do him no good, and
are ourselves posed to danger, let us desert him, and provide for our safety by hastening
to our own country as fast as we can; this was really the case after the first battle of Cyrus
with the Babylonians, in which their king Neriglissar was slain: Croesus and the rest of
the allies, seeing their case so distressed and helpless, left them to shift for themselves,
and fled by night (h): or so might the Jews say when the city was taken, and they were
delivered out of the hands of their oppressors; and so will the people of God say, who
shall be called out of mystical Babylon just before its ruin, Rev_18:4;
for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies:
that is, her sins were so many, that they reached even to heaven; and were taken notice
of by God that dwelleth there; and were the cause of judgment or punishment being
31

32. from thence inflicted on her, which was unavoidable, being the decree of heaven, and the
just demerit of her sin; and therefore no help could be afforded her; nor was there any
safety by being in her; see Rev_18:5.
HENRY, "A just complaint made of Babylon, and a charge drawn up against her by
the Israel of God. 1. She is complained of for her incorrigible wickedness (Jer_51:9): We
would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. The people of God that were captives
among the Babylonians endeavoured, according to the instructions given them (Jer_
10:11), to convince them of the folly of their idolatry, but they could not do it; still they
doted as much as ever upon their graven images, and therefore the Israelites resolved to
quit them and go to their own country. Yet some understand this as spoken by the forces
they had hired for their assistance, declaring that they had done their best to save her
from ruin, but that it was all to no purpose, and therefore they might as well go home to
their respective countries; “for her judgment reaches unto heaven, and it is in vain to
withstand it or think to avert it.” 2. She is complained of for her inveterate malice against
Israel. Other nations had been hardly used by the Chaldeans, but Israel only complains
to God of it, and with confidence appeals to him (Jer_51:34, Jer_51:35): “The king of
Babylon has devoured me, and crushed me, and never thought he could do enough ruin
to me; he has emptied me of all that was valuable, has swallowed me up as a dragon, or
whale, swallows up the little fish by shoals; he has filled his belly, filled his treasures,
with my delicates, with all my pleasant things, and has cast me out, cast me away as a
vessel in which there is no pleasure; and now let them be accountable for all this.” Zion
and Jerusalem shall say, “Let the violence done to me and my children, that are my own
flesh, and pieces of myself, and all the blood of my people, which they have shed like
water, be upon them; let the guilt of it lie upon them, and let it be required at their
hands.” Note, Ruin is not far off from those that lie under the guilt of wrong done to
God's people.
JAMISON, "We would have healed — We attempted to heal.
her judgment — her crimes provoking God’s “judgments” [Grotius].
reacheth unto heaven — (Gen_18:21; Jon_1:2; Rev_18:5). Even the heathen
nations perceive that her awful fall must be God’s judgment for her crying sins (Psa_
9:16; Psa_64:9).
CALVIN, "The Prophet assumes different characters; he speaks here in the person
of those who of themselves brought help to the Babylonians. And many, no doubt,
would have been ready to assist them, had King Belshazzar wished to accept aid;
and we know also, that the city had a large army. He compares, then, the nations
subject to the Babylonians, and also the hired and foreign soldiers, to physicians, as
though he had said, “Babylon has been, with great care, healed.” As when a great
prince is taken ill, he sends here and there for the best and most skillful physicians;
but when the disease is incurable, they all strive in vain to save his life: so now the
Prophet speaks, using a metaphor; but he speaks in the person of those who either
had set to hire their services, or had come from a sense of duty to heal Babylon.
“See,” they said, “the fault is not with us, for we have faithfully and carefully done
our best to heal her, but she has not been healed.”
32

33. He then adds, Leave her, and let us depart, every one to his own land. This was the
language of foreign soldiers and mercenaries. When they saw that the safety of the
city was hopeless, they began to counsel one another, “What do we? Ought we not
rather to consult our own safety? for our efforts are wholly useless. It is then time
for every one to return to his own country, for the end of Babylon is come.” But the
change of person has much more force than if the Prophet had spoken thus, “The
time shall come when the auxiliaries shall flee away, for they will see that it would
be all in vain to defend her.” But when he compares them to physicians, this
similitude more fully illustrates the case; and then when he speaks in their person,
this renders what is said still more emphatieal.
He at length adds, For her judgment has reached to the heavens, and has been
elevated to the clouds. Jeremiah could not have properly addressed what he said to
the unbelieving, if you explain this of God being adverse and hostile to the
Babylonians; for it never occurred to the hired soldiers,
that Babylon perished through the just judgment of God. But the Prophet,
according to a usual mode of speaking, says, Her judgment (that is, her destruction)
reached to the heavens, and has been elevated to the clouds; that is, no aid shall be
found under heaven, which can deliver Babylon, — how so? because it will be the
same as though destruction came from heaven itself, and from the clouds. For when
danger is nigh either from behind or from before us, we can turn aside either to the
right hand or to the left, so that we may escape the evils which men may bring on
us: but when heaven itself seems to threaten our heads, then an escape is attempted
in vain. This then is the reason why the Prophet says that the judgment of Babylon
had reached to the heavens and had been elevated to the clouds. (84) It follows, —
For to the heavens has reached her judgement,
And it has risen up to the ethereal regions.
By “heavens,” are often meant the skies. — Ed.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed:
forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth
unto heaven, and is lifted up [even] to the skies.
Ver. 9. We would have healed Babylon.] Say the foreign nations that came to help
her, or the people of God, (a) say others, that were kept captive by her, as Daniel
and the rest.
But she is not healed.] Or, She could not be healed. See Hosea 7:1.
For her judgment reacheth unto heaven.] It coelo clamor, proportionable to her sin.
[Revelation 18:5]
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:9
33

34. We would have healed Babylon. Experience shows that it is useless to attempt to
correct such inveterate evils. Everyone into his own country (as Jeremiah 50:16).
Her judgment; i.e. her punishment. Perhaps there is an allusion to the fate of Sodom
and Gomorrah, burned by fire from heaven. But we might also render "her crime"
(comp. Deuteronomy 19:6, where "worthy of death" is more strictly "a capital
crime").
10 “‘The Lord has vindicated us;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has done.’
BARNES, "Yahweh hath brought to the light those things which prove us to be
righteous: i. e., by punishing Babylon He hath justified
CLARKE, "The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness - This is the
answer of the Jews. God has vindicated our cause.
GILL, "The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness,.... Or "righteousnesses"
(i) this, as Kimchi observes, is spoken in the person of the Israelites; not as though the
Jews had done no iniquity, for which they were carried captive; they had committed
much, and were far from being righteous in themselves, but were so in comparison of
the Chaldeans; and who had gone beyond their commission, and had greatly oppressed
them, and used them cruelly; and now the Lord, by bringing destruction upon them,
vindicated the cause of his people, and showed it to be a righteous one; and that the
religion they professed was true, and which the Chaldeans had derided and reproached:
this righteousness, not of their persons, but of their cause, and the truth of their holy
religion, the Lord brought forth to the light, and made it manifest, by taking their parts,
and destroying their enemies:
come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God; the Jews
encourage one another to return into their own land, rebuild their temple, and set up the
worship of God in it; and there declare the wondrous work of God in the destruction of
Babylon, and their deliverance from thence; giving him the praise and glory of it; and
exciting others to join with them in it, it being the Lord's work, and marvellous in their
eyes; and so, when mystical Babylon is destroyed, voices will be heard in heaven, in the
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35. church, ascribing salvation, honour, and glory, to God, Rev_19:1. All this is true, in an
evangelic sense, of such as are redeemed by Christ, and brought out of mystical Babylon,
and are effectually called by the grace of God; to these the Lord brings forth the
righteousness of Christ, which he makes their own, by imputing it to them; and he
brings it near to them, and puts it upon them; it is revealed unto them from faith to
faith; it is applied to them by the Spirit of God, and put into their hands to plead with
God, as their justifying righteousness; and which is brought forth by him on all
occasions, to free them from all charges exhibited against them by law or justice, by the
world, Satan, or their own hearts, Rom_8:33; and it becomes such persons to declare in
Zion, in the church of God, the works of the Lord; not their own, which will not bear the
light, nor bear speaking of; but the works of God, of creation and providence; but more
especially of grace, as the great work of redemption by Jesus Christ; and particularly the
Spirit's work of grace upon their hearts, which is not the work of men, but of God; being
a new creation work; a regeneration; a resurrection from the dead; and requiring
almighty power, to which man is unfit and unequal: this lies in the quickening of men
dead in trespasses and sins; in enlightening such as are darkness itself; in an
implantation of the principles of grace and holiness in them; in giving them new hearts
and new spirits; and in bringing them off of their own righteousness, to depend on
Christ alone for salvation; and which work, as it is begun, will be carried on, and
performed in them, until the day of Christ; and, wherever it is, should not be concealed,
but should be declared in the gates of Zion, publicly, freely, and fitly and faithfully, to the
glory of the grace of God, and for the comfort of his people, to whom every such
declaration is matter of joy and pleasure; see Psa_66:16.
HENRY, " Judgment given upon this appeal by the righteous Judge of heaven and
earth, on behalf of Israel against Babylon. he sits in the throne judging right, is ready to
receive complaints, and answers (Jer_51:36): “I will plead thy cause. Leave it with me; I
will in due time plead it effectually and take vengeance for thee, and every drop of
Jerusalem's blood shall be accounted for with interest.” Israel and Judah seemed to have
been neglected and forgotten, but God had an eye to them, Jer_51:5. It is true their land
was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. They were a provoking people and
their sings were a great offence to God, as a holy God, and as their God, their Holy One;
and therefore he justly delivered them up into the hands of their enemies, and might
justly have abandoned them and left them to perish in their hands; but God deals better
with them than they deserve, and, notwithstanding their iniquities and his severities,
Israel is not forsaken, is not cast off, though he be cast out, but is owned and looked
after by his God, by the Lord of hosts. God is his God still, and will act for him as the
Lord of hosts, a God of power. Note, Though God's people may have broken his laws and
fallen under his rebukes, yet it does not therefore follow that they are thrown out of
covenant; but God's care of them and love to them will flourish again, Psa_89:30-33.
The Chaldeans thought they should never be called to an account for what they had done
against God's Israel; but there is a time fixed for vengeance, Jer_51:6. We cannot expect
it should come sooner than the time fixed, but then it will come; he will render unto
Babylon a recompence, for the avenging of Israel is the vengeance of the Lord, who
espouses their cause; it is the vengeance of his temple, Jer_51:11, as before, Jer_50:28.
The Lord God of recompences, the God to whom vengeance belongs, will surely requite
(Jer_51:56), will pay them home; he will render unto Babylon all the evil they have done
in Zion (Jer_51:24); he will return it in the sight of his people. They shall have the
satisfaction to see their cause pleaded with jealousy. They shall not only live to see those
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36. judgments brought upon Babylon, but they shall plainly see them to be the punishment
of the wrong they have done to Zion; any man may see it, and say, Verily there is a God
that judges in the earth; for just as Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, has not
only slain those that were found in arms, but all without distinction, even all the land
(almost all were put to the sword), so at Babylon shall fall the slain not only of the city,
but of all the country, Jer_51:49. Cyrus shall measure to the Chaldeans the same that
they measured to the Jews, so that every observer may discern that God is recompensing
them for what they did against his people; but Zion's children shall in a particular
manner triumph in it (Jer_51:10): The Lord has brought forth our righteousness; he
has appeared in our behalf against those that dealt unjustly with us, and has given us
redress; he has also made it to appear that he is reconciled to us and that we are yet in
his eyes a righteous nation. Let it therefore be spoken of to his praise: Come and let us
declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God, that others may be invited to join with us
in praising him.
JAMISON, "Next after the speech of the confederates of Babylon, comes that of the
Jews celebrating with thanksgivings the promise-keeping faithfulness of their covenant
God.
brought forth, etc. — (Psa_37:6).
our righteousness — not the Jews’ merits, but God’s faithfulness to Himself and to
His covenant, which constituted the “righteousness” of His people, that is, their
justification in their controversy with Babylon, the cruel enemy of God and His people.
Compare Jer_23:6, “The Lord our righteousness”; Mic_7:9. Their righteousness is His
righteousness.
declare in Zion — (Psa_102:13-21).
CALVIN, "The Prophet here addresses the faithful, and especially shows, that the
ruin of Babylon would be a sure evidence of God’s paternal favor towards his
Church. And it was no common consolation to the faithful, in their extreme
miseries, to know, that so dear and precious to God was their salvation, that he
would by no means spare the Babylonians, whom the whole world regarded as half
gods; for, as I have said, the power of that monarchy filled the minds of men with
astonishment. When the faithful, then, knew that the Babylonians were to perish,
because they had oppressed and cruelly treated them, an invaluable consolation, as I
have said, must hence have been conveyed to them. The Prophet then reminds us
here, that it would be a singular testimony as to God’s favor to his Church, when he
subverted Babylon, and he also exhorts the faithful to gratitude: for it is the design
of all God’s benefits, that his name may be celebrated by us, according to what
David says:
“What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits which he has bestowed on me?
The cup of salvation will I take and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalms 116:12.)
He then says, first, Brought forth hath Jehovah our righteousness Here, some
anxiously toil to untie a knot, where there is none; for fearing lest the word,
righteousness, should be laid hold on for the purpose of setting up merits, they say
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37. that righteousness is the remission of sins. Then they thus explain the words of the
Prophet,” God has at length unfolded his mercy towards us, and it is our
righteousness when all our iniquities are buried.” But this is forced. When the
Prophet speaks here of righteousnesses, he does not mean the merits by which the
Jews were to obtain what had been promised to them; but righteousnesses he calls
their good cause with regard to the Babylonians. For righteousness has various
meanings; and when a comparison is made between men, God is said to bring forth
our righteousness, when he vindicates our integrity from the calumnies of the
wicked. So Jacob said,
“The Lord will bring forth my righteousness as the dawn.”
(Genesis 30:33)
But in this sense our righteousness has a reference to our adversaries. So whenever
David asked of God to regard his righteousness, he no doubt compared himself with
his enemies. And righteousness here is to be taken simply with reference to the
Babylonians. For though God had punished the Jews as they deserved, yet as to the
Babylonians they were cruel tyrants and wicked robbers. The cause, then, of the
chosen people was just, with regard to them. This is the reason why he says, that
God brought forth their righteousnesses The rest to-morrow.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come,
and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
Ver. 10. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness,] i.e., Our just cause, and
the righteousness of our religion, derided by the Babylonians.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:10
YHWH has brought forth our righteousnesses,
Come, and let us declare in Zion the work of YHWH our God.”
In view of Jeremiah 50:4-6; Jeremiah 50:17-20; Jeremiah 50:28 we may see this as
referring to the return of exiles from the many places to which they had been taken
(Isaiah 11:11-12), including Babylonia (Jeremiah 50:28). There in those places many
Israelites had been honed and moulded by YHWH so that they had begun to
produce righteous behaviour (‘righteousnesses - plural noun), both religiously and
morally. He had ‘brought forth their righteousnesses’. Therefore they were now
determined to return to their land and declare in Zion what God had done for them
as He had purified His people. They would declare ‘the work of YHWH our God’
upon themselves, in partial fulfilment of Jeremiah 31:31-34. For throughout all
history God is continually working to bring out a remnant for Himself.
SIMEON, “DUTY OF ACKNOWLEDGING GOD’S MERCIES
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38. Jeremiah 51:10. Come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God!
THE prophets, whilst foretelling future events, are often transported in spirit to the
period of which they speak; and are enabled to see, as it were, the events themselves
actually passing before their eyes. Hence, if they speak of the rise or fall of
kingdoms, they behold the armies marching to their destination, engaging in the
conflict, and either conquering or conquered, according as the Governor of the
universe has fore-ordained. This is peculiarly manifest in relation to the destruction
of Babylon; which is more frequently and more fully predicted than any other
event, except those which immediately relate to God’s chosen people [Note: See the
thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Isaiah throughout, and especially chap.
14:4–12.]. It is of that event that the prophet speaks in the chapter before us, as he
has also done in the preceding chapter. Having said in the foregoing verses that God
would “send fanners to Babylon, to fan,” to destroy her, though the event was not to
take place for sixty years, yet he says, “This is the time of the Lord’s recompence;”
and then exclaims, “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed! howl ye for her!” He
then speaks of the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity as already effected,
and calls on them to declare in Zion the wonders which God had wrought for them:
“The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness (that is, our deliverance): come,
and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.”
It is not of future events that we are now called to speak, but of things accomplished,
as it were, before our eyes, and of things that demand our most grateful
acknowledgment.
Let us consider,
I. What is that work which we are now called to declare—
At no period of our history had we ever more reason to bless and adore our God
than at this day [Note: This was preached on Jan. 13, 1813.]. The mercies
vouchsafed to us have been exceeding great and numerous. We cannot enter into
them indeed very fully; but we will suggest some distinct heads, under which they
may be arranged for your own more easy and profitable contemplation of them.
Consider them then as agricultural and commercial, political and religious.
Consider,
1. The agricultural—
[Heavy was the pressure on all the lower orders of society, by reason of the dearness
of provisions, throughout the last year: and, if the late harvest had been as
unproductive as that which preceded it, their distress would have been at this hour
exceeding great. But God in his mercy vouchsafed to us a very abundant harvest, so
that now all may “eat and be satisfied, and bless the name of their God.” True it is,
that other things still continue at a high price: but that very circumstance only
shews us the more forcibly, how rich a mercy it is to have plenty of that which is
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39. “the staff of life.” In enumerating then the mercies for which we have now peculiar
reason to be thankful, let us not be unmindful of that in which the great mass of the
community are so deeply interested, and which is perhaps the first of all national
blessings.]
2. Commercial—
[To abridge and to destroy our commerce has been the incessant labour of our
enemies: and to such a state was it reduced, that it could scarcely be carried on to
any extent, without involving; all the persons engaged in it in the guilt of perjury.
The whole continent almost was closed against us: and whatever was surreptitiously
introduced there, was subjected to such peril, as to prove a most serious
discouragement to all commercial enterprise. But now, within these few weeks only,
the whole continent is anxious to receive our goods: our manufactures are revived;
our people, who during the last year were almost in a state of insurrection on
account of the want of work, are employed; and a good prospect is opened to us of
increased and permanent prosperity. This, whether viewed in its aspect on
individuals or the nation at large, is another blessing, which ought on no account to
be overlooked.]
3. Political—
[Who that looks back to the earlier period of the French Revolution, and recollects
what sentiments of insubordination and sedition pervaded the land, must not be
surprised at the change that has taken place in relation to those things? Formerly
the cry of liberty and equality was raised in almost every place, to instigate the
people to throw off all submission to the Government: and such was the delusion by
which the minds of many were blinded, that thousands were panting to destroy the
constitution, and to establish a democracy in its place. The same bloody scenes as
took place in France were preparing for this land also; and so great and general was
the infatuation, that many, even of religious characters, were ready to help forward
the designs and efforts of those who sought our ruin. But now the excellence of our
constitution is duly appreciated; the persons who were once ready to subvert it have
now seen their error; and perhaps there is scarcely a man in the land who would not
willingly die in its defence. Nor is this change peculiar to us: it is now seen in every
part of Europe; and those very people who banished their former Rulers, and
overturned fill their former establishments, are now desirous of returning to the
state they have forsaken, and are actually fighting for the restoration of their former
Governments. Thus has order taken the place of anarchy, and respect for
constituted authorities banished from amongst us the demon of discontent.]
4. Religious—
[With a contempt for all ancient institutions, there went forth an utter disregard of
Revealed Religion. Infidelity stalked abroad, as it were, at noon-day. It no longer
blushed to shew its face, but obtruded itself upon the attention of all; and reviled, as
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40. enemies to sense and reason, all who dared to maintain the cause of God in the
world. Philosophy forsooth was deemed a safer guide than the voice of inspiration;
and the word of God itself was held up to ridicule, as a composition of falsehood and
absurdity. How different is the state of things amongst us at this time! The Holy
Scriptures are revered and honoured to a degree altogether unprecedented and
unknown in this country. All ranks and orders of men amongst us not only receive
the sacred volume as true, but stand forth to advocate its cause, and to extend the
knowledge of it to every quarter of the globe. If we judged from the zeal exerted for
the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures, we should be ready to think that the Millennial
period were already come. But, though we cannot yet congratulate ourselves on such
an extensive change as this, we nevertheless behold a most astonishing increase of
true religion in the land. We are happy too to declare, that a similar spirit is rising
in other lands; and that, “whilst God’s judgments have been poured out so awfully
and so extensively upon the earth, the inhabitants thereof have been learning
righteousness [Note: Isaiah 26:9.].”
These then are mercies which may well “be declared in Zion,” and which we are
now called in a more especial manner to commemorate.]
Having drawn your attention to some of those mercies which deserve especial notice
at this time, I proceed to shew,
II. In what manner we should declare them—
Since these mercies are so great and numerous, let us all unite in improving them as
we ought to do:
1. Let us acknowledge God in them—
[Who is it that “hath wrought all these deliverances for us?” Is it our own hand, our
own arm, that hath effected them? Who is it that gave us such a rich abundant
harvest? We must be blind indeed, if we see not the hand of God in it [Note: Hosea
2:8. Psalms 65:9-13.] — — — Who is it that hath opened all the ports of the
continent to our manufactures? Backward as men are to trace the operation of God
in such things, there is scarcely a person in the land that does not say, “This is thine
hand; and thou, Lord, hast done it [Note: Psalms 109:27; Psalms 44:3. Isaiah
45:7.]!” And must we not trace the revolution of sentiment to the same source? Who
but God can “still the madness of the people?” It is he, and he alone, that “turneth
the heart, whether of princes or of people, whithersoever he will [Note: Proverbs
21:1. Psalms 65:7.].” Above all, to whose agency must we refer that great work of
dispelling the clouds of infidelity, and of making his light to shine into the hearts of
men? Truly, none but He “who commanded the light to shine out of darkness” at
the first creation of the world, is sufficient for these things [Note: 2 Corinthians 4:6;
2 Corinthians 5:5.]. In reference then to every thing that has been done for us, we
must say, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be the praise!”]
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41. 2. We must adore him for them—
[It is not a cold and speculative acknowledgment only that we are called to make:
our hearts should be warmed with a sense of God’s mercies: and our lips be
devoutly occupied in his praise. The first effect indeed which they should have upon
our minds is, to fill us with wonder and admiration of the Divine goodness [Note:
Psalms 40:5.]: but when we have, as it were, recovered from the overwhelming sense
of his goodness, then should we declare it, and publish it with all the powers of our
souls. Look at David, when recounting the mercies God had vouchsafed to Israel
[Note: Psalms 98:1-8.]: such is the language which well befits us on the present
occasion; yea, we should “make our boast in God all the day long, and praise his
name for ever and ever [Note: Psalms 44:7-8.].” In this way “we must declare his
work, if we would wisely consider of his doing [Note: Psalms 64:9.].”]
3. Let us, by anticipation, bless God for the yet richer mercies which he has in
reserve for us—
[We began with observing, that “the deliverance” from Babylon was yet distant, at
least sixty years, though the prophet spoke of it as already accomplished. So may we
look forward to the blessings which are made over to us by the sure word of
promise, and may even now bless God for them as though they were already
possessed. As Abraham rejoiced at the prospect of the day of Christ, just as if he
had actually seen it with his eyes, so may we do, and so we ought to do, in reference
to his future advent to reign on earth. Then will peace and plenty, and truth and
righteousness, prevail throughout the world. Then shall men “beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will learn war no
more.” Then “Judah will no more vex Ephraim, nor Ephraim envy Judah,” but all
will “sit harmonious and contented under their own vine and fig-tree.” “The wolf
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid:” nor shall
any hurt or destroy in God’s holy mountain. Then, whilst plenty abounds in every
place [Note: Amos 9:13-15.], “the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the
waters cover the sea.” O what a day of wonders will that be! It is our privilege to
look forward to it, and even to see it now, as it were, before our eyes. See how the
prophet, who lived almost three thousand years ago, beheld it, and gloried in the
sight [Note: Isaiah 49:12-13; Isaiah 60:1; Isaiah 60:4; Isaiah 60:8.]! and shall not we,
who are almost on the very eve of that day? We have no doubt but that all these
events, which have been taking place in the world these twenty years, are preparing
the way for the promised advent of our Lord. Let us then anticipate it with joy and
gratitude [Note: Isaiah 52:9-10.]: let us adore our God for giving such prospects to
sinful man: and let us endeavour to hasten it forward by every possible exertion in
the cause of Christ.]
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42. 11 “Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
BARNES, "Make bright - Rather, Sharpen.
The Medes Gen_10:2 were a branch of the great Aryan family, who as conquerors had
seized upon the vast regions extending from the Caspian Sea to the eastern borders of
Mesopotamia, but without being able to dispossess the Turanian tribes who had
previously dwelt there. They were divided into numerous clans, each with its own local
chief, the leaders of the larger sections being those who are here called kings.
CLARKE, "Make bright the arrows - This is the prophet’s address to Babylon.
The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes - Of Cyaxares
king of Media, called Darius the Mede in Scripture; and of Cyrus king of Persia,
presumptive heir of the throne of Cyaxares, his uncle. Cambyses, his father, sent him,
Cyrus, with 30, 000 men to assist his uncle Cyaxares, against Neriglissar king of
Babylon, and by these was Babylon overthrown.
GILL, "Make bright the arrows,.... Which were covered with rust; scour them of it;
anoint them with oil, as armour were wont to be; make them neat, clean, and bright, that
they may pierce the deeper; hence we read of a "polished shaft", or arrow, one made
bright and pure, Isa_49:2; agreeably to this some render the word "sharpen the arrows"
(k); so the Targum. The word has the signification of "choosing"; but, as Gussetius
observes (l), whether the direction be to choose the best arrows, or to scour clean and
polish them, the end is the same; namely, to have such as are most fit for use. Joseph
Kimchi derives the word from another, which signifies a feather; and so renders it,
"feather the arrows" (m); that they may fly the swifter. These and what follow are either
the words of God, or of the prophet; or, as some think, of the Jews about to return to
Judea, whose words are continued, exhorting the Medes and Persians to go on with the
war against the Chaldeans; but they rather seem to be addressed to the Chaldeans
themselves, putting them upon doing these things; and suggesting, that when they had
done all they could, it would be to no purpose:
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43. gather the shields; which lay scattered about and neglected in time of peace: or, "fill"
them; fill the hands with them; or bring in a full or sufficient number; since there would
be now occasion for them, to defend them against the enemy. The Targum, and several
versions, render it, "fill the quivers" (n); that is, with arrows; and so Jarchi: or, "fill the
shields" (o); that is, with oil; anoint them, as in Isa_21:5;
the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; of Cyaxares, or
Darius the Mede, and of Cyrus, who succeeded his uncle as king of Media; and indeed
the army that came against Babylon was an army of Medes joined by the Persians, Cyrus
being employed as general of it by his uncle. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions,
read it, "the spirit of the king of the Medes"; with which the following clause seems to
agree:
for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; the device of the king of the
Medes, Darius; or rather the device of the Lord, who stirred up the spirit of the kings of
the Medes; put it into their hearts to fulfil his will; and gave them wisdom and skill,
courage and resolution, to do it; and as he will to the kings of the earth against mystical
Babylon, Rev_17:16;
because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple; his
vengeance on Babylon, for the destruction of his temple, and the profanation of it; see
Jer_50:28.
HENRY, "A declaration of the greatness and sovereignty of that God who espouses
Zion's cause and undertakes to reckon with this proud and potent enemy, Jer_51:14. It is
the Lord of hosts that has said it, that has sworn it, has sworn it by himself (for he could
swear by no greater), that he will fill Babylon with vast and incredible numbers of the
enemy's forces, will fill it with men as with caterpillars, that shall overpower it will
multitudes, and need only to lift up a shout against it, for that shall be so terrible as to
dispirit all the inhabitants and make them an easy prey to this numerous army. But who,
and where, is he that can break so powerful a kingdom as Babylon? The prophet gives an
account of him from the description he had formerly given of him, and of his sovereignty
and victory over all pretenders (Jer_10:12-16), which was there intended for the
conviction of the Babylonian idolaters and the confirmation of God's Israel in the faith
and worship of the God of Israel; and it is here repeated to show that God will convince
those by his judgments who would not be convinced by his word that he is God over all.
Let not any doubt but that he who has determined to destroy Babylon is able to make his
words good, for, 1. he is the God that made the world (Jer_51:15), and therefore nothing
is too hard for him to do; it is in his name that our help stands, and on him our hope is
built. 2. He has the command of all the creatures that he has made (Jer_51:16); his
providence is a continued creation. He has wind and rain at his disposal. if he speak the
word, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens (and it is a wonder how they hang
there), fed by vapours out of the earth, and it is a wonder how they ascend thence.
Lightnings and rain seem contraries, as fire and water, and yet they are produced
together; and the wind, which seems arbitrary in its motions, and we know not whence
it comes, is yet, we are sure, brought out of his treasuries. 3. The idols that oppose the
accomplishment of his word are a mere sham and their worshippers brutish people,
Jer_51:17, Jer_51:18. The idols are falsehood, they are vanity, they are the work of
errors; when they come to be visited (to be examined and enquired into) they perish,
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44. that is, their reputation sinks and they appear to be nothing; and those that make them
are like unto them. But between the God of Israel and these gods of the heathen there is
no comparison (Jer_51:19): The portion of Jacob is not like them; the God who speaks
this and will do it is the former of all things and the Lord of all hosts, and therefore can
do what he will; and there is a near relation between him and his people, for he is their
portion and they are his; they put a confidence in him as their portion and he is pleased
to take a complacency in them and a particular care of them as the lot of his inheritance;
and therefore he will do what is best for them. The repetition of these things here, which
were said before, intimates both the certainty and the importance of them, and obliges
us to take special notice of them; God hath spoken once; yea, twice have we heard this,
that power belongs to God, power to destroy the most formidable enemies of his church;
and if God thus speak once, yea, twice, we are inexcusable if we do not perceive it and
attend to it.
A description of the instruments that are to be employed in this service. God has
raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes (Jer_51:11), Darius and Cyrus, who come
against Babylon by a divine instinct; for God's device is against Babylon to destroy it.
They do it, but God devised it, he designed it; they are but accomplishing his purpose,
and acting as he directed. Note, God's counsel shall stand, and according to it all hearts
shall move. Those whom God employs against Babylon are compared (Jer_51:1) to a
destroying wind, which either by its coldness blasts the fruits of the earth or by its
fierceness blows down all before it. This wind is brought out of God's treasuries (Jer_
51:16), and it is here said to be raised up against those that dwell in the midst of the
Chaldeans, those of other nations that inhabit among them and are incorporated with
them. The Chaldeans rise up against God by falling down before idols, and against them
God will raise up destroyers, for he will be too hard for those that contend with him.
These enemies are compared to fanners (Jer_51:2), who shall drive them away as chaff
is driven away by the fan. The Chaldeans had been fanners to winnow God's people
(Jer_15:7) and to empty them, and now they shall themselves be in like manner
despoiled and dispersed.
JAMISON, "Make bright — literally, “pure.” Polish and sharpen.
gather — literally, “fill”; that is, gather in full number, so that none be wanting. So,
“gave in full tale” (1Sa_18:27). Gesenius, not so well, translates, “Fill with your bodies
the shields” (compare Son_4:4). He means to tell the Babylonians, Make what
preparations you will, all will be in vain (compare Jer_46:3-6).
kings of ... Medes — He names the Medes rather than the Persians, because Darius,
or Cyaxares, was above Cyrus in power and the greatness of his kingdom.
temple — (Jer_50:28).
K&D, "Jer_51:11-12
The instruments which the Lord employs in bringing about the fall of Babylon are the
kings of the Medes, i.e., the provincial governors, or heads of the separate provinces into
which the Medes in ancient times were divided, until, after revolting from the Assyrians
in the year 714 b.c., they put themselves under a common head, in order to assert their
independence, and chose Dejokes as their monarch. See Speigel's Erân (1863, S. 308ff.),
and Delitzsch on Isa_13:17, who rightly remarks that in Isa_13:17, as well as here, ‫י‬ ַ‫ד‬ ָ‫מ‬ is
44

45. a general designation for the Aryan tribes of Iran, taken from the most important and
influential nation. In Jer_21:2, Isaiah mentions Elam in the first series, along with
Media, as a conqueror of Babylon; and the Babylonian kingdom was destroyed by Darius
the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. But the Persians are first named in the Old Testament
by Ezekiel and Daniel, while the name "Elam" as a province of the Persian kingdom is
gradually lost, from the times of Cyrus onwards, in that of the "Persians." The princes of
Media are to prepare themselves for besieging and conquering Babylon. ‫ר‬ ֵ‫ב‬ ָ‫ה‬ (from
‫ר‬ ַ‫ר‬ ָ‫,)בּ‬ prop. to polish, cleanse from dirt and rust. The arrows are thereby sharpened; cf.
Isa_49:2. ‫אוּ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫ט‬ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫שּׁ‬ ַ‫ה‬ is variously explained. The meaning of "shields" is that best
established for ‫ים‬ ִ‫ט‬ָ‫ל‬ ְ‫שּׁ‬ (see on 2Sa_8:7); while the meaning of "armour equipment,"
which is defended by Thenius, is neither very suitable for 2Sa_8:7 nor for 2Ki_11:10 and
Son_4:4. There is no the least foundation for the meaning "quiver," which is assumed
merely for this passage. ‫אוּ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ִ‫מ‬ is to be explained in accordance with the analogous
expression in 2Ki_9:24, ‫א‬ֵ‫לּ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ָד‬‫י‬ ‫ת‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ק‬ ַ‫,ב‬ "he filled his hand with the bow," i.e., seized the
bow. "Fill the shields" with your bodies, or with your arms, since we put these among the
straps of the shields. Those addressed are the kings of the Medes, whose spirit God has
stirred up to make war against Babylon; for it is against her that His mind or plan is
directed. As to the expression, "for it is the vengeance of Jahveh," etc., cf. Jer_50:15,
Jer_50:28. The attack is to be directed against the walls of Babylon. ‫ֵס‬‫נ‬, "standard," is
the military sign carried before the army, in order to show them the direction they are to
take, and the point of attack. ‫ר‬ ָ‫מ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ "watch," is the force besieging the city; cf. 2Sa_11:16.
"Make the watch strong," i.e., enclose the city firmly. This is more exactly specified in the
following clauses. "Set watches," not as a guard for their own camp (Hitzig), but against
the city, in order to maintain a close siege. "Place the ambushes," that they may peep
into the city whenever a sally is made by the besieged; cf. Jos_8:14., Jdg_20:33. "For
what Jahveh hath determined, He will also perform." ‫ַם‬‫גּ‬‫ַם־‬‫גּ‬, "as well as:" He has
resolved as well as done, i.e., as He has resolved, He also executes.
Jer_51:13
All the supports of the Babylonian power, its strong position on the Euphrates, and its
treasures, which furnished the means for erecting strong fortifications, cannot avert the
ruin decreed by God. As to the form ‫י‬ ְ‫תּ‬ְ‫נ‬ַ‫כ‬ֹ‫,שׁ‬ see on Jer_22:23. It is the city with its
inhabitants that is addressed, personified as a virgin or daughter. The many waters on
which Babylon dwells are the Euphrates, with the canals, trenches, dykes, and marches
which surrounded Babylon, and afforded her a strong protection against hostile attacks,
but at the same time contributed to increase the wealth of the country and the capital.
(Note: Duncker, Gesch. d. Alterth. i. S. 846, remarks: "The fertility of the soil of
Babylon - the produce of the fields - depended on the inundations of the Euphrates.
By means of an extensive system of dykes, canals, and river-walls, Nebuchadnezzar
succeeded not only in conducting the water of the Euphrates to every point in the
plain of Babylon, but also in averting the formation of marshes and the occurrence of
floods (which were not rare), as well as regulating the inundation." The purpose for
which these water-works were constructed, was "first of all, irrigation and
navigation; but they at the same time afforded strong liens of defence against the
foe" (Niebuhr, Gesch. Assyr. u. Bab. S. 219). See details regarding these magnificent
works in Duncker, S. 845ff.; Niebuhr, S. 218ff.)
45

46. The great riches, however, by which Babylon became ‫ת‬ ַ‫בּ‬ ַ‫ר‬ ‫ת‬ ‫ר‬ָ‫צ‬ ‫,א‬ "great in treasures,"
so that Aeschylus (Pers. 52) calls it Βαβυλῶν ἡ πολύχρυσος, were derived from the
enormous spoils which Nebuchadnezzar brought to it, partly from Nineveh, partly from
Jerusalem, and from the tribute paid by Syria and the wealthy commercial cities of
Phoenicia. "Thine end is come;" cf. Gen_6:13. ‫ת‬ ַ‫מּ‬ ַ‫א‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫צ‬ ִ‫,בּ‬ "the ell (i.e., the measure) of
thy gain," i.e., the limit put to thine unjust gain. The words are connected with "thine
end is come" by zeugma. This explanation is simpler than the interpretation adopted by
Venema, Eichhorn, and Maurer, from the Vulgate pedalis praecisionis tuae, viz., "the ell
of cutting thee off." Böttcher (Proben, S. 289, note m) seeks to vindicate the rendering in
the following paraphrase: "The ell at which thou shalt be cut off, like something woven
or spun, when it has reached the destined number of ells." According to this view, "ell"
would stand for the complete number of the ells determined on; but there is no
consideration of the question whether ‫ע‬ַ‫צ‬ ָ‫,בּ‬ "to cut off the thread of life," Isa_38:12, can
be applied to a city.
CALVIN, "These words might have been addressed to the Medes as well as to the
Babylonians. If the latter meaning be approved, that is, that the Prophet addresses
the Babylonians, the words are a taunt, as though he had said, that they were to no
purpose spending their labors in preparing their armies, because God would be
stronger than they, and that the Medes would carry on war under his banner and
authority. Nor would what I have also stated, be unsuitable, that is, that the Prophet
bids the Medes to prepare themselves and to put on their arms, that they might fight
courageously against the Babylonians. (85)
He now adds the main thing, — that the kings of the Medes would come against
Babylon, because they had been called from above; and he mentions the word spirit,
that he might more fully express that men’s minds are ruled and turned by the
secret power of God, and also that whatever power or boldness is found in them,
proceeds altogether from God; as though he had said, that God would so prepare
the Medes and the Persians, that he would not only strengthen their arms, hands,
and feet, for the war, but would also lead them, and overrule their passions — that
he would, in short, turn their spirit here and there, according to his will. He does not
now speak of the wind, as before; nor does he point out the enemies generally, but
expressly names the Medes. For though Cyaxares, or Darius, as he is called by
Daniel, was not a very prudent man, nor skillful in war, yet, as he was higher in
dignity, the Prophet here mentions the Medes rather than the Persians. Cyrus
excelled in celerity, and was also a man of singular wariness, activity, and boldness:
but as he was by no means wealthy, and ruled over a rustic nation, and the limits of
his kingdom were confined, the Prophet rightly speaks here of the Medes only,
whose power far exceeded that of the Persians.
But we hence learn, that Jeremiah did not speak as a man, but was the instrument
of the Spirit; for it was an indubitable seal to his prophecy, that he predicted an
event a long time before the war took place. Cyrus was not yet born, who was the
leader in this war: nor was Darius as yet born; for seventy years elapsed from the
time the Prophet spoke to the taking of Babylon. We then see that this passage is a
46

47. sure proof of his faithfulness and authority.
He afterwards adds, that God’s thought respecting Babylon was to destroy her He
still speaks after the manner of men, and at the same time obviates an objection
which might have disturbed weak minds, because Babylon not only remained safe
and secure for a long time, but also received an increase of power and dignity. The
minds then of the godly might have desponded, when there seemed to be no
accomplishment of this prophecy. Hence the Prophet calls attention to the thought
of God, as though he had said, that though God did not immediately put forth his
hand, if, was yet enough for the faithful to know what he had decreed. in short, the
Prophet reminded, them, that they ought to acquiesce in God’s decree, though his
work was yet hid.
And he again confirms the Jews, by adding, that it would be his vengeance, even
that of God, because he disregarded not his Temple. By these words he intimates
that the worship, according to the law, was pleasing to God, because the Jews
became a distinct people from heathen nations, when the rule as to religion was
prescribed to them. Then the Prophet intimates, that though any sort of religion
pleased men, there is yet but one which is approved by God, even that which he
himself has commanded. The case being so, we may conclude, that God cannot long
endure his worship to be scoffed at. For we know how scornfully and proudly the
Chaldeans spoke of the Temple, so that they not only uttered blasphemies, but also
heaped every reproach they could think of on the Temple. Since that religion was
founded on God’s word, it follows that it could not be but that he must have at
length risen and vindicated the wrongs done to him by the Chaldeans. We now
perceive the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, that it would be the vengeance of
God; and he adds, because God will avenge his temple. He confirms the Jews, when
he declares that God would be the vindicator of his own worship; and he, at the
same time, shows, that the worship according to the law, which had been taught by
Moses, was the only worship in the world which God approved. It afterwards
follows, —
COFFMAN, “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,
47

48. 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.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:11. Gather the shields— Fill the quivers. Houbigant.
Neriglissar king of Babylon having formed an alliance against the Medes, Cambyses
sent his son Cyrus, with an army of thirty thousand Persians, to join the Medes,
commanded by Cyaxares. This Cyaxares, king of Media, called in Scripture Darius
the Mede, was the uncle of Cyrus; and it was properly his army which made the
expedition against the Babylonians, Cyrus being employed as his general: Persia
was then a small part of the empire of Media, and of little account till Cyrus
advanced its reputation; and even then it was called the kingdom of the Medes and
Persians, the Medes having still the preference. See Lowth, and Xenophon's
Cyropaed. lib. 1.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD
hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device [is] against
Babylon, to destroy it; because it [is] the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of
his temple.
Ver. 11. Make bright the arrows,] q.d., Do so, O Chaldeans, if ye think it will boot
you anything at all for the shoring up of your tottering state, whereas the Lord is
resolved to bring it down.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:11
“Make sharp the arrows,
Hold firm (literally ‘fill’) the shields,
YHWH has stirred up,
The spirit of the kings of the Medes,
48

49. Because his purpose is against Babylon,
To destroy it,
For it is the vengeance of YHWH
The vengeance of his temple.”
In a series of three short stanzas Jeremiah declares the certainty of God’s judgment
on Babylon. Firstly he names those who will carry out God’s purpose, ‘the kings of
the Medes’. Chief among these was Cyrus, king of Persia, whose mother was a Mede
and who had close association with the Median royal family. He had subjugated
Media with its kings. We note that it was ‘Darius the Mede’ (which may have been
another name for Cyrus) who would ‘receive the kingship’ and rule in Babylon
(Daniel 5:31). Media was a country north-west of Persia and north of Babylon.
Their ‘spirit’ has been stirred up by YHWH, in order that they might carry out His
will in obtaining vengeance for what Babylon had done to His Temple, something
which had been an insult to YHWH as the Temple accoutrements were
ignominiously carried off to Babylon. Babylon had destroyed the Temple. Now the
God of the Temple would destroy Babylon. We can compare how YHWH was
avenged on the Philistines when they carries off the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel
5). God is not mocked in the end.
‘Fill the shields’ might have in mind the full length size of the Persian shield into
which a man could fit his body. Or it could refer to the means by which the shield
was held as the man ‘filled’ it with his arm. As with sharpening the arrows it was
basically indicating preparation for battle.
PULPIT, “Make bright; rather, polish, so that the arrows may penetrate easily
(comp. Isaiah 49:2, "a polished shaft"). Gather the shields; rather, fill the shields
(viz. with your arms); i.e. take hold of them. Comp. the phrase, "to fill the hand with
the bow" (2 Kings 9:24). The rendering" quivers" is wanting in philological
authority, and seems to have been inferred from this passage, where, however, it is
unnecessary. The kings of the Medes. The prophet speaks of the Medes and not the
Persians (comp. Isaiah 13:17). "The reason, probably, is twofold:
12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,
49

50. prepare an ambush!
The Lord will carry out his purpose,
his decree against the people of Babylon.
BARNES, "Upon the walls of Babylon - Or, “against the walls.” The King James
Version takes the word ironically, as a summons to Babylon to prepare for her defense;
others take it as a summons to the army to make the attack.
CLARKE, "Set up the standard - A call to the enemies of Babylon to invest the
city and press the siege.
GILL, "Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon,.... This is not said to the
Medes and Persians, to put up a flag on the walls of Babylon, as a sign of victory, as
Kimchi, Abarbinel, and others think; for as yet the city is not supposed to be taken by
what follows; but rather to the Babylonians, to set up an ensign on their walls, to gather
the inhabitants together, to defend their city, and the bulwarks of it; which, with what
follows, is ironically spoken:
make the watch strong; to guard the city; observe the motions of the enemy, and give
proper and timely notice; increase and double it:
set up watchmen; meaning the keepers of the walls; place them upon them, to keep a
good look out, that they might not be surprised: this seems to respect the great
carelessness and security the whole city was in the night it was taken; being wholly
engaged in feasting and revelling, in rioting and drunkenness, having no fear of danger,
or concern for their safety; with which they are tacitly upbraided:
prepare the ambushes; or, "liers in wait" (p); to second or relieve those on the walls
upon occasion; or seize unawares the besiegers, should they attempt to scale the walls,
and enter the city:
for the Lord hath devised and done that which he spoke against the
inhabitants of Babylon; or as he hath devised, so hath he done, or will do: his
purposes cannot be frustrated, his counsel shall stand; and therefore had the
Babylonians been ever so industrious in their own defence, they could never have
prevented their ruin and destruction, which was resolved upon, and accordingly
effected.
HENRY, "An ample commission given them to destroy and lay all waste. Let them
50

51. bend their bow against the archers of the Chaldeans (Jer_51:3) and not spare her young
men, but utterly destroy them, for the Lord has both devised and done what he spoke
against Babylon, Jer_51:12. This may animate the instruments he employs, but assuring
them of success. The methods they take are such as God has devised and therefore they
shall surely prosper; what he has spoken shall be done, for he himself will do it; and
therefore let all necessary preparations be made. This they are called to, Jer_51:27, Jer_
51:28. Let a standard be set up, under which to enlist soldiers for this expedition; let a
trumpet be blown to call men together to it and animate them in it; let the nations, out
of which Cyrus's army is to be raised, prepare their recruits; let the kingdoms of Ararat,
and Minni, and Ashkenaz, of Armenia, both the higher and the lower, and of Ascania,
about Phrygia and Bithynia, send in their quota of men for his service; let general
officers be appointed and the cavalry advance; let the horses come up in great numbers,
as the caterpillars, and come, like them, leaping and pawing in the valley; let them lay
the country waste, as caterpillars do (Joe_1:4), especially rough caterpillars; let the
kings and captains prepare nations against Babylon, for the service is great and there is
occasion for many hands to be employed it.
VII. The weakness of the Chaldeans, and their inability to make head against this
threatening destroying force. When God employed them against other nations they had
spirit and strength to act offensively, and went on with admirable resolution, conquering
and to conquer; but now that it comes to their turn to be reckoned with all their might
and courage are gone, their hearts fail them, and none of all their men of might and
mettle have found their hands to act so much as defensively. They are called upon here
to prepare for action, but it is ironically and in an upbraiding way (Jer_51:11): Make
bright the arrows, which have grown rusty through disuse; gather the shields, which in
a long time of peace and security have been scattered and thrown out of the way (Jer_
51:12); set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, upon the towers on those walls,
to summon all that owed suit and service to that mother-city, now to come in to her
assistance; let them make the watch as strong as they can, and appoint the sentinels to
their respective posts, and prepare ambushes for the reception of the enemy. This
intimates that they would be found very secure and remiss, and would need to be thus
quickened (and they were so to such a degree that they were in the midst of their revels
when the city was taken), but that all their preparations should come to no purpose.
Whoever will may call them to it, but they shall have no heart to come at the call, Jer_
51:29. The whole land shall tremble, and sorrow (a universal consternation) shall seize
upon them; for they shall see both the irresistible arm and the irreversible counsel and
decree of God against them. They shall see that God is making Babylon a desolation, and
therein is performing what he has purposed; and then the mighty men of Babylon have
forborne to fight, Jer_51:30. God having taken away their strength and spirit, so that
they have remained in their holds, not daring so much as to peep forth, the might both
of their hearts and of their hands fails; they become as timorous as women, so that the
enemy has, without any resistance, burnt her dwelling-places and broken her bars. It is
to the same purport with Jer_51:56-58. When the spoiler comes upon Babylon her
mighty men, who should make head against him, are immediately taken, their weapons
of war fail them, every one of their bows is broken and stands them in no stead. Their
politics fail them; they call councils of war, but their princes and captains, who sit in
council to concert measures for the common safety, are made drunk; they are as men
intoxicated through stupidity or despair; they can form no right notions of things; they
stagger and are unsteady in their counsels and resolves, and dash one against another,
and, like drunken men, fall out among themselves. At length they sleep a perpetual
51

52. sleep, and never awake from their wine, the wine of God's wrath, for it is to them an
opiate that lays them into a fatal lethargy. The walls of their city fail them, Jer_51:58.
When the enemy had found ways to ford Euphrates, which was thought impassable, yet
surely, think they, the walls are impregnable, they are the broad walls of Babylon or (as
the margin reads it), the walls of broad Babylon. The compass of the city, within the
walls, was 385 furlongs, some say 480, that is, about sixty miles; the walls were 200
cubits high, and fifty cubits broad, so that two chariots might easily pass by one another
upon them. Some say that there was a threefold wall about the inner city and the like
about the outer, and that the stones of the wall, being laid in pitch instead of mortar
(Gen_11:3), were scarcely separable; and yet these shall be utterly broken, and the high
gates and towers shall be burnt, and the people that are employed in the defence of the
city shall labour in vain in the fire; they shall quite tire themselves, but shall do no good.
JAMISON, "With all your efforts, your city shall be taken.
standard — to summon the defenders together to any point threatened by the
besiegers.
CALVIN, "These words seem to have been addressed to the Chaldeans rather than
to the Medes or the Persians, as some expound them; for this is favored by the
context; for as he bids them first to raise a standard on the walls, so he adds,
Increase the watch, which refers to the citizens of Babylon, and then he says, set the
watchmen All this cannot apply to the Persians and the Medes, but must be referred
to the besieged, as being most suitable to them. I do not then doubt but that the
Prophet here treats, with a taunt, all the efforts the Chaldeans would make for the
defense of their city. For not only they who attack a city raise a standard, but also
they who are besieged, and this as a sign of confidence, in order to show that they
possess sufficient courage to check their enemies, and to sustain all their attacks. It
was then the design of the Prophet to show, that however strenuously the Chaldeans
might defend themselves, yet all their exertions would be in vain, because God
would, without labor, destroy the city.
Raise, he says, the banner on the walls of Babylon, and strengthen, or increase the
watch; and afterwards, set watchmen, so that every one might watch with more care
than usual. He says at last, set in order the ambushes “When all things have been
tried by you, your labor will be without any advantage, for the Lord hath spoken ”
When the particle ‫,גם‬ gam, is repeated, it ought to be rendered as and so — for as
the Lord hath thought, so will he do what he hath said, etc. He says again that God
had thought, lest the faithful should imagine that he heedlessly casts forth
threatenings; for this thought often occurs to the mind, that God terrifies without
effecting anything, Hence the Prophet, that he might more fully confirm his
prophecy, says, that the thing had been meditated upon by God; and we said
yesterday that God does not deliberate with himself like men; but as we cannot
otherwise understand the certainty and unchangeableness of his secret counsel, nor
form an idea of the validity of his decrees, the word thought is mentioned. The
Prophet, in short, means, that he brought forth nothing but what God had decreed.
For words are often heedlessly uttered, and the reality and the words are not always
52

53. connected; but Jeremiah testifies that he had taken what he announced from the
hidden and immutable counsel of God. Then he adds, what he hath spoken or said;
and this refers to his doctrine or his prediction. It follows, —
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:12
“Set up a standard (or ‘signal’) against the walls of Babylon,
Make the watch strong,
Set the watchmen,
Prepare the ambushes,
For YHWH has both purposed and done,
What he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.”
The instructions to the invaders now continue. They are to go about the investment
of Babylon efficiently and zealously. They are to set up their standards surrounding
Babylon, or alternately the signals that direct the attack; they are to establish a good
watch, preventing surprise attack or escape; and they are to prepare ambushes in
case of sallies out of the city. And this was because God was carrying out His
purpose against Babylon. Pre-eminent in Jeremiah’s thought is that in the end,
whatever man’s part in it might be, all is determined by YHWH, for He has ‘spoken
against the inhabitants of Babylon’.
PULPIT, “Upon the walls of Babylon; rather, toward the walls (as Jeremiah 4:6).
The "standard" was carried before the army, to show the direction of the march.
Make the watch strong. Not merely for the safety of the invaders, but to blockade
the city. Comp. the phrase, "Watchers [a synonymous Hebrew word is used] came
from a far country" (Jeremiah 4:16); i.e. besiegers. Prepare the ambushes. To press
into the city when the besieged have made a sally (as Joshua 8:14-19; 20:33, 20:37).
13 You who live by many waters
and are rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the time for you to be destroyed.
53

54. BARNES, "Upon many waters - The great wealth of Babylonia was caused not
merely by the Euphrates, but by a vast system of canals, which served for defense as well
as for irrigation.
The measure of thy covetousness - i. e., the appointed end of thy gain. Some
render it: the ell of thy cutting off, i. e., the appointed measure at which thou art to be
cut off, at which thy web of existence is to be severed from the loom.
CLARKE, "O thou that dwellest upon many waters - Thou who hast an
abundant supply of waters. It was built on the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates;
the latter running through the city. But the many waters may mean the many nations
which belonged to the Babylonish empire; nations and people are frequently so called in
Scripture.
GILL, "O thou that dwellest upon many waters,.... Here Babylon is addressed,
either by the Lord, or by the prophet, or the godly Jews; who is described by her,
situation, which was by the great river Euphrates; which being branched out into several
canals or rivers, both ran through it, and encompassed it; hence mention is made of the
rivers of Babylon, Psa_137:1; and a fit emblem this city was of mystical Babylon, which is
also said to sit on many waters, interpreted of people and nations, Rev_17:1; and which
Kimchi here interprets of an affluence of good things, though he admits of the literal
sense of the words:
abundant in treasures: of corn, and of the fruits of the earth, and so in condition to
hold out a siege, as well as strongly fortified by art and nature, before described; and of
gold and silver, the sinews of war, which she had got together, partly by commerce, and
partly by the spoil of other nations; and yet neither her situation nor her affluence could
secure her from ruin:
thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness; this flourishing city
was now near its end, and with it the whole Babylonish monarchy; the time fixed by the
Lord, for the duration of one and the other, was now come; and whereas her
covetousness was insatiable, and would have known no bounds, for the enlargement of
her dominions, and for the accumulation of more wealth and riches; God set a limit to it,
beyond which it should not go; which measure was now filled up, and the time for it
expired. The Targum is,
"the day of thy destruction is come, and the time of the visitation of thy wickedness,''
JAMISON, "waters — (Jer_51:32, Jer_51:36; see on Isa_21:1). The Euphrates
surrounded the city and, being divided into many channels, formed islands. Compare as
to spiritual Babylon “waters,” that is, “many peoples,” Rev_17:1, Rev_17:15. A large lake
also was near Babylon.
54

55. measure — literally, “cubit,” which was the most common measure, and therefore is
used for a measure in general. The time for putting a limit to thy covetousness
[Gesenius]. There is no “and” in the Hebrew: translate, “thine end, the retribution for
thy covetousness” [Grotius]. Maurer takes the image to be from weaving: “the cubit
where thou art to be cut off”; for the web is cut off, when the required number of cubits
is completed (Isa_38:12).
CALVIN, "The word ‫,שכנתי‬ shekenti, is to be taken here for ‫,שכנת‬ shekenet, a
dweller; and the passage is more clear when we take it as the title of Babylon. And
he says that she was a dweller among waters, because the Euphrates not only flowed
by the city, (and we know that it was a very large river,) but it surrounded it; and it,
was indeed divided above Babylon into many streams, so that it made as it were
many islands, and thus access to the city was more difficult. This circumstance
served not only for a defense to it, but also for other advantages.: For these streams
or channels were navigable; and the land also was made more fertile by the
irrigation they supplied. Thus these streams contributed to its wealth as well as to its
defense in time of war. And though Babylon was deemed on this account
impregnable, and was also a very fertile land, yet the Prophet says here that its end
was come
Now, except he had made this preface, that Babylon was situated among the rivers
or many waters, and that it was also a city full of wealth, all this might have seemed
a hindrance to prevent God from executing on it his vengeance; for this objection
was ready at hand, “How can Babylon be taken, which is seated between many
waters? for without great force and number of soldiers it cannot but remain in
safety, since it is protected by so many rivers.” Then another objection might have
been brought forward, that Babylon was an opulent city, so that it could hire
auxiliaries on every side, and that having such abundance of money, it would never
be unprotected. Hence the Prophet here mentions these two things; but what he says
ought to be taken adversatively, as if he said, “Though thou dwellest among many
waters, and art great in treasures, that is, hast large treasures, yet thine end is
come.”
He adds, the measure of thy cupidity. Some render ‫,אמת‬ amet, “end, ” but
improperly; and the Prophet has not without reason introduced the word ‫,אמת‬ amet,
which properly means a cubit, but is to be taken here for measure. Jerome renders
it “a foot,” a word in use in his age. But the meaning is sufficiently clear, that
though Babylon had exhausted all the wealth of the world as an insatiable gulf, yet
the measure of her cupidity would come. For the cupidity of that nation was
unlimited, but God at length brought it to an end — not that they were amended,
but that God checked their coveting. And according to this sense the Prophet says,
that though they had been hitherto devouring the wealth of many countries, yet the
measure of her cupidity was come, even because the Lord would take away, together
with the monarchy, the power and opportunity of doing wrong. For the Chaldeans
were able to act licentiously, when they had so many nations subject to them; but
the measure of their cupidity was come, when God in a manner cut off their
55

56. strength, not that they then desisted, or that their rapacious disposition was
amended — for they changed not their nature; but cupidity is to be referred here to
its exercise, even because their power was then taken from them, so that they could
not carry on their plunders as they had used to do. He afterwards adds, —
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in
treasures, thine end is come, [and] the measure of thy covetousness.
Ver. 13. O thou that dwellest upon many waters.] Euphrates and Tigris especially,
famous rivers running from Babylonia into the Persian Sea. Hence most
geographers hold, and not improbably, that that land was a part of the garden of
Eden; fruitful it was beyond credulity.
Thine end is come, and the measure (Heb., the cubit) of thy covetousness.] Cuius
avaritiae totus non sufficit orbis. The covetous cormorant’s mouth, with his Give,
give, shall shortly be stopped with a spadeful of mould, and his "never enough" quit
with fire enough in the bottom of hell.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:13-14
“O you who dwell on many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end is come,
The measure of your covetousness (or ‘the time for you to be cut off’),
YHWH of hosts has sworn by himself,
(saying), Surely I will fill you with men,
As with the young locusts,
And they will lift up a shout against you.”
As well as being used for irrigation the River Euphrates would have been used as a
means of arranging defences against attack, by causing it to flow round Babylon.
This being so Babylon would look like a city ‘on many waters’. This could be seen as
supported by the words on an inscription of Nebuchadrezzar’s, ‘I made water to
flow all around in this immense dyke of earth --.’ Alternately the thought may
simply be of Babylon’s prosperity as a result of benefiting from the Euphrates,
thereby paralleling the ‘abundant in treasures’ and indicating that it was
prosperous both agriculturally and materially. Paradoxically it was the diversion of
the river that enabled the attackers to take the city by surprise.
56

57. The end that is coming on them reveals the depth of their greed. They had coveted
the wealth of the nations, now they were receiving judgment in accordance with the
measure of their greed. It was not just God against whom Babylon had done a
disservice. They had robbed the nations. Thus they had brought on themselves
men’s retribution as well as God’s, and would find themselves infested with men
arriving like a swarm of locusts. But central is either the thought that God is
judging them because of their attitude of heart which contradicted the tenth ‘word’
of the covenant (‘you shall not covet’), or that the measure of their cutting off (i.e. its
time) had now come .
They had desired what the nations had, and had filled Babylon’s treasure houses
with it, but they had not reckoned on the nations following this up by invading
Babylon, filling the city with their ‘men’ arriving like a swarm of locusts. This was
not, however, just man’s doing. It was what YHWH had purposed. Indeed He had
sworn by Himself (the highest possible form of oath - see Jeremiah 49:13; Amos 6:8;
Hebrews 6:13) that He would do it. Babylon’s prosperity was a constant reminder to
God of how they had obtained it. Now the time for payment had come.
‘The lifting up of a shout’ may indicate the battlecries as they took over the city, or
the cry of triumph that followed (or indeed both).
PULPIT, “Babylon is addressed as thou that dwellest upon many waters, with
reference, not only to the Euphrates, but to the canals, dykes, and marshes which
surrounded the city. The measure of thy covetousness. A strange expression, even
when we have supplied (and have we a right to do so?) a suitable verb, such as "is
full." "Measure" is, literally, ell, "covetousness" should rather be gain, or spoil.
Another possible rendering is, "The ell measure of thy cutting off." In fact, the root
meaning of the word rendered "gain," or "covetousness," is "to cut off;" and the
figure of cutting off a man's half-finished life, like a web from the loom, is familiar
to us from the psalm of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:12; comp. Job 6:9).
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:
I will surely fill you with troops, as with a
swarm of locusts,
and they will shout in triumph over you.
BARNES, "Rather, “Surely I have filled thee with men as with locusts, and they shall
57

58. sing over thee the vintage-song.” The vintage-shout suggests the idea of trampling
Babylon under foot, as the vintagers trample the grapes; a metaphor of the divine wrath.
CLARKE, "I will fill thee with men - By means of these very waters through the
channel of thy boasted river, thou shalt be filled with men, suddenly appearing as an
army of locusts; and, without being expected, shall lift up a terrific cry, as soon as they
have risen from the channel of the river.
GILL, "The Lord hath sworn by himself, saying,.... Or, "by his soul" or "life" (q);
which is himself, than which he cannot swear by a greater, Heb_6:13; and the certain
performance of what he swears unto need not be doubted of; and indeed the design of
the oath is to assure of the truth of the thing, about which, after this, there ought to be
no hesitation:
surely I fill thee with men as with caterpillars; or "locusts" (r); march in vast
numbers, and make sad desolation where they come; and to which a numerous army
may fitly be compared; and which are here meant, even the army of Cyrus, that should
enter Babylon, and fill it, as it did. So the Targum,
"the Lord of hosts hath sworn by his word, if I fill them with armies of many people as
locusts:''
and they shall lift up a shout against thee; as soldiers, when they make the onset
in battle; or as besiegers, when they make their attack on a city; or as when grape
gatherers bring in their vintage, or tread out their wine, to which the allusion is: it
signifies that her enemies should get an entire victory, and triumph over her.
JAMISON, "by himself — literally, “by His soul” (2Sa_15:21; Heb_6:13).
fill ... with caterpillars — locusts (Nah_3:15). Numerous as are the citizens of
Babylon, the invaders shall be more numerous.
K&D, "Jer_51:14
The Lord announces destruction to Babylon with a solemn oath. Many take ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ ‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ in
the sense of ‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ ‫ֹא‬ ‫ל‬ in oaths: "truly, certainly." But this use of the expression is neither
fully established, nor suitable in this connection. In 2Sa_15:21 (the only passage that can
be cited in its behalf), the meaning "only" gives good enough sense. Ewald (§356, b)
wrongly adduces 2Ki_5:20 in support of the above meaning, and three lines below he
attributes the signification "although" to the passage now before us. Moreover, the
asseveration, "Verily I have filled thee with men as with locusts, and they shall sing the
Hedad over thee," can have a suitable meaning only if we take "I have filled thee"
prophetically, and understand the filling with men as referring to the enemy, when the
city has been reduced (Hitzig). But to fill a city with men hardly means quite the same as
to put a host of enemies in it. ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ serves merely to introduce the oath, and ‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ means
"although," - as, for instance, in Job_9:15. The meaning is not, "When I filled thee with
58

59. men, as with locusts, the only result was, that a more abundant wine-pressing could be
obtained" (Nägelsbach), for this though is foreign to the context; the meaning rather is,
"Even the countless multitudes of men in Babylon will not avail it" (Ewald), will not keep
it from ruin. ‫ד‬ ָ‫יד‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ the song sung at the pressing of wine, is, from the nature of the case,
the battle-song; see on Jer_25:30.
CALVIN, "The Prophet more fully confirms what he had said by introducing God
as making an oath; and it is the most solemn manner of confirmation when God
swears by his own name. But he speaks of God in the language of men when he says
that he swears by his own soul; for it is a kind of protestation when men swear by
their own souls, as though they laid down or pledged their own life. Whoever then
swears by his own soul, means that as his own life is dear to him, he thus lays it
down as a pledge, that were he to deceive by perjury, God would be an avenger and
take it away. This is suitable to men, not to God; but what does not properly belong
to God is transferred to him; nor is this uncommon, as we have seen it in other
places. And the more familiar is the manner of speaking adopted by God, the more
it ought to touch men when he makes himself like them, and in a manner assumes
their person as though he lived in the midst of them.
But we must still remember why the Prophet introduces God as making an oath,
even that all doubtfulness might be removed, and that more credit might be given to
his prophecy; for it not only proceeded from God, but was also sealed by an oath. If
I shall not fill Babylon, he says, with men as with locusts
The multitude of enemies is here opposed to the multitude of the citizens, which was
very large. For we have said elsewhere that Babylon surpassed all other cities, nor
was it less populous than if it were all extensive country. As then it was full of so
many defenders, it might have been objected and said, “Whence can come such a
number of enemies as can be sufficient to put to flight the inhabitants? for were a
large army to enter, it would yet be in great danger in contending with so vast a
multitude.” But the Prophet compares here the Persians and the Medes to locusts;
and we know that Cyrus collected from various nations a very large army, nay,
many armies. Fulfilled then was what had been predicted by the Prophet, for Cyrus
made up his forces not only from one people, but he brought with him almost all the
Medes, and also led many troops from other barbarous nations. Hence then it
happened, that what had been said by Jeremiah was proved by the event.
He also adds, that they would be victorious; for by thevintage song, or shout, he no
doubt means a song or shout of triumph. But this song, ‫,הידד‬ eidad, was then in use
among the Jews. Then as they did after vintage sing in token of joy, so also
conquerors, exulting after victory over their enemies, had a triumphant song. And
the Greek translators have rendered it κέλευσμα , or κελευμα , which is properly
the song of sailors; when they see the harbor they exult with joy and sing, because
they have been delivered from the dangers of the Sea, and also have completed their
59

60. sailing, which is always perilous, and have come to the harbor where they more fully
enjoy life, where they have pleasant air, wholesome water, and other advantages.
But the simple meaning of the Prophet is, that when the Persians and the Medes
entered Babylon, they would become immediately victorious, so that they would
exult without a contest and without any toil, and sing a song of triumph. The
Prophet now confirms his prophecy in another way, even by extolling the power of
God, —
PULPIT, “Surely I will fill thee, etc. This is the rendering of Hitzig and Graf; the
enemies are compared to locusts, as in Jeremiah 46:23. But the expression, "to fill a
city with men," is more naturally taken of the increase of the population of the city;
and it is better to render, with Ewald and Keil, "Even though [or, 'Surely even
though'] I have filled thee with men, as with locusts, they shall raise over thee the
cheer of the vintage;" i.e. the millions of Babylon's population will not save her from
the most utter ruin. For the vintage cheer, see on Jeremiah 25:30; and for the
figures, see especially, Isaiah 63:1-6.
15 “He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his
understanding.
BARNES, "A transcript of Jer_10:12-16.
CLARKE, "He hath made the earth by his power - The omnipotence of God is
particularly manifested in the works of creation.
He hath established the world by his wisdom - The omniscience of God is
particularly seen in the government of ‫תבל‬ tebel, the inhabited surface of the globe.
What a profusion of wisdom and skill is apparent in that wondrous system of providence
by which he governs and provides for every living thing.
And hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding - Deep thought,
comprehensive design, and consummate skill are especially seen in the formation,
magnitudes, distances, revolutions, and various affections of the heavenly bodies.
GILL, "He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world
by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. The
Targum prefaces the words thus,
60

61. "these things saith he who hath made the earth, &c.''
The verses Jer_51:16 are the same with Jer_10:12. God is described by his sovereignty,
power, and wisdom; and the stupidity of men that trust in idols, and the vanity of them,
are exposed, to convince the Babylonians that the Lord, who had determined on their
destruction, would surely effect it, and that it would not be in the power of their idols to
prevent it. See Gill on Jer_10:12.
JAMISON 15-19, “Repeated from Jer_10:12-16; except that “Israel” is not in the
Hebrew of Jer_51:19, which ought, therefore, to be translated, “He is the Former of all
things, and (therefore) of the rod of His inheritance” (that is, of the nation peculiarly His
own). In Jer_10:1-25 the contrast is between the idols and God; here it is between the
power of populous Babylon and that of God: “Thou dwellest upon many waters” (Jer_
51:13); but God can, by merely “uttering His voice,” create “many waters” (Jer_51:16).
The “earth” (in its material aspect) is the result of His “power”; the “world” (viewed in
its orderly system) is the result of His “wisdom,” etc. (Jer_51:15). Such an Almighty
Being can be at no loss for resources to effect His purpose against Babylon.
K&D 15-26, “The omnipotence of the Lord and Creator of the whole world will
destroy the idols of Babylon, and break the mighty kingdom that rules the world. Jer_
51:15. "He who made the earth by His strength, establishing the world by His wisdom,
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding; Jer_51:16. When, thundering, He
makes a roaring sound of water in the heavens, He causes clouds to ascend from the
end of the earth, makes lightnings for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of His
treasures. Jer_51:17. Every man without knowledge is brutish; every goldsmith is
ashamed because of the image: for his molten work is a lie, and there is no spirit in
them. Jer_51:18. They are vanity, a work of mockery; in their time of visitation they
perish. Jer_51:19. The Portion of Jacob is not like these; for He is the framer of all, and
of the tribe of his inheritance: Jahveh of hosts is His name. Jer_51:20. Thou art a
hammer to me, weapons of war; and with thee I will break nations in pieces, and with
thee destroy kingdoms. Jer_51:21. And with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his
rider, and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider. Jer_51:22. And with
thee I will break in pieces man and woman, and with thee I will break in pieces old and
young, and with thee I will break in pieces young man and maiden. Jer_51:23. And
with thee I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock, and with thee I will break in
pieces the husbandman and his yoke [of oxen], and with thee I will break in pieces
governors and deputy-governors. Jer_51:24. And I will recompense to Babylon, and to
all the inhabitants of Chaldea, all their evil which they have done in Zion before your
eyes, saith Jahveh. Jer_51:25. Behold, I am against thee, O mountain of destruction,
saith Jahve, that destroyed all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand against thee,
and roll thee down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain, Jer_51:26. So that
they shall not take from thee a stone for a corner, or a stone for foundations; but thou
shalt be desolations for ever, saith Jahveh."
In order to establish, against all doubt, the fall of Babylon that has been announced
under solemn oath, Jeremiah, in Jer_51:15-19. repeats a passage from the address in
Jer_10:12-16, in which he holds up before the people, by way of warning, the almighty
61

62. power of the living God, and the destruction of the idols at the time of the judgment. In
Jer_51:10 he wished, by means of this announcement, to combat the fears of the
idolatrous people for the power of the heathen gods; here he seeks by the same means to
destroy the confidence of the Chaldeans in their gods, and to state that all idols will be
destroyed before the almighty power of the Creator and Ruler of the whole world on the
day of judgment, and Israel shall then learn that He who formed the universe will show
Himself, by the fall of Babylon, as the Creator of Israel. The whole passage is repeated
verbatim, on till a change made in Jer_51:19, where ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ is omitted before ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ֵ‫שׁ‬ ‫ת‬ ָ‫ל‬ֲ‫ח‬ַ‫נ‬,
and these words are connected with what precedes: "He is the former of all, and of the
tribe which belongs to Him as His own property," i.e., Israel. This alteration is not to be
put to the account of a copyist, who omitted the word "Israel" through an oversight, but
is due to Jeremiah: there was no need here, as in Jer 10, for bringing into special
prominence the relation of Israel to his God.
(Note: In Jer_10:16 the lxx have taken no account either of ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ or ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ֵ‫.שׁ‬ Hence
Movers, Hitzig, and Ewald infer that these words have found their way into the text
as a gloss suggested by Deu_32:9, and should be deleted. But in this they are wrong.
The omission of the two words by the lxx is a result of the erroneous translation
there given of the first clause of the verse. This the lxx have rendered ου ̓ τοιαύτη
μερὶς τῷ ̓Ιακωβ, instead of ου ̓ τοιαύτη ἡ μερὶς τοῦ ̓Ιακώβ. Having done so, it was
impossible for them to continue, ὅτι ὁ πλάσας τὰ πάντα αὐτός, because they could
not predicate this of μερίς, which they evidently did not take to mean God. And if
they were to connect ‫הוּא‬ with what followed, they were bound to omit the two
words, for it would never have done to take together ‫הוּא‬ ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ֵ‫שׁ‬ ‫ת‬ ָ‫ל‬ֲ‫ח‬ַ‫נ‬. They
therefore simply omitted the troublesome words, and went on to translate: ὅτι ὁ
πλάσας τὰ πάντα αὐτός κληρονομία αὐτοῦ. Cf. Nägelsbach. Jeremia u. Babylon, S.
94.)
As to the rest, see the exposition of Jer_10:12-16. In Jer_51:20-26 the destruction of
Babylon and its power is further carried out in two figures. In Jer_51:20-24 Babylon is
compared to a hammer, which God uses for the purpose of beating to pieces nations and
kingdoms, with their forces and their inhabitants, but on which He will afterwards
requite the evil done to Zion. ‫ץ‬ֵ‫פּ‬ ַ‫מ‬ is equivalent to ‫יץ‬ ִ‫פ‬ ֵ‫מ‬ ot tnelaviuqe si, Pro_25:18, one
who breaks in pieces; hence a battle-hammer. Hitzig takes ‫י‬ֵ‫ל‬ ְ‫כּ‬ to be a singular, "formed
thus in order to avoid an accumulation of i sounds (cf. ‫ים‬ ִ‫יט‬ֵ‫ל‬ ְ‫פּ‬ with ‫י‬ ֵ‫יט‬ ִ‫ל‬ ְ‫".)פּ‬ This is
possible, but neither necessary nor probable. The plural, "weapons of war," is added,
because the battle-hammer is considered as including all weapons of war. By the
hammer, Ewald understands "the true Israel;" Hitzig, Cyrus, the destroyer of Babylon;
Nägelsbach, an ideal person. These three views are based on the fact that the operation
performed by means of the hammer (breaking to pieces) is marked by perfects with ‫ו‬
relative (‫י‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ְ‫צ‬ַ‫פּ‬ִ‫נ‬ ְ‫,)ו‬ which is also true of the retribution to be made on Babylon: from this
it is inferred that the breaking with the hammer, as well as the retribution, is still future,
and that the meaning is, "When I hammer in this way with thee, I will requite Babylon"
(Hitzig); while Ewald concludes from nothing but the context that the words refer to
Israel.
But none of these reasons is decisive, nor any of the three views tenable. The context
gives decided support to the opinion that in Jer_51:20. it is Babylon that is addressed,
just as in Jer_51:13. and Jer_51:25; a further proof is, that as early as Jer_50:23,
62

63. Babylon is called "the hammer of the whole earth." Only very weighty reasons, then,
could induce us to refer the same figure, as used here, to another nation. The word ‫ישׁ‬ ִ‫טּ‬ַ‫פּ‬
(Jer_50:23), "hammer, smith's hammer" (Isa_41:7), is not essentially different from
‫ץ‬ֵ‫פּ‬ ַ‫,מ‬ which is used here. The figure is quite inapplicable to Israel, because "Israel is
certainly to be delivered through the destruction of Babylon, but is not to be himself the
instrument of the destruction" (Graf). Finally, the employment of the perfect with w
relative, both in connection with the shattering to pieces which God accomplishes with
(by means of) Babylon, and also the retribution He will execute on Babylon, is explained
by the fact, that just as, in prophetic vision, what Babylon does to the nations, and what
happens to it, was not separated into two acts, distinct from one another, but appeared
as one continuous whole, so also the work of Babylon as the instrument of destruction
was not yet finished, but had only begun, and still continuing, was partly future, like the
retribution which it was to receive for its offence against Zion; just as in Jer_51:13
Babylon is viewed as then still in the active exercise of its power; and the purpose for
which God employs it, as well as the fate that is to befall it, is presented together in
something like this manner: "O Babylon, who art my hammer with which I break
peoples and kingdoms in pieces, thee will I requite!" There is separate mention made of
the instances of breaking, in a long enumeration, which becomes tedious through the
constant repetition of the verb - something like the enumeration in Jer_50:35-38,
where, however, the constant repetition of ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ח‬ gives great emphasis to the address.
First comes the general designation, nations and kingdoms; then military forces; then
(Jer_51:25) the inhabitants of the kingdoms, arranged, as in Eze_23:6, Eze_23:23,
according to sex, age, and class, labouring classes (shepherds, and husbandmen with
their cattle); and lastly dignitaries, satraps and lieutenant-governors, ‫ת‬ ‫ח‬ַ‫פּ‬ ‫ים‬ִ‫ָנ‬‫ג‬ ְ‫,וּס‬ as in
Eze_23:6, Eze_23:23. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ח‬ֶ‫פּ‬ probably comes from the Zendic pavan (root pa), of which a
dialectic form is pagvan, "upholder of government;" see on Hag_1:1. ‫ָן‬‫ג‬ ָ‫ס‬ corresponds to
the ζωγάνης of the Athenians, "lieutenant-governor;" but it is not much that has hitherto
been ascertained with regard to this office; see Delitzsch on Isa_41:25 Clark's
translation. On '‫י‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ַ‫לּ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫,וגו‬ cf. Jer_51:6 and Jer_50:15, Jer_50:29; "before your eyes,"
towards the end of this verse, belongs to this verb in the main clause.
This retribution is set forth in Jer_51:25. under a new figure. Babylon is called the
"mountain of destruction;" this name is immediately explained by the predicate, "that
destroys the whole earth," brings destruction on it. The name ‫ר‬ ַ‫ה‬ ‫ית‬ ִ‫ח‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫מ‬ ַ‫ה‬ is applied in
2Ki_23:13 to the Mount of Olives, or its southern summit, the so-called mons offensionis
vel scandali of ecclesiastical tradition, on which Solomon had erected idolatrous altars
for his foreign wives; the name refers to the pernicious influence thereby exercised on
the religious life of Israel. In this verse, "destruction" is used in a comprehensive sense of
the physical and moral ruin which Babylon brought on the nations. Babylon is a
"mountain," as being a powerful kingdom, supereminent above others; whether there is
also a reference in the title to its lofty buildings (C. B. Michaelis) seems doubtful. "I will
roll thee down from the rocks," de petris, in quarum fastigiis hucusque eminuisti. Non
efferes te amplius super alia regna (C. B. Mich.). To this Hitzig adds, by way of
explanation: "The summit of the mountain is sometimes changed into the very position
occupied by the crater." From what follows, "I will make thee a mountain of burning,"
i.e., either a burning, or burnt, burnt-out mountain, modern expositors infer, with J. D.
Michaelis, that the prophet has before his mind a volcano in active eruption, "for no
other kind of mountains could devastate countries; it is just volcanoes which have been
63

64. hollowed out by fire that fall in, or, it may be, tumble down into the valley below,
scattering their constituent elements here and there; the stones of such mountains, too,
are commonly so much broken and burnt, that they are of no use for building" (Hitzig).
Of the above remarks this much is correct, that the words, "I will make thee a burning
mountain," are founded on the conception of a volcano; any more extended application,
however, of the figure to the whole verse is unwarranted. The clause, "I will roll thee
down from the rocks," cannot possibly be applied to the action of a volcano in eruption
(though Nägelsbach does so apply it), unless we are ready to impute to the prophet a
false notion regarding the eruptions of volcanoes. By the eruption, a mountain is not
loosened from the rock on which it rests, and hurled down into the valleys round about;
it is only the heart of the mountain, or the rocks on which its summit rests, that seem to
be vomited out of it. Besides, the notion that there is a representation of an active
volcano in the first clauses of the verse, is disproved by the very fact that the mountain,
Babylon, does not bring ruin on the earth, as one that is burning; it is not to become
such until after it has been rolled down from the rocks on which it rests. The laying
waste of the countries is not ascribed to the fire that issues from the mountain, but the
mountain begins to burn only after it has been rolled down from its rocks. Babylon, as a
kingdom and city, is called a mountain, because it mightily surpassed and held sway over
them; cf. Isa_2:14. It brings ruin on the whole earth by subjugation of the nations and
devastation of the countries. The mountain rests on rocks, i.e., its power has a
foundation as firm as a rock, until the Lord rolls it down from its height, and burns the
strong mountain, making it like an extinct volcano, the stones of which, having been
rendered vitreous by the fire, no longer furnish material that can be employed for the
foundation of new buildings. "A corner-stone," etc., is explained by C. B. Michaelis, after
the Chaldee, Kimchi, and others, to mean, "no one will appoint a king or a prince any
more out of the stock of the Chaldeans." This is against the context, according to which
the point treated of is, not the fall of the kingdom in or of Babylon, but the destruction of
Babylon as a city and kingdom. Hitzig and Graf, accordingly, take the meaning to be this:
Not a stone of the city will be used for a new building - no one will any more build for
himself among their ruins, and out of the material there. The corner-stone and the
foundation (it is further asserted) are mentioned by way of example, not because
particularly large and good stones are needed for these parts, but because every house
begins with them. But though the following clause, "thou shalt be an everlasting
desolation," contains this idea, yet this interpretation neither exhausts nor gives a
generally correct view of the meaning of the words, "no one will take from thee a corner-
stone or a foundation-stone." The burning of the mountain signifies not merely that
Babylon was to be burned to ashes, but that her sway over the world was to be quite at
an end; this was only to come about when the city was burnt. When no stone of any value
for a new building is to be left after this conflagration, this is equivalent to saying that
nothing will be left of the empire that has been destroyed, which would be of any use in
the foundation of another state. The last clause also ("for thou shalt be," etc.) refers to
more than the destruction of the city of Babylon. This is seen even in the fundamental
passage, Jer_25:12, where the same threat is uttered against the land of the Chaldeans.
CALVIN, "The Prophet commends here, as I have already said, in high terms, the
power of God; but we must bear in mind his purpose, for abrupt sentences would be
otherwise uninteresting. His object was to encourage the Jews to entertain hope; for
they were not to judge of Babylon according to its splendor, which dazzled the eyes
64

65. of all; nor were they to measure by their own notions what God had testified, he
bids the faithful to raise all their thoughts above the world, and to behold with
admiration the incomprehensible power of God, that they might not doubt but that
Babylon would at length be trodden under foot; for had they fixed their eyes on that
monarchy, they could have hardly believed the words of prophecy; for the Prophet
spoke of things which could not be comprehended by the human mind.
We now then understand why the Prophet set forth the power of God, even that. the
faithful might learn to think of something sublimer than the whole world, while
contemplating the destruction of Babylon, for that would not be effected in a way
usual or natural, but through the incredible power of God. The same words are also
found in the tenth chapter; and the five verses we meet with here were there
explained. But Jeremiah had then a different object in view, for he addressed the
Jewish exiles, and bade them firmly to persevere in the worship of God: though
religion was oppressed, and though the victorious Chaldeans proudly derided God,
he yet bade them to stand firm in their religion, and then said,
“When ye come to Babylon, say, Cursed are all the gods who made not the heaven
and the earth.” (Jeremiah 10:11)
And there, indeed, he used a foreign language, and taught them to speak in the
Chaldee, that they might more plainly profess that they would persevere in the
worship of the only true God. He afterwards added what he now repeats, even that
the power of God was not diminished, though he had chastised for a time his own
people. But now, as we have said, he speaks in sublime terms of the power of God, in
order that the faithful might know that what the judgment of the flesh held as
impossible, could easily be done by that God who can do all things.
He says first, He who made the earth He does not mention God’s name; but the
expression is more emphatical, when he says, the Maker of the earth; as though he
had said, “Who can be found to be the creator of the heaven and the earth except
the only true God?” We hence see more force in the sentence than if God’s name
had been expressed; for he thus excluded all the fictitious gods, who had been
devised by the heathens; as though he had said, “The only true God is He who made
the earth.” Then he says, by his power He speaks of God’s power in connection with
the earth, as it is probable, on account of its stability.
He afterwards adds, Who hath constituted the world by his wisdom, and by his
knowledge extended the heavens The wisdom of God is visible through the whole
world, but especially in the heavens. The Prophet indeed speaks briefly, but he leads
us to contemplate God’s wonderful work in its manifold variety, which appears
above and below. For though it may seem a light matter, when he says, that the
world was constituted by the wisdom of God, yet were any one to apply his mind to
the meditation of God’s wisdom in the abundance of all fruits, in the wealth of the
whole world, in the sea, (which is included in the world,) it could not, doubtless, be,
but that he must be a thousand times filled with wonder and admiration: for the
65

66. more carefully we attend to the consideration of God’s works, we ourselves in a
manner vanish into nothing; the miracles which present themselves on every side,
before our eyes, overwhelm us. As to the heavens, what do we see there? an
innumerable multitude of stars so arranged, as though an army were so in order
throughout, all its ranks; and then the wandering planets, not fixed, having each its
own course, and yet appearing among the stars. Then the course of the sun, how
much admiration ought it to produce in us! — I say, not in those only who
understand the whole system of astronomy, but also in those who see it only with
their own eyes; for when the sun, in its daily course, completes so great and so
immense a distance, they who are not amazed at such a miracle must be more than
stupid; and then the sun, as it is well known, has its own course, which is performed
every year, and never passes in the least beyond its own boundaries; and the bulk of
that body is immense (for, as it is well known, it far exceeds the earth,) and yet it
rolls with great celerity and at the same time in such order as though it advanced by
degrees quietly. Surely it is a wonderful specimen of God’s wisdom. The Prophet,
then, though he speaks in an ordinary way, yet suppress the godly with materials of
thought, so that they might apply their minds to the consideration of God’s works.
Some explain the words, that God expands the heavens whenever they are covered
with clouds; but this is wholly foreign to the meaning of the Prophet; for there is no
doubt but that he points out in this verse the perpetual order of nature, as in the
next verse he speaks of those changes which sometimes happen.
COFFMAN, “"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
Jeremiah 10:12-16. See my comment on these verses under that reference.
PETT, “Verses 15-19
God As Creator Is Compared With Foolish Man Who Can Only Make Idols Which
Are Futile And Lifeless (Jeremiah 51:15-19).
These verses are a repetition of Jeremiah 10:12-16 where YHWH as the genuine
God of creation, the ‘former of all things’, was contrasted with the gods of the
nations who had not made the heavens and the earth, but were themselves the
‘creations’ of foolish men, and who would themselves perish, gods in whom Israel
were foolishly trusting. In a similar way here YHWH is set alongside the men who
66

67. make those gods, His wisdom and understanding being compared with their folly
and lack of knowledge. For whereas He makes and controls the heavens and the
earth, they make gods which are false and have no life in them. Here, however, it is
mainly the Babylonian gods which are in mind.
Jeremiah 51:15
“He has made the earth by his power,
He has established the world by his wisdom,
And by his understanding,
Has he stretched out the heavens,
When he utters his voice,
There is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And he causes the vapours to ascend,
From the ends of the earth,
He makes lightnings for the rain,
And brings forth the wind out of his treasuries.
The greatness and power of YHWH is now contrasted with the follies wrought by
man, lifeless gods which are false and vain. It is He Who by His great power and
wisdom has made and established the earth. It is He Who by His understanding has
stretched out the heavens. Thus both earth and heaven owe their existence to Him.
This in contrast with foolish men who make gods for themselves, gods which are
false, and thus demonstrate that they are brutish in nature and without true
knowledge. They make for themselves a delusion.
But YHWH has not only made the world. He is the living God Who has but to speak
to fill the heavens with water, as the vapours and mists arise from the earth. He also
controls lightning and wind. The whole world was dependent on such water, which
watered and fed the crops. And the world also marvelled at the lightning which
often accompanied the rain, as well as benefiting by (it assisted them in winnowing
the grain), or fearing (it could be hugely destructive), the wind. All were under
God’s control.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:15-19
Probably interpolated from Jeremiah 10:12-16 (the only verbal difference is in
67

68. Jeremiah 10:19, where "Israel" is left out before "the rod of his inheritance"). But
may not Jeremiah have quoted himself? Conceivably, yes; but he would surely not
have quoted such a passage here, where it spoils the context. For granting that a
point of contact with verse 14 may be found for verses 15, 16 (Jehovah who has
sworn has also the power to accomplish), yet the passage on the idols stands quite by
itself, and distracts the attention of the reader.
16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens
roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
CLARKE, "When he uttereth his voice - Sends thunder.
There is a multitude of waters - For the electric spark, by decomposing
atmospheric air, converts the hydrogen and oxygen gases, of which it is composed, into
water; which falls down in the form of rain.
Causeth the vapours to ascend - He is the Author of that power of evaporation by
which the water is rarified, and, being lighter than the air, ascends in form of vapor,
forms clouds, and is ready to be sent down again to water the earth by the action of his
lightnings, as before. And by those same lightnings, and the agency of heat in general,
currents of air are formed, moving in various directions, which we call winds.
GILL, "When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth:
he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his
treasures. See Gill on Jer_10:13.
CALVIN, "This, then, is the reason why the Prophet, after having briefly touched
on what we have seen, adds, as evidences of God’s power and wisdom, those things
which appear to us in their various changes. He then says, that by his voice alone he
gives abundance of waters in the heavens, and then that he raises vapors from the
extremity of the earth, that he creates lightnings and the rain, which yet seem to be
contrary things. At last he says, that he brings the winds out of his treasures
68

69. Philosophers indeed mention the causes of these things, but we ought to come to the
fountain itself, and the original cause, even this, that things are so arranged in the
world, that though there are intermediate and subordinate causes, yet the primary
cause ever appears eminently, even the wisdom and power of God. Winds arise from
the earth, even because exhalations proceed from it; but exhalations, by whom are
they created? not by themselves: it hence follows, that God is their sole author. And
he calls hidden places treasures: as when one draws out this or that from his
storehouse, so he says that winds come forth from hidden places, not of themselves,
but through God, who holds them as though they were shut up. I pass by these
things by only touching on them, because I have already reminded you that we have
before explained, in the tenth chapter (Jeremiah 10:0), what is here literally
repeated. It now follows, —
17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
CLARKE, "Every man is brutish by his knowledge - He is brutish for want of
real knowledge; and he is brutish when he acknowledges that an idol is any thing in the
world. These verses, from fifteen to nineteen, are transcribed from Jer_10:12-16.
GILL, "Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded
by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood,
and there is no breath in them. See Gill on Jer_10:14.
CALVIN, "This verse is usually explained, as though the Prophet pointed out how
men glide into errors and fancies, even because they seek to be wise according to
their own notions; and Paul, in the first chapter to the Romans, assigns it as the
cause of idolatry, that men become vain in their own wisdom, because they follow
whatever their own brains suggest to them. This doctrine is in itself true and useful;
for men have devised idols for themselves, because they would not reverently receive
the knowledge of God offered to them, but rather believed their own inventions: and
as mere vanity is whatever man imagines according to his own thoughts, it is no
wonder that those who presumptuously form their own ideas of God, become wholly
69

70. foolish and infatuated. But it is evident from the context, that the Prophet means
here another thing, even that the artificers who cast or forge idols, or form them in
any other way, are wholly delirious in thinking that they can, by their own art and
skill, make gods. A log of wood lies on the ground, is trodden under foot without any
honor; now when the artificer adds form to it, the log begins to be worshipped as a
god; what madness can be imagined greater than this? The same thing may be said
of stones, of silver, and of gold; for though it may be a precious metal, yet no
divinity is ascribed to it, until it begins to put on a certain form. Now when a melter
casts an idol, how can a lump of gold or silver become a god? The Prophet then
upbraids this monstrous madness, when he says, that men are in their knowledge
like brute beasts, that is, when they apply their skill to things so vain and foolish.
But he mentions the same thing twice, according to the common usage of the
Hebrew style; for we know that the same thing is often said twice for confirmation
by the prophets.
After then having said that men are infatuated by knowledge, he adds, that they
were made ashamed by the graven image There seems to be an impropriety in the
words; for ‫,פסל‬ pesal, “graven,” does not well agree with ‫,צרף‬ tsareph, “the caster,”
or founder; but the Prophet, stating a part for the whole, simply means, that all
artificers are foolish and delirious in thinking that they can by their own hand and
skill cast or forge, or in any way form gods. And to prove this he says, that there is
no spirit or breath in them; and this was a sufficient proof; for we know that God is
the fountain of life, and hence he is called by Moses
“the God of the spirits of all flesh.” (Numbers 16:22)
Whatever life, then, is diffused through all creatures, flows from God alone as the
only true fountain. What, then, is less like divinity, or has less affinity to it, than a
lump of gold or of silver, or a log of wood, or a stone? for they have no life nor rigor.
Nothing is more fading than man, yet while he has life in him, he possesses
something divine; but a dead body, what has it that is like God? But yet the form of
a human body comes nearer to God’s glory than a log of wood or a stone formed in
the shape of man. It is not, then, without reason that the Prophet condemns this
madness of all the heathens, that they worshipped fictitious gods, in whom yet there
was no spirit. It follows, —
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:17-18
“Every man is become brutish,
Without knowledge,
Every goldsmith is put to shame,
By his image,
70

71. 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 will perish.”
In huge contrast to the Creator God are the earthly ‘creators’ who make false
images. When such men turn their thoughts towards divine things, instead of
recognising the great Creator of all things, they make idols which cannot live or
breathe, and which are vain and useless and a delusion. That Babylon’s gods are
especially in mind comes out in the reference to ‘their (Babylon’s idol-makers)
visitation’. At such a visitation by the living God, their gods will perish. They cannot
even stand up for themselves. Thus YHWH is revealed as all-powerful, and the gods
of Babylon as idle nothings who are helpless in the face of YHWH’s judgment.
18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
GILL, "They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation
they shall perish. See Gill on Jer_10:15.
CALVIN, "As he had called idols a lie, so now in the same sense he declares that
they were vanity, even because they were nothing real, but vain pomps, or
phantoms, or masks; and he afterwards expresses himself more clearly by saying
that they were the work of illusions But he does not seem to take the word ‫תעתעים‬ ,
toroim, in a passive but in an active sense. He then means that it was a deceptive
work, which was a snare to men; as though he had said, that they were the work of
imposture, or impostures.
This passage, and such as are like it, ought to be carefully noticed; because the
Papists seem to themselves to find a way to escape when they confess their images
are not to be worshipped, but that they are books for the unlearned. They who are
moderate in their views have recourse to this evasion. This was once suggested by
Gregory, but very foolishly; and they who wish to appear more enlightened than
71

72. others under the papacy repeat the same saying, that images ought to be tolerated,
because they are the books of the ignorant. But what does the Holy Spirit, on the
other hand, declare here, and also by the Prophet Habakkuk? that they are the
work of impostures, even mere snares or traps. (Habakkuk 2:18.) All, then, who
seek instruction from statues or pictures gain nothing, but become entangled in the
snares of Satan, and find nothing but impostures. And doubtless, whatever draws us
away from the contemplation of the only true God, ought justly to be deemed an
imposture or a deception; for who by the sight of a picture or a statue can form a
right idea of the true God? Is not the truth respecting him thus turned into
falsehood? and is not his glory thus debased? For we have then only the true
knowledge of God, when we regard him to be God alone, when we ascribe to him an
infinite essence which fills heaven and earth, when we acknowledge him to be a
spirit, when, in short, we know that he alone, properly speaking, exists, and that
heaven and earth, and everything they contain, exist through his power. Can a stone
or wood teach us these things? No; but on the contrary, I am led by the stone to
imagine that God is fixed and confined to a certain place. And then the life of God,
does it appear in the stone or in the wood? Besides, what likeness has a body, and
that lifeless, to an infinite spirit? It. is, then, not without reason that he complains,
as it is recorded by Isaiah, that he is thus wholly degraded:
“To whom have ye made me like? for I contain the earth in my fist, and ye confine
me to wood or stone.” (Isaiah 40:12)
If, in a word, the minds of men received no other error from idols than the thought
that God is corporeal, what can be more preposterous?
We hence see that the Prophet does not here say without cause, that all idols are
vanity, and the work of imposture or deception.
He lastly adds, that all fictitious gods would perish at the time of visitation In this
clause he exhorts the faithful to patience, and in a manner sustains their minds, that
they might not despond; for it was not a small trial to see the monarchy of Babylon
flourishing, when yet it had no other protection than that of idols. As, then, the
Babylonians thought flint fictitious gods were the guardians and defenders of their
safety, and that through them they had subdued all their neighbors, they became
thus more and more addicted to their superstitions, the reward of which they
regarded all their wealth and power. Inasmuch as the minds of the godly could not
have been otherwise than shaken by such a trial, the Prophet here supports them,
and reminds them to wait for the time of visitation when the idols were to perish.
However, a reference may be intended to the Babylonians as well as to the idols,
when he says, They shall perish at the time of their visitation, that is, when the
Chaldeans shall be visited. But it is probable that the time of visitation refers here
especially to idols, because the Prophet had spoken before of all the wicked and
reprobate. However this may be, we understand that his object was to show that
however prosperous idolaters might be for a time, yet the hand of God was to be
patiently borne until the suitable time came, which is here called the time of
72

73. visitation. And the metaphor refers to the notions of men, for we think that God
dwells idly in heaven and turns away his eyes from us, while he spares the ungodly.
Hence the Prophet calls the judgment of God a visitation, because he then shows
really, by evident proofs, that he does not disregard the affairs of men. It now
follows, —
19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance—
the Lord Almighty is his name.
GILL, "The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all
things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his
name. See Gill on Jer_10:16.
CALVIN, "Had the Prophet only said that idols were mere impostures and
mockeries, it would have been indeed something; but this part of his teaching would
have been cold and uninteresting, had he not, on the other hand, proclaimed the
glory of the one and only true God. We ought, indeed, to know that idols are
nothing, that men are most foolishly deceived, and are wholly infatuated, when they
imagine that there is in them some divinity. But the main thing is, that the true God
himself is brought before us, and that we are taught to direct all our thoughts to
him. This, then, is what is now done by the Prophet; for after having exposed the
folly of the heathens in worshipping idols, and having shown that the whole is
nothing but deception and falsehood, he now says, Not as they, the fictitious gods, is
the portion of Jacob; that is, the God who had revealed himself to the chosen people
is very far different from all idols.
And, doubtless, the vanity which the Prophet before mentioned cannot be
adequately understood, except the true God be known. For though some of the
ancient philosophers ridiculed the grossest errors of the common people, yet they
had nothing fixed or certain on which they could rest, like him, who, when asked,
“What was God?” requested time to consider, and who after several delays
confessed that the more he inquired into the nature of God, the more absorbed were
all his thoughts. And this must necessarily be the case with men until they are taught
what God is, which can never be done until he himself represents himself and his
glory as it were in a mirror.
73

74. This is then the reason why the Prophet, while setting the only true God in
opposition to idols and all the inventions of mortals, calls him the portion of Jacob,
because the law was as it were the representation of the glory of God. As then he
had plainly shown himself there, as far as it was needful for the salvation of the
chosen people, the Prophet, in order to invite men to the true knowledge of the true
God, calls him the portion of Jacob, as though he had set the law as a mirror before
their eyes. The portion of Jacob then is God, who is not like fictitious gods; how so?
because he is the framer of all things. It is indeed by a few words that he makes the
distinction between the only true God and the fictitious gods; but in this brief
sentence he includes what I have before explained, even that God is the fountain of
life, and the life of all, and then that his essence is spiritual and also infinite; for as
he has created the heaven and the earth, so of necessity he sustains both by his
power.
We then see that the Prophet speaks briefly but not frigidly; and from this passage
we learn a useful doctrine, even that God cannot be comprehended by us except in
his works. As then vain men weary themselves with speculations, which have not in
them, so to speak, any practical knowledge, it is no wonder that they run headlong
into many delirious things. Let us then be sober in this respect, so that we may not
inquire into the essence of God more than it becomes us. When therefore we seek to
comprehend what God is, or how to attain the knowledge of him, let us direct all our
thoughts, and eyes, and minds to his works.
So also by this passage, when the Prophet calls God the worker or framer of all
things, is exposed the vanity of all superstitions; and how? because we hence learn
that the power which made not the heaven and the earth, is vain and worthless; but
the only maker of heaven and earth is God, then he is God alone. Since he is the only
true God, it follows that the inventions or figments of men are altogether delirious,
and are therefore the artifices and impostures of the devil to deceive mankind. We
hence see that the doctrine of the Prophet is exclusive, when he says that God is the
maker of all things; for where the maker of all things is not found, there certainly no
divinity can be.
He adds, the rod of his inheritance This seems to refer to God, but in the tenth
chapter the word Israel is introduced; otherwise these five verses literally agree, but
in that passage the Prophet says that Israel was the rod of God’s inheritance Here
the rod means a measuring pole; for the similitude is taken from lands being
measured; for the ancients used poles of certain length for measuring. Hence the
Hebrews called an inheritance the rod of inheritance, because it was what had been
measured and had certain limits: as when one possesses a field, he knows how many
acres it contains, it having been measured. But both things may be fitly and truly
said, even that Israel is the rod of God’s inheritance, and also that God himself is a
rod of inheritance; for there is a mutual union. For as God favors us with this
honor, to make us his inheritance, and is pleased to have us as his own, so also he
offers himself to us as an inheritance. David says often, “The Lord is my portion,”
and “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance,” that is, my hereditary portion.
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75. So in this place the meaning would not be unsuitable were we to apply the words to
God. As, however, the word Israel is found in the former place, it may be deemed as
understood here. (86)
He says at last, Jehovah of hosts is his name There is implied a contrast here; for he
does not honor God with this character, as though it was a common or ordinary
name; but he claims for him his own right, and thus distinguishes him from all idols.
By saying, then, that this name belongs only to the true God, even the God of Israel,
he intimates that by this distinction he differs from all idols, and that men are
sacrilegious when they transfer any power to idols, and expect safety from them,
and flee to them. As then this name belongs only to God, it follows that in Him
dwells a fullness of all power and might. Since it is so, then wholly worthless is
everything that the world has ever imagined respecting the number and multitude
of gods. It now follows, —
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:19
“The Portion of Jacob is not like these,
For he is the former of all things,
And he (Israel/Jacob) is the tribe of his inheritance,
YHWH of hosts is his name.”
For the products of the idol-makers are in total contrast to the One Who is Jacob’s
Portion. He is the ‘Former of all things’. All of heaven and earth owe their being to
Him. And He is also ‘Jacob’s Portion’, in a unique way the God of Israel, the One
Who has chosen Israel to be His own inheritance, a special treasure to Him (Exodus
19:5-6), the One Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the One Who
has chosen Israel in order that He might reveal His purposes through them. That is
why Babylon will collapse, and why Israel will prosper at Babylon’s downfall.
And what is the Name of the One so described? His Name is YHWH of Hosts.
‘YHWH’, the One ‘Who will be what He will be’ (Exodus 3:13-15); ‘of hosts’, the
One Who is creator of ‘the hosts of heaven and earth’ (i.e. of all creation - Genesis
2:1), of the heavenly armies (Genesis 32:2; Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 24:21) and the
earthly armies (regularly called ‘hosts’), and of all ‘the hosts of heaven’, the sun,
moon and stars (Deuteronomy 4:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 33:6; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah
40:26).
20 “You are my war club,
75

76. my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter nations,
with you I destroy kingdoms,
BARNES, "Or, Thou art my maul, weapons of war etc. The maul or mace Pro_25:18
only differs from the hammer Jer_50:23 in being used for warlike purposes.
Omit the “will” in “will I break.” The crushing of the nations was going on at the time
when the prophet wrote. Most commentators consider that Babylon was the mace of
God.
CLARKE, "Thou art my battle axe - I believe Nebuchadnezzar is meant, who is
called, Jer_50:23, the hammer of the whole earth. Others think the words are spoken of
Cyrus. All the verbs are in the past tense: “With thee have I broken in pieces,” etc., etc.
GILL, "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war,.... This is said by the Lord,
either to Cyrus, as some, to which our version inclines, whom God made use of as an
instrument to subdue nations and kingdoms, and destroy them; see Isa_45:1; or rather
Babylon, and the king of it, who had been the hammer of the earth, Jer_50:23; as it may
be rendered here, "thou art my hammer" (s); or, "hast been"; an instrument in his
hands, of beating the nations to pieces, as stones by a hammer, and of destroying them,
as by weapons of war: this, and what follows, are observed to show, that though Babylon
had been used by the Lord for the destruction of others, it should not be secure from it
itself, but should share the same fate; unless this is to be understood of the church of
God, and kingdom of Christ, which in the latter day will break in pieces all the kingdoms
of the earth, Dan_2:44; which sense seems to have some countenance and confirmation
from Jer_51:24 "in your sight". The Targum is,
"thou art a scatterer before me, a city in which are warlike arms;''
which seems to refer to Babylon:
for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy
kingdoms; or, "with thee I have broke in pieces, and have destroyed"; the future
instead of the past (t); as the nations and kingdoms of Judea, Egypt, Edom, Moab,
Ammon, and others: or, "that I may break in pieces" (u), &c. and so it expresses the end
for which he was a hammer, as well as the use he had been or would be of.
JAMISON, "(See on Jer_50:23). “Break in pieces” refers to the “hammer” there
(compare Nah_2:1, Margin). The club also was often used by ancient warriors.
76

77. CALVIN, "The Prophet here obviates the doubts of many; for as he had spoken of
the destruction of Babylon, it might have been readily objected, that the monarchy
which was fortified by so many defenses, and which had subjugated all the
neighboring nations, was impregnable. Hence the Prophet here shows that the
power and wealth of Babylon were no hindrances that God should not destroy it
whenever he pleased; for it is an argument derived from what is contrary. We have
before seen that God roots up what he has planted, (Jeremiah 45:4;) and then we
have seen the metaphor of the potter and his vessels. When the Prophet went down
to the potter, he saw a vessel formed and then broken at the will and pleasure of the
potter (Jeremiah 18:2.) So also now God shows that the destruction was as it were in
his hand, because the Chaldeans had not raised themselves to eminence through
their own power, but he had raised them, and employed them for his own purpose.
In short, he compares the Babylonians in this passage to a formed vessel, and he
makes himself the potter:
“I am he who has raised Babylon to so great a height; it therefore belongs to me to
pull it down whensoever it pleases me.”
We now understand the design of this passage, though the Prophet employs
different words.
He says that Babylon was a hammer and weapons of war to break in pieces the
nations. The verb ‫,נפף‬ nuphets, means to break in pieces, and carelessly to scatter
here and there, and also violently to scatter. He says then, “I have by thee scattered
the nations, and by thee have destroyed kingdoms.” But as the Chaldeans had
enjoyed so many victories and had subjugated so many nations, he adds, I have by
thee broken in pieces the horse and his ride,; the chariot and its rider; and then, I
have broken in pieces men and women, old men and children, the young men and
the maidens, the shepherds and also their flocks He enumerates here almost all
kinds of men. He then mentions husbandmen and yokes of oxen, or of horses; and
lastly, he mentions captains and rulers (87) All these things are said by way of
concession; but yet the Prophet reminds us that no difficulty would prevent God to
destroy Babylon, because Babylon in itself was nothing. According to this sense,
then, it is called a hammer. In short, the Prophet takes away the false opinion which
might have otherwise disturbed weak minds, as though Babylon was wholly
invincible. He shows at the same time that God executed his judgments on all
nations by means of Babylon. Thus the faithful might have been confirmed; for
otherwise they must have necessarily been cast down when they regarded the
formidable power of Babylon; but when they heard that it was only a hammer, and
that they would not have been broken in pieces by the Babylonians had they not
been armed from above, or rather had they not been driven on by a celestial power,
it then appeared that the calamity which the Jews had suffered was nothing more
than a punishment inflicted by God’s hand. When, therefore, they heard this, it was
no small consolation; it kept them from succumbing under their miseries, and from
being swallowed up with sorrow and despair. But it now follows, —
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78. 20.A scatterer (or a hammer) art thou to me, A weapon of war; But I will scatter in
thee nations, And destroy in thee kingdoms;
21.And I will scatter in thee the horse and its rider, And I will scatter in thee the
chariot and its rider;
22.And I will scatter in thee the husband and the wife, And I will scatter in thee the
old and the child, And I will scatter in thee the young man and the maid;
23.And I will scatter in thee the shepard and his flock, And I will scatter in thee the
plougman and his team, And I will scatter in thee the governors and princes.
The comes, naturally, a summary of the whole, —
24.And I will render to Babylon And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil
which they have done in Sion, Before your eyes, saith Jehova.
The in the two following verse Babylon is still addressed.
“Scatter” is according to the Sept. , the Syr. , and the Targ. ; “dash against one
another” is the Vulg. — Ed.
COFFMAN, “"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
78

79. 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.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:20. Thou art my battle-axe— Thou hast broken for me the
weapons of war; I have broken by thee the nations, and destroyed kingdoms;
Houbigant: who renders the following verses also to the 24th in the perfect tense;
and he understands the whole as spoken of the dominion of the Babylonians, and
not, as is commonly done, of Cyrus their conqueror.
PETT, “Verses 20-24
YHWH’s War-Club (Jeremiah 51:20-24).
The speaker here is clearly YHWH. What is more difficult to determine is the
identity of God’s ‘war-club and weapons of war’. Note that the pronouns are
singular. (‘Thou’ not ‘ye’). And if Jeremiah 51:24 is part of the passage, which the
grammar suggests that it must be, the one in mind is clearly to be seen as an
eyewitness to what had happened to Jerusalem. There are a number of possible
alternatives:
· Some suggest Babylon itself. Babylon is called ‘the hammer of the whole earth’ in
Jeremiah 50:23, and this would fit in with the picture of Babylon as ‘the destroying
mountain’ (Jeremiah 51:25). But Babylon is not described asYHWH’shammer, nor
is a war-club a hammer. Furthermore if it is referring to Babylon the passage does
not fit easily into the context, for the context is God’s judgment on Babylon, and it
might therefore be thought to be abrupt to suddenly introduce Babylon as YHWH’s
war-club. It would also be necessary on this interpretation to exclude Jeremiah
51:24 as an essential part of the passage.
· Others suggest that it refers to Cyrus the Persian who would smite all the nations,
including Babylon. But that is to overlook the intimate reference to what had
happened to Zion as being ‘in your sight’.
· Another suggestion is Israel, but if so, many of the ideas are foreign to anything we
79

80. find elsewhere about Israel. Nowhere else do we find Israel portrayed as the
triumphant conqueror. Nor did Israel every do this to Babylon and the inhabitants
of Babylonia.
· Even others suggest Jeremiah himself. This is much more likely. He was the one
who was appointed over nations and kingdoms in order to tear down such nations
and kingdoms by his prophetic word (Jeremiah 1:10), as through his prophecy he
fulfilled YHWH’s work (Jeremiah 18:7). It seems therefore reasonable to see what is
then here described resulting from that same prophetic word as nations crumbled
before the word of YHWH (as they have done in chapters 46-49), a confirmation of
his calling. This is especially so if we see Cyrus the Persian as arising as a result of
Jeremiah’s prophetic word. Seeing it like that what is described can be seen as
including both the activity of Babylon and the activity of Cyrus, all in accordance
with Jeremiah’s prophetic word. But its reference only to Cyrus founders on the
fact that he was not an eyewitness of what had happened to Zion. Thus it would
appear that the best solution is that Jeremiah and his prophetic word are in God’s
mind, a prophetic word fulfilled, firstly through Babylon, and then through Cyrus
and the kings of the Medes (Jeremiah 51:11-12; Jeremiah 51:27-28).
Jeremiah 51:20-24
“You are my war club (or ‘mace’),
And weapons of war,
And with you will I break in pieces the nations,
And with you will I destroy kingdoms,
And with you will I break in pieces the horse and his rider,
And with you will I break in pieces the chariot and him who rides in it,
And with you will I break in pieces man and woman,
And with you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth,
And with you will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin,
And with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock,
And with you will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke (of oxen),
And with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies,
And I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea,
80

81. All their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,
The word of YHWH.”
Jeremiah is once more confirmed as God’s instrument in bringing judgment on the
nations, as he was in Jeremiah 1:10. Here he is portrayed not only as God’s war-
club, but also as all His weapons of war, a mighty armoury in the hands of God. By
his prophetic word he is to be YHWH’s means of bringing destruction on the
nations, as he was appointed to be in Jeremiah 1:10, and as indeed he has been
revealed as doing from Jeremiah 46:1 onwards. Now he is to accomplish the same
against Babylon. Through Jeremiah’s prophetic word God will render on Babylon
and Babylonia all the evil that they have performed against Zion before Jeremiah’s
very eyes. And this is the prophetic word of YHWH.
Note the vivid description which brings out in detail precisely what is to result from
the fulfilment of God’s purposes. It was not that God chose for it to happen in this
way. That was the choice of men. But it was the consequence of His moving the
spirit of men to act in history. It covers the destruction of the military, the
destruction of defenceless civilians, young and old, the destruction of the essential
providers of food and finally the destruction of those in overall authority. All would
be involved in the consequences of Jeremiah’s prophecies. And now especially
Babylon because of the evil that she had wrought against Israel/Judah, in Zion its
very heart.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:20-26
Israel is now to be Jehovah's hammer, striking down everything, even the Chaldean
colossus. But though Babylon may be as great and as destructive as a volcanic
mountain, it shall soon be quite burnt out.
Jeremiah 51:20
My battle axe; or, my mace. The mace (for a picture of which, see Rawlinson,
'Ancient Monarchies,' 1.459) was a weapon constantly employed by the Assyrians
and presumably by the Babylonian kings. The battle axe was much less frequently
used. But who is addressed by this terrible title? The commentators are divided,
some inclining to Babylon,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,
with you I shatter chariot and driver,
81

82. GILL, "And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider,.... Or,
"have broken": meaning the cavalry of an army, wherein lies its chief strength:
and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; which were also
used in war.
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old man and youth,
with you I shatter young man and young
woman,
GILL, "And with thee also will I break in pieces man and woman,.... Or, "have
broken"; having no respect to any sex, and to the propagation of posterity:
and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; not sparing men of any age,
however useful they might be, the one for their wisdom, the other for their strength:
and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; who by
procreation of children might fill and strengthen commonwealths.
JAMISON, "old and young — (2Ch_36:17).
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
with you I shatter governors and officials.
BARNES, "Captains ... rulers - Jer_51:28. Pashas and Sagans. The prophet dwells
at length upon Babylon’s destructiveness.
82

83. GILL, "And I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his
flock,.... Or, have broken; which Abarbinel thinks respects the Arabians particularly,
who were shepherds, and dwelt in tents; but it rather signifies shepherds and their flocks
in general; who were killed or scattered wherever his armies came, which spared none,
even the most innocent and useful, and though unarmed:
and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen;
with which he ploughed his ground: signifying by this, as well as the former, that those
were not spared, by which kingdoms were supported and maintained, as shepherds and
husbandmen:
and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers; by whom kingdoms and
states are governed and protected.
24 “Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all
who live in Babylonia[e] for all the wrong they
have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.
CLARKE, "And I will render - The ‫ו‬ vau should be translated but, of which it has
here the full power: “But I will render unto Babylon.”
GILL, "And I will render unto Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of
Chaldea,.... Or, "but I will render" (w), &c. though I have made this use of Babylon, she
shall not be spared, but receive her just recompense of reward; not the city of Babylon
only, but the whole land of Chaldea, and all the inhabitants of it:
all their evil that they have done in Zion, in your sight, saith the Lord; the
sense is, that for all the evil the Chaldeans had done in Judea; the ravages they had made
there, the blood they had shed, and the desolation they had made; and particularly for
what they had done in Jerusalem, and especially in the temple, burning, spoiling, and
profaning that, God would now righteously punish them, and retaliate all this evil on
them; and which should be done publicly, before all the nations of the world, and
particularly in the sight of God's own people: for this phrase, "in your sight", does not
refer to the evils done in Zion, but to the recompense that should be made for them.
JAMISON, "The detail of particulars (Jer_51:20-23) is in order to express the
indiscriminate slaughters perpetrated by Babylon on Zion, which, in just retribution, are
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84. all to befall her in turn (Jer_50:15, Jer_50:29).
in your sight — addressed to the Jews.
CALVIN, "The Prophet, after having reminded the Jews that all that they had
suffered from the Babylonians had been justly inflicted on account of their sins, and
that God had been the author of all their calamities, now subjoins, I will render to
Babylon and to the Chaldeans what they have deserved. It may, however, appear
strange at the first view, that God should here threaten the Babylonians; for if their
services depended on his command, they seemed doubtless to have deserved praise
rather than punishment; nay, we know what the Holy Spirit declares elsewhere,
“I gave Egypt as a reward to my servant Nebuchadnezzar, because he has faithfully
performed my work,” (Ezekiel 29:20)
for Nebuchadnezzar had afflicted the Jews, therefore he obtained this, says Ezekiel,
as his reward. It seems then an inconsistent thing when God declares that the
Chaldeans deserved punishment because they had afflicted the Jews. But both
declarations agree well together; for when God declared by Ezekiel that he gave
Egypt as a reward to his servant Nebuchadnezzar, he had a regard to the Jews and
to their perverseness, because they had not as yet been sufficiently humbled; nay,
they thought that it was by chance that they had been subdued by the Babylonians.
God then declares that he had executed his judgment on them by the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar. It was afterwards necessary that the faithful should be raised up
in their extreme distress; and this was regarded by our Prophet when he said —
Behold, I will render to Babylon and to the Chaldeans all their evils They then
obtained Egypt for a short time, but afterwards all the evils they had brought on
other nations recoiled on their own heads.
But this promise was in a peculiar manner given to the Church; for though the
vengeance executed on the Chaldeans was just, because they exercised extreme
cruelty towards all nations; yet God, having a care for his own Church, thus
undertook its cause; therefore he speaks not here generally of the punishment
inflicted on the Chaldeans for their cruelty; but God, as I have said, had a regard to
his own Church. Hence, he says, I will render to the Babylonians and to all the
Chaldeans, all the evil which they had done in Sion We now see that this
punishment had a special reference to the chosen people, in order that the faithful
might know that they had been so chastised by God, that yet the memory of his
covenant had never failed, and that thus in the midst of death they might have some
hope of salvation, and that they might feel assured that God would at length be
merciful; not that God would ever restore the whole body of the people; but this
promise, as it has been elsewhere stated, is addressed only to the remnant. Yet fixed
remains the truth, that God, after having broken in pieces the Jews and other
nations by means of one nation, would yet be the avenger of his Church, because he
could never forget his covenant. He adds, before your eyes, that the faithful might
with calmer minds wait for the vengeance of which they themselves would be eye-
84

85. witnesses.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:24. And I will render unto Babylon— "But, though I have
made Babylon the instrument of my vengeance towards others, I will render unto
Babylon all the evil which they have done in Zion, and these things shall be done
before your eyes, saith the Lord." See Houbigant.
25 “I am against you, you destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,”
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.
BARNES, "O destroying mountain - A volcano which by its flames and hot lava-
streams “destroys the whole land.”
A burnt mountain - A burned-out mountain, of which the crater alone remains.
Such was Babylon. Its destructive energy under Nebuchadnezzar was like the first
outbreak of volcanic fires; its rapid collapse under his successors was as the same
volcano when its flames have burned out, and its crater is falling in upon itself.
CLARKE, "O destroying mountain - An epithet which he applies to the
Babylonish government; it is like a burning mountain, which, by vomiting continual
streams of burning lava inundates and destroys all towns, villages fields, etc., in its
vicinity.
And roll thee down from the rocks - I will tumble thee from the rocky base on
which thou restest. The combustible matter in thy bowels being exhausted, thou shalt
appear as an extinguished crater; and the stony mutter which thou castest out shall not
be of sufficient substance to make a foundation stone for solidity, or a corner stone for
beauty, Jer_51:26. Under this beautiful and most expressive metaphor, the prophet
shows the nature of the Babylonish government; setting the nations on fire, deluging and
destroying them by its troops, till at last, exhausted, it tumbles down, is extinguished,
and leaves nothing as a basis to erect a new form of government on; but is altogether
useless, like the cooled lava, which is, properly speaking, fit for no human purpose.
85

86. GILL, "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord,
which destroyest all the earth,.... Babylon is called a mountain, though situated in a
plain, because of its high walls, lofty towers, and hanging gardens, which made it look at
a distance like a high mountain, as Lebanon, and others: or because it was a strong
fortified city; so the Targum renders it, O destroying city: or because of its power and
grandeur as a monarchy, it being usual to compare monarchies to mountains; see Isa_
2:2; here called a "destroying" one for a reason given, because it destroyed all the earth,
all the nations and kingdoms of it: the same character is given of mystical Babylon and
its inhabitants, Rev_11:18,
and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee: in a way of vindictive wrath, pouring
it out upon her, and inflicting his judgments on her; laying hold on and seizing her in a
furious manner, as a man does his enemy, when he has found him:
and roll them down from the rocks; towers and fortresses in Babylon, which
looked like rocks, but should be now demolished:
and will make thee a burnt mountain: reduced to cinders and ashes by the
conflagration of it: or, "a burning mountain": like Etna and Vesuvius; we never read of
the burning of literal Babylon, but we do of mystical Babylon: see Rev_18:8; and with
this compare Rev_8:8. The Targum renders it, a burnt city.
HENRY, "The destruction that shall be made of Babylon by these invaders. 1. It is a
certain destruction; the doom has passed and it cannot be reversed; a divine power is
engaged against it, which cannot be resisted (Jer_51:8): Babylon is fallen and
destroyed, is as sure to fall, to fall into destruction, as if it were fallen and destroyed
already; though when Jeremiah prophesied this, and many a year after, it was in the
height of its power and greatness. God declares, God appears against Babylon (Jer_
51:25): Behold, I am against thee; and those cannot stand long whom God is against. He
will stretch out his hand upon it, a hand which no creature can bear the weight of nor
withstand the force of. It is his purpose, which shall be performed, that Babylon must be
a desolation, Jer_51:29. 2. It is a righteous destruction. Babylon has made herself meet
for it, and therefore cannot fail to meet with it. For (Jer_51:25) Babylon has been a
destroying mountain, very lofty and bulky as a mountain, and destroying all the earth,
as the stones that are tumbled from high mountains spoil the grounds about them; but
now it shall itself be rolled down from its rocks, which were as the foundations on which
it stood. It shall be levelled, its pomp and power broken. It is now a burning mountain,
like Aetna and the other volcanoes, that throw out fire, to the terror of all about them.
But it shall be a burnt mountain; it shall at length have consumed itself, and shall remain
a heap of ashes. So will this world be at the end of time. Again (Jer_51:33), “Babylon is
like a threshing-floor, in which the people of God have been long threshed, as sheaves in
the floor; but now the time has come that she shall herself be threshed and her sheaves
in her; her princes and great men, and all her inhabitants, shall be beaten in their own
land, as in the threshing-floor. The threshing-floor is prepared. Babylon is by sin made
meet to be a seat of war, and her people, like corn in harvest, are ripe for destruction,”
Rev_14:15; Mic_4:12. 3. It is an unavoidable destruction. Babylon seems to be well-
fenced and fortified against it: She dwells upon many waters (Jer_51:13); the situation
of her country is such that it seems inaccessible, it is so surrounded, and the march of an
enemy into it so embarrassed, by rivers. In allusion to this, the New Testament Babylon
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87. is said to sit upon many waters, that is, to rule over many nations, as the other Babylon
did, Rev_17:15. Babylon is abundant in treasures; and yet “thy end has come, and
neither they waters nor thy wealth shall secure thee.” This end that comes shall be the
measure of thy covetousness; it shall be the stint of thy gettings, it shall set bounds to
thy ambition and avarice, which otherwise would have ben boundless. God, by the
destruction of Babylon, said to its proud waves, Hitherto shall you come, and no further.
Note, if men will not set a measure to their covetousness by wisdom and grace, God will
set a measure to it by his judgments. Babylon, thinking herself very safe and very great,
was very proud; but she will be deceived (Jer_51:53): Though Babylon should mount
her walls and palaces up to heaven, and though (because what is high is apt to totter)
she should take care to fortify the height of her strength, yet all will not do; God will
send spoilers against her, that shall break through her strength and bring down her
height. 4. It is a gradual destruction, which, if they had pleased, they might have
foreseen and had warning of; for (Jer_51:46) “A rumor will come one year that Cyrus is
making vast preparations for war, and after that, in another year, shall come a rumour
that his design is upon Babylon, and he is steering his course that way;” so that when he
was a great way off they might have sent and desired conditions of peace; but they were
too proud, too secure, to do that, and their hearts were hardened to their destruction. 5.
Yet, when it comes, it is a surprising destruction: Babylon has suddenly fallen (Jer_
51:8); the destruction came upon them when they did not think of it and was perfected
in a little time, as that of the New Testament Babylon - in one hour, Rev_18:17. The king
of Babylon, who should have been observing the approaches of the enemy, was himself
at such a distance from the place where the attack was made that it was a great while ere
he had notice that the city was taken; so that those who were posted near the place sent
one messenger, one courier, after another, with advice of it, Jer_51:31. The foot-posts
shall meet at the court from several quarters with this intelligence to the king of Babylon
that his city is taken at one end, and there is nothing to obstruct the progress of the
conquerors, but they will be at the other end quickly. They are to tell him that the enemy
has seized the passes (Jer_51:32), the forts or blockades upon the river, and that, having
got over the river, he has set fire to the reeds on the river side, to alarm and terrify the
city, so that all the men of war are affrighted and have thrown down their arms and
surrendered at discretion. The messengers come, like Job's, one upon the heels of
another, with these tidings, which are immediately confirmed with a witness by the
enemies' being in the palace and slaying the king himself, Dan_5:30. That profane feast
which they were celebrating at the very time when the city was taken, which was both an
evidence of their strange security and a great advantage to the enemy, seems here to be
referred to (Jer_51:38, Jer_51:39): They shall roar together like lions, as men in their
revels do, when the wine has got into their heads. They call it singing; but in scripture-
language, and in the language of sober men, it is called yelling like lions' whelps. It is
probable that they were drinking confusion to Cyrus and his army with loud huzzas.
Well, says God, in their heat, when they are inflamed (Isa_5:11) and their heads are hot
with hard drinking, I will make their feasts, I will give them their portion. They have
passed their cup round; now the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto them
(Hab_2:15, Hab_2:16), a cup of fury, which shall make them drunk that they may
rejoice (or rather that they may revel it) and sleep a perpetual sleep; let them be as
merry as they can with that bitter cup, but it shall lay them to sleep never to wake more
(as Jer_51:57); for on that night, in the midst of the jollity, was Belshazzar slain. 6. It is
to be a universal destruction. God will make thorough work of it; for, as he will perform
what he has purposed, so he will perfect what he has begun. The slain shall fall in great
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88. abundance throughout the land of the Chaldeans; multitudes shall be thrust through in
her streets, Jer_51:4. They are brought down like lambs to the slaughter (Jer_51:40), in
such great numbers, so easily, and the enemies make no more of killing them than the
butcher does of killing lambs. The strength of the enemy, and their invading them, are
here compared to an irruption and inundation of waters (Jer_51:42): The sea has come
up upon Babylon, which, when it has once broken through its bounds, there is no fence
against, so that she is covered with the multitude of its waves, overpowered by a
numerous army; her cities then become a desolation, an uninhabited uncultivated
desert, Jer_51:43. 7. It is a destruction that shall reach the gods of Babylon, the idols and
images, and fall with a particular weight upon them. “In token that the whole land shall
be confounded and all her slain shall fall and that throughout all the country the
wounded shall groan, I will do judgment upon her graven images,” Jer_51:47 and
again Jer_51:52. All must needs perish if their gods perish, from whom they expect
protection. Though the invaders are themselves idolaters, yet they shall destroy the
images and temples of the gods of Babylon, as an earnest of the abolishing of all
counterfeit deities. Bel was the principal idol that the Babylonians worshipped, and
therefore that is by name here marked for destruction (Jer_51:44): I will punish Bel,
that great devourer, that image to which such abundance of sacrifices are offered and
such rich spoils dedicated, and to whose temple there is such a vast resort. He shall
disgorge what he has so greedily regaled himself with. God will bring forth out of his
temple all the wealth laid up there, Job_20:15. His altars shall be forsaken, none shall
regard him any more, and so that idol which was thought to be a wall to Babylon shall
fall and fail them. 8. It shall be a final destruction. You may take balm for her pain, but
in vain; she that would not be healed by the word of God shall not be healed by his
providence, Jer_51:8, Jer_51:9. Babylon shall become heaps (Jer_51:37), and, to
complete its infamy, no use shall be made even of the ruins of Babylon, so execrable shall
they be, and attended with such ill omens (Jer_51:26): They shall not take of thee a
stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. People shall not care for having any
thing to do with Babylon, or whatever belonged to it. Or it denotes that there shall be
nothing left in Babylon on which to ground any hopes or attempts of raising it into a
kingdom again; for, as it follows here, it shall be desolate for ever. St. Jerome says that
in his time, though the ruins of Babylon's walls were to be seen, yet the ground enclosed
by them was a forest of wild beasts.
JAMISON, "destroying mountain — called so, not from its position, for it lay low
(Jer_51:13; Gen_11:2, Gen_11:9), but from its eminence above other nations, many of
which it had “destroyed”; also, because of its lofty palaces, towers, hanging gardens
resting on arches, and walls, fifty royal cubits broad and two hundred high.
roll thee down from the rocks — that is, from thy rock-like fortifications and
walls.
burnt mountain — (Rev_8:8). A volcano, which, after having spent itself in pouring
its “destroying” lava on all the country around, falls into the vacuum and becomes
extinct, the surrounding “rocks” alone marking where the crater had been. Such was the
appearance of Babylon after its destruction, and as the pumice stones of the volcano are
left in their place, being unfit for building, so Babylon should never rise from its ruins.
CALVIN, "There is no doubt but that the Prophet speaks of Babylon. But it may
seem strange to call it a mountain, when that city was situated in a plain, as it is well
88

89. known; nay, it has no mountains near it. It was a plain, so that streams might be
drawn here and there in any direction. Hence they think that the city was called a
mountain on account of the height of its walls and also its great buildings. And this
is probable, as though the Prophet called it a great mass; for historians tell us that
its walls were very high, about two hundred feet, and a foot commonly exceeded
three fingers. Then the towers were very high. In short, Babylon was a prodigy for
the quantity of its bricks, for the walls were not built with squared stones, but
formed of bricks. Their breadth also was incredible; for chariots drawn by four
horses could go along without touching one another. Their breadth, according to
Strabo and also Pliny, was fifty feet. Then this metaphor was not used without
reason, when the Prophet, regarding in one respect the state of the city, called
Babylon a mountain, as though Ninus, or Semiramis, or others, had contended with
nature itself. The beginning of Babylon was that memorable tower mentioned by
Moses, but then the work was left off. (Genesis 11:0) Afterwards, either because
such a beginning inflamed the desire of men, or because the place was very pleasant
and fertile, it happened that a city of great size was built there. In short, it was more
like a country than a city; for, as Aristotle says, it was not so much a city as a
country or a province. This much as to the word mountain.
Now God himself declares war against Babylon, in order that more credit might be
given to this prophecy; for the Prophet had no regard to the Chaldeans, but to his
own nation, and especially to the remnant of the godly. The greater part derided his
prophecy, but a few remained who received the Prophet’s doctrine with becoming
reverence. It was then his object to consult their good and benefit; and, as we shall
see at the end of this chapter, he wished to lay up this treasure with them, that they
might cherish the hope of restoration while they were as it were lost in exile. God
then does here encourage them, and declares that he would be an enemy to the
Babylonians.
Behold, he says, I am against thee, O mountain of perdition The mountain of
perdition is to be taken in an active sense, for destroying mountain, as also a clearer
explanation follows, when he says that it had destroyed all the earth For the
Babylonians, as it is well known, had afflicted all their neighbors, and had
transferred the imperial power of the Medes to their own city. When they subdued
the Assyrians they extended their power far and wide, and at length advanced to
Syria, Judea, and Egypt. Thus it happened that the Babylonians enjoyed the empire
of the east till the time of Cyrus; and then the monarchy was possessed by the
Persians. But our Prophet had respect to the former state of things; for he said that
the Chaldeans had been like a hammer, which God had employed to break in pieces
all the nations; and, according to the same meaning, he now says that all the earth
had been destroyed by the Babylonians.
But God here declares that he would be their judge, because he would extend his
hand over Babylon, and roll it down from the rocks, he proceeds still with the same
metaphor; for as he called Babylon a mountain on account of its great buildings,
and especially on account of its high walls and lofty towers, so now he adopts the
89

90. same kind of language, I will cast thee down, or rather roll thee, from the rocks, and
make thee a mountain of burning. He thus intimates that Babylon would become a
heap of ashes, though this was not immediately fulfilled; for as we have said, it was
so taken as not to be entirely laid waste. For in the time of Alexander the Great,
many years after, Babylon was standing, and there Alexander died. It then follows
that it was not reduced to solitude and ashes by Darius and Cyrus. But we have
already untied this knot, that is, that the Prophet does not only speak of one
vengeance of God, but includes others which followed. For Babylon soon after
revolted and suffered a grievous punishment for its perfidy, and was then treated
with great contempt. Afterwards, Seleucus tried in various ways to destroy it, and
for this end Seleucia was built, and then Ctesiphon was set up in opposition to
Babylon. Babylon then was by degrees reduced to that solitude of which the Prophet
here speaks. Pliny says that in his time the temple of Bel was there, whom they
thought to have been the founder of the city; but he afterwards adds that the other
parts of the city were deserted. If Jerome, as he says, visited it, we ought; to believe
what he had seen; and he says that Babylon was a small ignoble town, and ruins
only were seen there. There is, then, nothing unreasonable in this prophecy, for it
ought not to be restricted to one calamity only; for God ceased not in various ways
to afflict Babylon until it was wholly laid waste, according to what our Prophet
testifies. According to this view, then, he says that Babylon would become a
mountain of burning, or a burnt mountain, (88) for ruins only would remain; and in
the same sense he immediately adds, —
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:25. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain— The
Vulgate renders it more properly, O corrupting mountain, which corruptest the
whole earth. Babylon, though seated in a low watery plain, is here called a
mountain, not only on account of its lofty buildings, but of its pride, and as being the
first and most haughty seat of idolatry. See Revelation 17:5. The similitude made
use of in the subsequent part of the verse is strong and expressive. Earthquakes
were frequent in Palestine; and the sacred writers have embellished their writings
with repeated allusions to this terrible phaenomenon. The prophet here compares a
powerful nation doomed to destruction, to a ruinous mountain, or rather a volcano,
which would soon be consumed, and involve other mountains in its ruins, and be so
entirely wasted by its flames, that its very stones would be rendered useless. See
Michaelis's notes, and Newton's Dissertations, vol. 1: p. 279.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:25 Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith
the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon
thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
Ver. 25. O destroying mountain.] O Babylon, thou that art amplitudine et altitudine
instar montis; for thy large command and lofty buildings like a mountain, and that
dost abuse thy power to other men’s destruction.
And will make thee a burnt mountain.] A great heap of ashes and rubbish, such as
burned and ruined cities are.
90

91. PETT, “Verses 25-29
Preparation For The Coming Total Destruction Of Babylon (Jeremiah 51:25-29).
With the mention of what is to happen to Babylon in Jeremiah 51:24, YHWH’s
attention now turns on Babylon, describing it as a ‘destroying mountain’ or
‘mountain of destruction’. Interestingly the same phrase is used in 2 Kings 23:13 of
the mountain on which Solomon erected temples to false gods on behalf of his wives,
a phrase which may well have been known to Jeremiah. This would then bring out
that Babylon was seen as destructive, not only in warfare, but also in the pernicious
influence it wielded in forcing its own idolatry, with all its accompaniments, on the
nations, including Israel/Judah (compare Isaiah 47:9-15). It destroyed not only the
body but the soul. It was the very enemy of God. That was why it had to be
annihilated.
The passage then goes on to describe the preparations to be made for the invasion of
Babylon, and its subsequent pain.
Jeremiah 51:25-26
“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
The word of YHWH,
Which destroys all the earth,
And I will stretch out my hand on you,
And roll you down from the rocks,
And will make you a burnt mountain,
And they will not take of you a stone for a corner,
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate for ever,
The word of YHWH.”
The description of Babylon as a mountain refers to its might and power as like a
gigantic mountain it engulfed the nations, towering over those nations, and
destroying them, both physically and religiously. The later reference to foundations
may suggest that it also saw itself as founding a new culture, presumably based on
its gods. We can compare how in Daniel 3 Nebuchadrezzar does seek to make all the
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92. nations worship his false god. But it is then put in its place by the fact being made
clear that it is not huge in YHWH’s eyes. For He will simply stretch out His hand
and take that great mountain, and roll it like a stone down the mountainside of a far
larger mountain of which it is only a part, informing it that it will become nothing
but a burnt out volcano (such an extinct volcano known as Koukal is known in
Western Assyria near the River Khabour) whose stones have been rendered useless
for anything, its dreams of glory vanishing into thin air as it becomes desolate for
ever. Nothing will ever be founded on it again. All that is anti-God will be destroyed.
And this is the prophetic word of YHWH.
26 No rock will be taken from you for a
cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate forever,”
declares the Lord.
BARNES, "
The prophet means that:
(1) Babylon would never again be the seat of empire. Nor
(2) would any new development of events take its rise thence.
GILL, "And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations,.... Signifying that it should be so utterly consumed by fire, that there
should not be a stone left fit to be put into any new building, especially to be a corner or
a foundation stone. The Targum understands it figuratively,
"and they shall not take of thee a king for a kingdom, and a ruler for government:''
but thou shall be desolate for ever, saith the Lord; see Jer_50:39.
JAMISON, "corner ... stone ... foundations — The corner-stone was the most
important one in the building, the foundation-stones came next in importance (Eph_
2:20). So the sense is, even as there shall be no stones useful for building left of thee, so
no leading prince, or governors, shall come forth from thy inhabitants.
92

93. CALVIN, "He confirms the former verse, that when Babylon was destroyed, there
would be no hope of restoration. It often happens, that those cities which have been
wholly destroyed are afterwards built up again; but God says that this would not be
the case with Babylon, for it was given over to perpetual destruction. By corner and
foundations he understands the strength of the buildings, he then says, that there
was no hope that the stones would be again fitted together, for the building of the
city, for Babylon would become a perpetual waste or desolation.
We have, indeed, said, that the walls of Babylon were not made of stones but of
bricks: but the Prophet simply speaks according to the common manner, in order to
show that its ruin would be for ever. (89) We have also said elsewhere that a
difference is commonly made by the prophets between the people of God and the
reprobate, that God promises to his Church a new state as a resurrection from
death, but that he denounces on the unbelieving perpetual desolation. This course is
now followed by our Prophet when he says, that the desolations there would be for
ever, because there is no hope of pardon or of mercy to the unbelieving. It
afterwards follows, —
27 “Lift up a banner in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:
Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.
BARNES, "Ararat, see the Gen_8:4 note. Minni, probably the western portion of
Armenia, as Ararat was that in the center and to the east. Armenia was at this time
subject to Media. Ashchenaz was between the Euxine and the Caspian Seas.
A captain - Some prefer the Septuagint rendering in Nah_3:17 : “a mingled mass of
people.” (Others, a “scribe,” an Assyrian term.)
The rough caterpillers - i. e., locusts in their third stage, when their wings are still
enveloped in rough horny cases, which stick up upon their backs. It is in this stage that
93

94. they are so destructive.
CLARKE, "Set ye up a standard - Another summons to the Medes and Persians
to attack Babylon.
Ararat, Minni - The Greater and Lesser Armenia.
And Ashchenaz - A part of Phrygia, near the Hellespont. So Bochart, Phaleg, lib. 1 c.
3, lib. 3 c. 9. Concerning Ashchenaz Homer seems to speak, Il. 2:370, 371: -
Φορκυς αυ Φρυγας ηγε, και Ασκανιος θεοειδης,
Τηλ’ εξ Ασκανιης.
“Ascanius, godlike youth, and Phorcys led
The Phrygians from Ascania’s distant land.”
Calmet thinks that the Ascantes, who dwelt in the vicinity of the Tanais, are meant.
GILL, "Set ye up a standard in the land,.... Not in Chaldea, but rather in any land;
or in all the countries which belonged to Media and Persia; where Cyrus's standard is
ordered to be set up, to gather soldiers together, and enlist in his service, in order to go
with him in his expedition against Babylon:
blow the trumpet among the nations; for the same purpose, to call them to arms,
to join the forces of Cyrus, and go with him into the land of Chaldea:
prepare the nations against her: animate them, stir up their spirits against her, and
furnish them with armour to engage with her: or, "sanctify" (x) them; select a certain
number out of them fit for such work:
call together the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; the two former
are generally thought to intend Armenia the greater, and the lesser; and the latter
Ascania, a country in Phrygia; and certain it is that Cyrus first conquered these
countries, and had many Armenians, Phrygians, and Cappadocians, in his army he
brought against Babylon, as Xenophon (y) relates. The Targum is, declare
"against her to the kingdoms of the land of Kardu, the army of Armenia and Hadeb,''
or Adiabene:
appoint a captain against her; over all these forces thus collected: Cyrus seems to be
intended; unless the singular is put for the plural, and so intends a sufficient number of
general officers of the army:
cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars; or "locusts" (z); which
though generally smooth, yet some fire hairy and rough; to which the horses in Cyrus's
army are compared, for their multitude, the shape of their heads, long manes, and
manner of going, leaping, and prancing. So the Targum,
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95. "they shall cause the horses to come up, leaping like the shining locust;''
that is of a yellow colour, and shines like gold. So the word the Targum here uses is used
by Jonathan in Lev_13:32; of hair yellow as gold, and here to be understood of hairy
locusts: and, as Aelianus (a) says, there were locusts of a golden colour in Arabia. And
such may be meant here by the Chaldee paraphrase, which well expresses their motion
by leaping; see Joe_2:5; and which agrees with that of horses. The word rendered
"rough" has the signification of horror in it, such as makes the hair to stand upright; see
Job_4:15; and so some (b) render it here. And Bochart (c), from Alcamus, an Arabic
writer, observes, that there is a sort of locusts which have two hairs upon their head,
which are called their horn, which when erected may answer to this sense of the word;
and he brings in the poet Claudian (d), as describing the locust by the top of its head, as
very horrible and terrible; and that some locusts? have hair upon their heads seems
manifest from Rev_9:8; though it may be, the reason why they are here represented as
so dreadful and frightful may not be so much on account of their form, as for the terror
they strike men with, when they come in great numbers, and make such terrible havoc of
the fruits of the earth as they do; wherefore the above learned writer proposes to render
the words, "as the horrible locusts" (e).
K&D, "A summons addressed to the nations to fight against Babylon, in order that,
by reducing the city, vengeance may be taken for the offence committed against Israel by
Babylon. Jer_51:27. "Lift up a standard on the earth, sound a trumpet among the
nations, prepare the nations against her, call the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and
Ashkenaz against her; appoint troops against her; bring up horses lie horrid locusts.
Jer_51:28. Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes and her governors, and
all her lieutenant-governors, and all the land of his dominion. Jer_51:29. Then the
earth quakes and trembles: for the purposes of Jahveh against Babylon are being
performed, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without an inhabitant. Jer_51:30.
The heroes of Babylon have ceased to fight, they sit in the strongholds: their strength is
dried up; they have become women; they have set her habitations on fire; her bars are
broken. Jer_51:31. One runner runs against another, and one messenger against
another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is wholly taken. Jer_51:32. And the
crossing-places have been seized, and the marches have they burned up with fire, and
the men of war are confounded. Jer_51:33. For thus saith Jahveh 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, and the time of harvest will come to her. Jer_51:34. Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon hath devoured us, and ground us down; he hath set us down [like] an
empty vessel, he hath swallowed us like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my
dainties; he hath thrust me out. Jer_51:35. Let the inhabitress of Zion say, 'My wrong
and my flesh [be] upon Babylon;' and let Jerusalem say, 'My blood be upon the
inhabitants of Chaldea.' Jer_51:36. Therefore thus saith Jahveh: Behold, I will plead
thy cause, and execute vengeance for thee; ad I will dry up her sea, and make her
fountain dry. Jer_51:37. And Babylon shall become heaps [of ruins], a dwelling-place
of dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant."
The lifting up of the standard (Jer_51:27) serves as a signal for the nations to assemble
for the struggle against Babylon. ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫בּ‬ does not mean "in the land," but, as the parallel
95

96. "among the nations" shows, "on the earth." ‫שׁוּ‬ ְ‫דּ‬ ַ‫,ק‬ "consecrate prepare against her
(Babylon) nations" for the war; cf. Jer_6:4; Jer_22:7. ‫יעוּ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ as in Jer_50:29. The
kingdoms summoned are: Ararat, i.e., the middle (or eastern) province of Armenia, in
the plain of Araxes, which Moses of Chorene calls Arairad, Araratia (see on Gen_8:4);
Minni, which, according to the Syriac and Chaldee, is also a name of Armenia, probably
its western province (see Gesenius' Thesaurus, p. 807); and Ashkenaz, which the Jews
take to be Germany, although only this much is certain, that it is a province in the
neighbourhood of Armenia. For Askên is an Armenian proper name, and az an Armenian
termination; cf. Lagarde's Gesammelte Abhandll. S. 254, and Delitzsch on Gen_10:3,
Gen_10:4 ed. ‫דוּ‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫,פּ‬ "appoint, order against her." ‫ר‬ ָ‫ס‬ ְ‫פ‬ ִ‫ט‬ does not mean "captains" or
leaders, for this meaning of the foreign word (supposed to be Assyrian) rests on a very
uncertain etymology; it means some peculiar kind of troops, but nothing more definite
can be affirmed regarding it. This meaning is required by the context both here and in
Nah_3:17, the only other place where the word occurs: see on that passage. The sing.
‫ר‬ ָ‫ס‬ ְ‫פ‬ ִ‫ט‬ corresponds with the sing. ‫,סוּס‬ and is therefore to be taken collectively, "troops
and horses." Whether the simile ָ‫ס‬ ‫ק‬ֶ‫ֶל‬‫י‬ ְ‫כּ‬ belongs merely to "horses," or to the
combination "troops and horses," depends on the meaning attached to the expression.
Modern expositors render it "bristly locusts;" and by that they understand, like Credner
(Joel, S. 298), the young grasshopper after it has laid aside its third skin, when the wings
are still enveloped in rough horny sheaths, and stick straight up from the back of the
animal. But this explanation rests on an erroneous interpretation of Nah_3:17. ‫ר‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫ס‬
means to shudder, and is used of the shivering or quivering of the body (Psa_119:120),
and of the hair (Job_4:15); and ‫ק‬ֶ‫ֶל‬‫י‬ does not mean a particular kind of locusts, through
Jerome, on Nah_3:17, renders it attelabus (parva locusta est inter locustam et
bruchum, et modicis pennis reptans potius quam volans, semperque subsiliens), but is a
poetic epithet of the locust, "the devourer." If any one prefers to view ‫ר‬ ָ‫מ‬ ָ‫ס‬ as referring to
the nature of the locusts, he may with Bochart and Rosenmüller, think of the locustarum
species, quae habet caput hirsutum. But the epithet "horrid" is probably intended
merely to point out the locusts as a fearful scourge of the country. On this view, the
comparison refers to both clauses, and is meant to set forth not merely the enormous
multitude of the soldiery, but also the devastation they make of the country. In Jer_
51:28 mention is further made of the kings of the Medes (see on Jer_51:11), together
with their governors and lieutenant-governors (see on Jer_51:23), and, in order to give
prominence to the immense strength of the army, of "all the land of his dominion;" on
these expressions, cf. Jer_34:1 and 1Ki_9:19. The suffix refers to the king of Media, as
the leader of the whole army; while those in "her governors, and all her lieutenant-
governors," refer to the country of Media.
CALVIN, "The Prophet here confirms what he had before taught, even that
Babylon, however proud on account of its strongholds, would not yet escape God’s
hand. Had he used a simple mode of speaking, hardly any one would have ventured
to look for what the Prophet said. It was then necessary to introduce figurative
expressions, of which we have before spoken. Here, then, with the highest authority,
he commands the nations to raise up war against Babylon.
96

97. We must observe, as I have before reminded you, that by such modes of speaking,
the effect of prophetic doctrine is set forth. For the unbelieving deride whatever they
hear, because the voice of God is the same to them as though it were a sound flowing
through the air. Hence the Prophet shows that he was endued with the power of
God, and that the hand of God was connected with his mouth, so that he fulfills
whatever he predicts. Raise, he says, a standard. This might have appeared
ludicrous, for we know that the Prophet was despised, not only at Jerusalem, but
also in his own town where he had been born: by what right, then, or on what
ground does he now boldly command all nations, and bid the banners to be raised?
But as I have said, he shows that a false judgment would be formed of what he said,
except the people thought that God himself spoke.
Sound with the trumpet, he says, among all nations, and then, sanctify against her
the nations; and further, assemble, literally, “make to hear,” but it means, in Piel, to
collect, to assemble. As to the word Ararat, it may be taken for Armenia. I know not
why some have taken Minni to be the lower Armenia, for there is no creditable
author for such an opinion. Nor is it certain what country the Prophet designates by
Ashchenaz. But it is evident from histories, that the great army which Darius, or
Cyrus under the authority of Darius, led with him, had been collected from various
and even remote nations. For he brought with him the Hyrcanians and the
Armenians, and some from many unknown places. As, then, heathen authors
declare that this army was collected indiscriminately from many nations and almost
unknown, it is nothing strange that the Hebrew names are at this day unknown.
And there is no doubt but that the Prophet here indirectly intimates some great
shaking of the world, as though he had said, that even barbarous nations, The name
of whom hath not hitherto been heard of, would come like all overwhelming flood to
destroy Babylon. He will hereafter speak of the Medes; but here he treats the
subject in a different way, as though he had said, that so great would be the
multitude of enemies, that Babylon, notwithstanding its largeness, would be easily
overthrown. We now perceive the Prophet’s design as to these obscure words.
He says afterwards, Set up a leader against her This is to be understood of Cyrus,
whose vigor was especially apparent in that war. Nor is there a doubt but that he led
his uncle and father-in-law to undertake the war. For those historians fable, who
say that Cyrus was cast away by his grandfather, and that he was brought up
privately by Astyages, and that he afterwards made war with his grandfather. All
these things have been invented. For it is quite evident that Darius, the king of the
Medes, was the chief in that war, and Daniel is our best witness on this point.
Heathen writers imagine that there was no king of the Medes except under the
authority of Cyrus. But Cyrus did not rule until after the death of his father-in-law,
or his uncle, whose daughter he had married. It then follows, that he was the
general, so that he carried on the war under the authority of Darius. Cyrus then
was, as it were, the hired soldier of his uncle and father-in-law, but at length he
obtained the kingdom of the Medes and the whole empire of the East. Of this leader,
then, I understand this passage, when the Prophet says, Set up or appoint a leader
against Babylon: (90) he adds, Bring forth, or make to ascend, the horse as the
97

98. locust This refers to their number; as though he had said, Bring forth against
Babylon horses without number, who shall be as locusts. He compares them to
locusts, not for strength or skill in war, but only with regard to their number. But as
the locusts are frightful, he applies to them the word ‫,סמר‬ samer, “dreadful,” as
though he had said, They are, indeed, locusts as to their abundance, but they are at
the same time dreadful, as though they had on them frightful hairs. It afterwards
follows, —
COFFMAN, “"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."
98

99. "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 in Jeremiah 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.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:27 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 Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to
come up as the rough caterpillers.
Ver. 27. Set up a standard.] Thus God the great Induperator bespeaketh the Medes
and Persians as his field officers.
Prepare the nations against her.] Heb., Sanctify, call them together to wage this
sacred war against Babylon.
Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz,] i.e., Of
both the Armenias and of Aseania, subdued by Cyrus before he marched against
Babylon. (a) Vatablus will have Ashchenaz to be Gothland; the Jews, Germany; but
these were too far remote.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:27-28
Set you up a standard (or ‘signal’) in the land,
Blow the trumpet among the nations,
Prepare (literally ‘sanctify’) the nations against her,
Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz,
Appoint a marshal against her,
99

100. Cause the horses to come up like the bristly young locusts,
Prepare against her the nations,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their deputies,
And all the land of his dominion.”
.
How God will roll Babylon down the mountains is now described historically. The
command goes out to an unknown royalty connected with the Medes to set up the
signal and blow the war trumpet among the nations, calling them to join him in his
campaign against Babylon. These would include the Median kingdoms of Ararat,
Minni and Ashkenaz. He was to ‘sanctify’ the nations against her, a reminder that
armies dedicated themselves to their gods. They would include ‘the kings of the
Medes’ and all who were under his control. The Persians and Medes were closely
associated. Initially, the Medes were the more powerful, and Persia was subject to
them. But Cyrus the Persian, who had a Median mother and was allied with the
kings of Media, increased in power and gradually took over the kingdoms of Persia
and Media, finally establishing from this power base a huge empire. He took the
titles of ‘king of the Medes’ and ‘king of Elam’.
Ararat is ancient Urartu, mentioned regularly in inscriptions and located near Lake
Van in what is today eastern Turkey. Minni is the ancient Mannai of Assyrian
records, located south-east of Lake Urmia. Ashkenaz is connected with ancient
Ascania, and is connected with the Ashguzai, nomads who lived east of Lake Urmia.
Many identify them as Scythians. Ashkenaz and Mannai were involved together in a
revolt against Assyria in c. 673 BC, but Mannai later sided with the Assyrians
against the Babylonians in 616 BC. All were to be involved in the invasion of
Babylonia. They had a reputation as fearsome fighters.
‘Appoint a marshal.’ The word for ‘marshal’ is a rare one coming from the
Akkadian tupsarru. It occurs also only in Nahum 3:17. There too it is connected
with locusts. The ‘bristly young locusts’ were the locusts in the third stage of growth
prior to their wings unfolding. Such locusts moved across the ground in huge
numbers (see the awesome descriptions in Joel 1:6-7; Joel 2:2-10) destroying all in
their path. Thus the idea is of horsemen in awesome numbers who cause a wave of
destruction.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:27-37
A more detailed sketch of the conquest of Babylon; followed (somewhat out of the
100

101. natural order) by a complaint on the part of Israel, and a promise of championship
on that of Jehovah.
Jeremiah 51:27
Prepare the nations; literally, consecrate the nations; viz. by religious rites. It is in
an especial sense a religious war to which they are summoned (see on Jeremiah 6:4,
and comp. Isaiah 13:3). Ararat. Ararat appears in the cuneiform inscriptions under
the form "Urartu? In Isaiah 37:38 the Authorized Version renders correctly by
"Armenia." The Assyrian kings, since Shalmaneser, were constantly at war with the
Armenians; Assurbanipal reduced them to pay tribute. Minni. The Mannai of the
cuneiform inscriptions. The locality of this tribe has been hitherto wrongly given as
the mountain country about Lake Vau. But Professor Sayco has shown that they are
rather to be looked for to the southwest of Lake Urumiyeh. A captain. The word
(tifsar) is singular, but is probably to be understood collectively as equivalent to
"captains," like the word (sus, "horse," equivalent to "horses") to which it is
parallel. It is here used loosely of certain officials of the Armenians; but properly it
is an Assyrian word (adopted from the Accadian or proto-Babylonian), meaning
"tablet writer," and derived, according to Friedrich Delitzsch, from dip or dup, a
tablet, and sat, to write (Accadian words). As the rough caterpillars. This is the
third of the four kinds of locusts mentioned in Joel 1:4; or, to speak more precisely,
it is the locust in its penultimate stage, when its wings are already visible, but
enveloped in horn-like sheaths, which stand up upon its back. Hence the epithet
"rough," or "bristling." Keil's rendering, "as the dreadful (horrifying) locust,"
implies a faulty interpretation of Joel 1:4. It would be strange indeed if Joel had
accumulated four synonymous terms for locust in such a peculiar context.
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
the kings of the Medes,
their governors and all their officials,
and all the countries they rule.
BARNES, "His dominion - This belonged not to the subordinate rulers, but to the
chief, e. g., to Cyrus.
101

102. GILL, "Prepare against her the nations, with the kings of the Medes,.... At the
head of them, Darius and Cyrus. The Syriac version has it in the singular number, the
king of the Modes:
the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his
dominions; that is, the inhabitants of it, the common people, with their princes,
nobles, governors, as captains of them, under Cyrus, their generalissimo.
JAMISON, "kings of ... Medes — (Jer_51:11). The satraps and tributary kings
under Darius, or Cyaxares.
his dominion — the king of Media’s dominion.
CALVIN, "He now repeats what he had said of preparing the nations; but he
mentions them first generally, and then he comes to specify them particularly. He
then bids the nations to be sent for, and then he shows who they were, even the
kingdoms of the Medes (91) There was, indeed, but one kingdom, but many kings
were subject to it. Then, on account of the many provinces over which satraps ruled,
and also on account of many tributary countries, the Prophet was not satisfied to
use the singular number, but calls them in the plural number, the kingdoms of the
Medes; for that monarchy had extended itself far and wide, so that many kings were
subject to Darius.
And it tended, in no small degree, to show the certainty of this prophecy, that
Jeremiah declared, before Cyrus or even Darius was born, that the Medes would
come. But we have stated, that though Cyrus, being singularly active and a good
warrior, carried on the war, yet Darius was the first in authority. Then Babylon
obeyed the Medes for a time; but as Darius was now old, Cyrus succeeded him; and
then the monarchy was transferred to Persia; and laws issued thence until the time
of Alexander the Great, who, together with his catamite, burnt the tower. Nor is
there a doubt but that many memorable transactions were deposited there. But
Alexander being drunk, seized a torch and burnt the tower; for he thought that the
memory of the Oriental monarchy could thus be abolished.
We now then perceive why the Prophet expressly mentions here the Medes; and he
adds, the captains and princes He includes, no doubt, under these names, all the
satraps and kings. At length he adds, the whole land of its dominion, or jurisdiction;
and by this word he designates the kingdoms already mentioned. It now follows, —
29 The land trembles and writhes,
for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon
102

103. stand—
to lay waste the land of Babylon
so that no one will live there.
BARNES, "The literal translation is:
Then the earth quaked and writhed;
For the thoughts of Yahweh against
Babel have stood fast;
To make Babel a waste without inhabitant.
CLARKE, "And the land shall tremble - It is represented here as trembling
under the numerous armies that are passing over it, and the prancing of their horses.
GILL, "And the land shall tremble and sorrow,.... The land of Chaldea, the
inhabitants of it, should tremble, when they heard of this powerful army invading their
land, and besieging their metropolis; and should sorrow, and be in pain as a woman in
travail, as the word (f) signifies:
for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon; or, "shall
stand" (g); be certainly fulfilled; for his purposes are firm and not frustratable:
to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant; this the Lord
purposed, and threatened to do; see Jer_50:39.
JAMISON, "land shall tremble ... every purpose of ... Lord shall be
performed — elegant antithesis between the trembling of the land or earth, and the
stability of “every purpose of the Lord” (compare Psa_46:1-3).
CALVIN, "The Prophet no doubt endeavored to remove all doubts from the minds
of the godly, which would have otherwise weakened confidence in his doctrine. It
might have occurred to the minds of all, that the whole world would sooner come to
nothing than that Babylon should fall. Though it were so, says the Prophet, that the
whole earth trembled, yet Babylon will be destroyed. Hence, he says, Tremble shall
the land and be in pain, even because confirmed, etc. There is here a striking
contrast between the moving of the earth and the stability of God’s purpose. The
verb means properly to rise, but it is taken in many places in the sense of confirming
103

104. or establishing, and necessarily so in this passage. he then says, Tremble shall the
land, (92) even because confirmed shall be the thoughts of God respecting Babylon
But he mentions thoughts in the plural number, as though he had said, that
whatever God had appointed and decreed would be unchangeable, and that the
whole earth would sooner be shaken than that the truth of God should lose its effect.
Then this verse contains nothing else but a confirmation of the whole prophecy. But
the Prophet shows, that if even all the hindrances of the world were in favor of the
perpetuity of Babylon, yet what God had decreed respecting its destruction, would
be fixed and unchangeable. It afterwards follows, —
And tremble shall the land and be in pain; For confirmed respecting Babylon shall
be the purposes of Jehovah, To set the land of Babylon a waste, Without an
inhabitant.
— Ed
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:29
“And the land trembles and is in pain,
For the purposes of YHWH against Babylon do stand,
To make the land of Babylon a desolation,
Without inhabitant.”
In a brief synopsis Jeremiah describes the effect on Babylonia. ‘The land trembles
and is in pain.’ For such a picture of the land trembling and writhing in pain see
Judges 5:4; Nahum 1:5; Habakkuk 3:6. And the reason for it is because of YHWH’s
purpose against Babylon, which is to make it desolate and totally deserted. It is
coming under the judgment of the Almighty.
30 Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
they have become weaklings.
Her dwellings are set on fire;
104

105. the bars of her gates are broken.
BARNES, "Have forborn to fight - Or, have ceased to fight: in despair when they
saw that the conflict was hopeless.
Holds - The word properly means an acropolis, and so any inaccessible place of
refuge.
They have burned - i. e., the enemy have burned.
Bars - i. e., fortifications (compare Amo_1:5).
CLARKE, "The mighty men - have forborne to fight - They were panic-struck
when they found the Medes and Persians within their walls, and at once saw that
resistance was useless.
GILL, "The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight,.... Or, "ceased from
fighting" (h) for it seems, upon Cyrus's first coming, the king of Babylon and his army
gave him battle; but being overthrown, they retired to the city (i), and dared never fight
more:
they have remained in their holds; in the towers and fortresses of Babylon, never
daring to sally out of the city, or appear in the field of battle any more; even though
Cyrus sent the king of Babylon a personal challenge, to end the quarrel by a single
combat (k):
their might hath failed; their courage sunk and was gone; they had no heart to face
their enemy:
they became as women; as weak as they, as the Targum; timorous and fearful, having
no courage left in them, and behaved more like women than men:
they have burnt her dwelling places; that is, the enemy burnt their houses, when
they entered into the city, to inject terror into them:
her bars are broken; the bars of the gates of the city, or of the palaces of the king and
nobles, and of the houses of the people, by the soldiers, to get the plunder; see Isa_45:1.
JAMISON, "forborne to fight — for the city was not taken by force of arms, but by
stratagem, according to the counsel given to Cyrus by two eunuchs of Belshazzar who
deserted.
remained in ... holds — not daring to go forth to fight; many, with Nabonidus,
105

106. withdrew to the fortified city Borsippa.
CALVIN, "The Prophet shows here, as by the finger, the manner of the destruction
of Babylon, such as it is described by heathen authors. He then says, that the valiant
men of Babylon, even those who had been chosen to defend the city, ceased to fight
For the city was taken rather by craft than by open force; for after a long siege,
Cyrus was laughed to scorn by the Babylonians; then they securely held a feast. In
the meantime two eunuchs of Belshazzar passed over to Cyrus; for; as Xenophon
relates, the tyrant had slain the son of one, and by way of disgrace castrated the
other. Hence, then, it was that they revolted from him; and Cyrus was instructed by
them how he could take the city. The fords were dried-up, when Belshazzar
suspected no such thing, and in the night he heard that the city was taken. Daniel
gives a clearer description; for he says that there was held a stated feast, and that
the hand of a writer appeared on the wall, and that the king, being frightened, had
heard from Daniel that the end of his kingdom was near at hand, and that the city
was taken that very night. (Daniel 5:25.) hence the Prophet says now that the valiant
men desisted, so that they did not fight. He indeed speaks of what was future, but,
we know what was the manner of the prophets, for they related what was to come as
though it had already taken place.
He afterwards adds, that they sat down in their fortresses, for the city was not taken
by storm — there was no fighting; but the forces passed silently through the fords,
and the soldiers entered into the middle of the city; the king was slain together with
all his satraps, and then all parts of the city were taken possession of. We now, then,
see that the Spirit of God spoke by the mouth of Jeremiah, as of a thing that had
already taken place.
He then adds, that their valor had failed or languished, even because terror
stupefied them when they heard that the city was taken. So also true became what is
added, that they became women, that they were like women as to courage, for no
one dared to oppose the conquerors. Fighting might have still been carried on by so
large a multitude, yea, they might have engaged with their enemies in hundred or in
thousand of the streets of the city, for it would have been easy in the night to distress
them: but the Prophet says, that they all became women as to courage. At last, he
adds, that that burnt by enemies were the palaces, and that the bars of the gates
were broken; for no one dared to summon to arms after it was heard that the city
was taken. It follows, —
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they
have remained in [their] holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they
have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
Ver. 30. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight.] At Cyrus’s first coming
they gave him battle; but being worsted, they from thenceforth remained in their
holds till Babylon was taken.
106

107. Their might hath failed.] Or, Their courage is shrunk, as Jacob’s sinew did.
[Genesis 32:32]
They became as women.] See Jeremiah 50:37.
PETT, “Verses 30-33
The Babylonian Response (Jeremiah 51:30-33).
As already mentioned Gobryas, the Persian general, took the city of Babylon by
stealth, having diverted the water course that led into the city, thus being able to
walk into the city with his men along the dry river bed. We can imagine the effect
that the sudden appearance of these Persian soldiers within the city itself would
have had on the inhabitants. They had been trusting in Babylon’s huge walls to
prevent the taking of the city. They knew that no siege weapons would have been
effective against them. They would thus have been utterly demoralised.
Jeremiah 51:30
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight,
They remain in their strongholds,
Their might has failed,
They are become as women,
Her dwelling-places are set on fire,
Her bars are broken.”
We are not surprised therefore to learn that the mighty men of Babylon refrained
from taking on the enemy but rather retired into their citadels. They ‘forbore to
fight’. They ‘remained in their strongholds’. They knew very well that they were not
a match for the whole Persian army which could now walk into the city without
hindrance. Thus they ‘became as women’, unwilling and unready to fight.
Meanwhile many buildings would be set on fire by the Persian looters, in spite of the
instructions to spare the city. And the bars of the city gate would have been broken
in order to ensure continual access for the invaders. What is remarkable is that this
was foreseen by Jeremiah long before. It was YHWH’s doing.
PULPIT, “Despair of the Babylonian warriors. Have forborne to fight should rather
be have ceased to fight. In their holds. The word is used of hill or mountain
fastnesses, and such presumably are referred to here. Their might; rather, their
courage. They have burned, etc. The subject is "the enemies." Her bars; viz. those
107

108. with which the city gates were secured (comp. Isaiah 45:2; Amos 1:5).
31 One courier follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,
BARNES, "The royal palace was a strong fortification in the heart of the city. The
messengers thus met one another.
At one end - Rather, from all sides, entirely, completely.
CLARKE, "One post shall run to meet another - As the city was taken by
surprise, in the manner already related, so now messengers, one after another, were
dispatched to give the king information of what was done; viz., that the city was taken at
one end. Herodotus tells us that the extreme parts of the city were taken, before those of
the center knew any thing of the invasion. Herodot. lib. 1 c. 191.
GILL, "One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet
another,.... That is, one post should be after another, and one messenger after another,
post upon post, and messenger upon messenger, as fast as they could run; when one had
been with his message, and delivered it, and returned, he meets another; or they met one
another, coming from different places:
to show the king of Babylon his city is taken at one end; or, "at the end" (l); we
render it "one end", as Kimchi does; at the end where Cyrus's army first landed, when
they came up the channel of the river Euphrates they had drained. And so Herodotus
(m) says, that when the Babylonians, which inhabited the "extreme parts" of the city,
were taken, they that were in the middle of it were not sensible of it, because of the
greatness of the city; and the rather, because they were engaged that night in feasting
and dancing. Nay, Aristotle (n) says, it was reported that one part of the city was taken
three days before the other end knew it, it being more like a country than a city; which
does not seem credible, nor is it consistent with the Scripture account of it; however, it
was taken by surprise, and some parts of it before the king was aware of it; who very
probably had his palace in the middle of it, whither these messengers ran one after
108

109. another, or from different parts, to acquaint him with it.
JAMISON, "(See on Jer_50:24).
One post — One courier after another shall announce the capture of the city. The
couriers dispatched from the walls, where Cyrus enters, shall “meet” those sent by the
king. Their confused running to and fro would result from the sudden panic at the
entrance of Cyrus into the city, which he had so long besieged ineffectually; the
Babylonians had laughed at his attempts and were feasting at the time without fear.
taken at one end — which was not known for a long time to the king and his
courtiers feasting in the middle of the city; so great was its extent that, when the city was
already three days in the enemy’s hands, the fact was not known in some parts of the city
[Aristotle, Politics, 3.2].
K&D, "On the advance of this mighty host against Babylon, to execute the judgment
determined by the Lord, the earth quakes. The mighty men of Babylon cease to offer
resistance, and withdraw dispirited, like women, into inaccessible places, while the
enemy sets fire to the houses, breaks the bars, and captures the city. The prophet views
all this in spirit as already present, and depicts in lively colours the attack on the city and
its capture. Hence the historic tenses, ‫שׁ‬ַ‫ע‬ ְ‫ר‬ ִ‫ַתּ‬‫ו‬, ‫ֹל‬‫ח‬ ָ‫ַתּ‬‫ו‬, ‫לוּ‬ ְ‫ד‬ ָֽ‫,ח‬ etc. ‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ ָ‫ק‬ is used of the
permanence, i.e., of the realization of the divine counsels, as in Jer_44:23. On the
singular, see Ewald, §317, a. "To make the land," etc., as in Jer_4:7; Jer_18:16, etc.
"They sit (have taken up their position) in the strongholds" (Mountain fastnesses), i.e.,
in inaccessible places; cf. 1Sa_13:16; 2Sa_23:14. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ת‬ ְ‫ֽשׁ‬ָ‫נ‬ is but to be regarded as a Kal form
from ‫ת‬ ַ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬; on its derivation from ‫ת‬ ַ‫ת‬ ָ‫,שׁ‬ see on Isa_41:17. "They have become women;" cf.
Jer_50:37. The subject of the verb ‫יעתוּ‬ ִ‫צּ‬ ִ‫ה‬ is the enemy, who set fire to the dwellings in
Babylon. "Runner runs against runner," i.e., from opposite sides of the city there come
messengers, who meet each other running to tell the king in his castle that the city is
taken. The king is therefore (as Graf correctly remarks against Hitzig) not to be thought
of as living outside of the city, for "in this case ‫את‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫ל‬ would have no meaning," but as
living in the royal castle, which was situated in the middle of the city, on the Euphrates.
Inasmuch as the city is taken "from the end" (‫ה‬ֶ‫צ‬ ָ‫קּ‬ ִ‫,)מ‬ i.e., on all sides, the messengers
who bring the news to the king's fortress must meet each other.
CALVIN, "This also was fulfilled according to the testimony of heathen authors, as
well as of Daniel. They do not indeed repeat these words, but according to the whole
tenor of history we may easily conclude that messengers ran here and there, for the
Babylonians never thought that the enemy could so suddenly penetrate into the city,
for there was no entrance. We have seen how high the walls were, for there were no
muskets then, and the walls could not have been beaten down. There were indeed
battering-rams; but what was the breadth of the walls? even fifty feet, as already
stated, so that four horses abreast could pass without coming into contact. There
was then no battering-ram that could throw down walls so thick. As to the fords, the
109

110. thing seemed incredible; so that they kept a feast in perfect security. In such an
irruption, what our Prophet testifies here must have necessarily happened. But it is
quite evident that he was the instrument of the Holy Spirit; for Cyrus was not as yet
born when this prophecy was announced. We hence then know, that the holy man
was guided from above, and that what he said was not produced in his own head,
but was really celestial; for he could not have divined any such thing, nor was it
through probable conjecture that he was able thus to speak and lead the Jews, as it
were, into the very scene itself.
Nor is there a doubt but that this authority was afterwards confirmed when the
fathers told their children, “So have we heard from the mouth of the Prophet what
we now see with our eyes; and yet no man could have conjectured any such thing,
nor have discovered it by reason or clearsightedness: hence Jeremiah must have
necessarily been taught by the Spirit of God.” This, then, is the reason why God
designed that the destruction of Babylon should be, as we see, so graphically
described.
He then says, A runner ran to meet a runner, and then, a messenger to meet a
messenger, to tell the king of Babylon that his city was taken at its extremity ? (93)
Had this been said of a small city, it might have appeared ridiculous: why are these
runners? one might say. But it has been sufficiently shown, that so extensive was
that city, that runners, passing through many fields, might have come to the king,
and convey the news that the city was taken at one of its extremities. And heathen
writers cannot sufficiently eulogize the contrivance and skill of Cyrus, that, he thus
took possession of so great a city; for he might have only secured one half of it, and
Belshazzar might have retained the other half, and might have bravely contested
with Cyrus and all his forces; and he would have no doubt overcome him, had it not
been for the wonderful and unusual expedition of Cyrus. This haste, then, or
expedition of Cyrus, is what the Prophet now sets forth, when he says that
messengers ran to the king to tell him that the city was taken He now adds,
respecting other things, what no one could have divined, —
COKE, “Verse 31-32
Jeremiah 51:31-32. One post shall run to meet another— As Babylon was taken by
surprise, this occasioned many messengers to run one after another, to acquaint the
king with this sudden and unexpected event. Herodotus says, that the extreme parts
of the city were taken before those who lived in the centre were sensible of the
danger. The beauty and sublimity of this passage, which describes this event as
immediately before our eyes, is lost by our translation. Houbigant renders the 30th
and these verses in the present tense, which gives the passage its due force; and he
omits the connecting particles, which greatly augments its energy, Jeremiah 51:31.
Courier comes to meet courier,—messenger meets messenger,—to inform the king
of Babylon that his city is taken at one side, Jeremiah 51:32. That the passages are
stopped [or surprised; see Jeremiah 51:41.]—That fires are burning among the
reeds—that the men of war are terrified.
110

111. TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to
meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at [one] end,
Ver. 31. One post shall run to meet another.] Observe how punctually all things
were foretold in the several circumstances more than fifty years before.
At one end,] sc., Where Euphrates had run, till diverted and dried up by Cyrus. See
on Jeremiah 50:38.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:31-32
“One post will 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 (literally ‘pools’) they have burned with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.”
The Babylonian system of postal runners was a marvel of the age, as one runner
passed messages on to the next one in relays until they reached their destination. In
this case the system was used for the purpose of getting the news of the fall of
Babylon to ‘the king of Babylon’. This may have been to Belshazzar as he feasted
with his lords in Babylon (crown prince but called king), or to Nabonidus, the king
of Babylon, in his Arabian retreat. He quickly learned that every quarter in the city
had fallen, and that the ways and ferries over the Euphrates, which joined two parts
of the city together, had been seized. Furthermore he learned that the vegetation,
(and possibly the boats and other structures), growing in the ‘pools’ around the city
had been set on fire, in order to bring out the fugitives hiding there, and that his
own soldiers were terrified, as well they might be, for they would expect the Persian
soldiery to treat them as they would have treated others. The whole emphasis is on
the demoralisation of the Babylonian defenders.
PULPIT, “One post shall run to meet another, etc. The wall being broken through
at various points, couriers would meet each other on their way to the royal palace.
This was itself a fortress in the centre of the city, on the Euphrates. The newly
discovered cylinder inscription, however, shows that Nabonidus, the last King of
Babylon, was not actually in the city at the time of the capture. At one end; rather,
from end to end (see on Jeremiah 50:26).
111

112. 32 the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the soldiers terrified.”
BARNES, "The passages are stopped - The ferries are seized, occupied. The
historians state that when Cyrus captured the city his troops moved down the bed of the
river and occupied all these ferries, finding at each of them the gates negligently left
open. See the Dan_5:1 note.
The reeds - literally, the marshes or pools, which formed an important part of the
defenses of Babylon, were dried up as completely as a piece of wood would be consumed
by fire.
CLARKE, "That the passages are stopped - Either the bridges or slips for boats,
by which the inhabitants passed from one side to the other, and may mean the principal
gates or passes in the city, which the victorious army would immediately seize, that they
might prevent all communication between the inhabitants.
The reeds they have burned with fire - What this means I cannot tell, unless it
refer to something done after the taking of the city. Setting fire to the reeds in the
marshy ground, in order the better to clear the places, and give a freer passage to the
water, that it may neither stagnate nor turn the solid ground into a marsh. Dr. Blayney
thinks it refers to the firing of the houses, in order to throw the inhabitants into the
greater confusion; but no historian makes any mention of burning the city, except what
is said Jer_51:30, “They have burned her dwelling places;” and this may be a poetical
expression. That they burnt nothing before they took the city must be evident from the
circumstance of their taking the city by surprise, in the night time, with the greatest
secrecy. Still there might have been some gates, barricadoes, or wooden works, serving
for barracks or such like, which obstructed some of the great passages, which, when they
had entered, they were obliged to burn, in order to get themselves a ready passage
through the city. This is the more likely because this burning of reeds is connected with
the stopping of the passages, burning the dwelling places, and breaking the bars.
GILL, "And that the passages are stopped,.... Or "taken", or "seized" (o); where
Cyrus placed soldiers to keep them; these were the passages leading from the river
Euphrates to the city, the keys of it; the little gates, that Herodotus (p) speaks of, leading
to the river, which were left open that night. Kimchi thinks the towers built by the river
112

113. side, to keep the enemy out, that should attempt to enter, are meant; these were now in
his hands;
and the reeds they have burnt with fire; which grew upon the banks of the river,
and in the marshes adjoining to it. Some render it, "the marshes" (q); that is, the reeds
and bulrushes in them, which usually grow in such places. And Herodotus (r) makes
mention of a marsh Cyrus came to; the reeds in it he burnt, having many torches, with
which he might set fire to them; as he proposed with them to burn the houses, doors,
and porches (s); either to make way for his army, which might hinder the march of it; or
to give light, that they might see their way into the city the better: though some think it
was to terrify the inhabitants; which seems not so likely, since he marched up to the
royal palace with great secrecy. This circumstance is mentioned, to show the certainty of
the enemy's entrance, and the taking of part of the city. R. Jonah, from the Arabic
language, in which the word (t) here used signifies "fortresses", so renders it here;
and the men of war are affrighted; and so fled, and left the passes, towers, and
fortresses, which fell into the hands of Cyrus, as soon as they perceived his army was
come up the channel and was landed, and the reeds were burnt.
JAMISON, "passages are stopped — The guarded fords of the Euphrates are
occupied by the enemy (see on Jer_50:38).
reeds ... burned — literally, “the marsh.” After draining off the river, Cyrus “burned”
the stockade of dense tree-like “reeds” on its banks, forming the outworks of the city’s
fortifications. The burning of these would give the appearance of the marsh or river itself
being on “fire.”
K&D, "Permits of being taken as a continuation of the message brought to the king.
‫ת‬ ‫ר‬ ָ‫בּ‬ ְ‫ע‬ ַ‫,מ‬ "crossing-places," do not here mean "fords" (Jdg_3:28); for such shallow
places, where one could go through the river, are not to be found in the Euphrates. at
Babylon: they mean bridges and ferries, because, in addition to the stone bridge built by
Nebuchadnezzar (Herodotus, i. 186; see Duncker's Geschichte, i. S. 859), there must also
have been at Babylon, throughout its large extent, other means of crossing, either by
bridges of boats or ferries. ‫שׁוּ‬ָ‫פּ‬ ְ‫ת‬ִ‫,נ‬ "they have been taken," seized by the enemy; cf. Jer_
48:41. ‫ים‬ ִ‫ַמּ‬‫ג‬ֲ‫א‬ are ponds and artificial lakes which had been formed for the protection of
the city, of the waters of the Euphrates (Herodotus, i. 185; Arrian. Jer_7:17); these "they
have burned with fire." Inasmuch as a burning of ponds is an impossibility, many, with
Kimchi, would understand ‫אגמים‬ of the reeds of the marshes. But the word has no such
meaning; moreover, even if it had, the burning of the reeds would have no significance
for the taking of the city. Others think of the sluices and the enclosures of the artificial
waters, which enclosures were constructed of wood-work; but apart from the basin of
water at Sepharvaim, which could be opened by sluices, the enclosure of the ponds with
wood-work is a matter of much doubt, and a burning of the wood-work is not a burning
of the ponds. The expression, as Calvin long ago remarked, is hyperbolic, and not to be
pressed: Propheta hyperbolice ostendit, siccata fuisse vada Euphratis ac si quis lignum
exureret igni supposito; hoc quidem aquis non convenit, sed hyperbolice melius
113

114. exprimit miraculum. On the whole, the picture is not to be taken as a description of the
historical circumstances connected with the taking of Babylon by Cyrus; neither,
therefore, is the burning of the ponds to be referred to the fact that the bed of the
Euphrates was made dry through diversion of the stream (Herodotus, i. 191); but we
have here a poetic colouring given to the thought that all Babylon's means of offence and
defence will fall into the power of the enemy and be destroyed by them. For (according
to the reason assigned in Jer_51:33 for what has been described) the Almighty God of
Israel has decreed the destruction of Babylon. "The daughter of Babylon (i.e., not merely
the city, but the kingdom of Babylon) is like a threshing-floor at the time when they
tread it," i.e., stamp on it, make the ground into a threshing-floor by treading it hard.
(Note: "The threshing-floor is an open spot in the field, carefully levelled and
cleared from stones, etc., that the grain may be spread out on it for threshing." -
Paulsen, Ackerbau der Morgenl. S. 123. "A level spot is selected for the threshing-
floors, which are then constructed near each other, of a circular form, perhaps fifty
feet in diameter, merely by beating the earth hard." - Robinson's Pal. ii. 227.)
‫הּ‬ָ‫יכ‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫ד‬ ִ‫ה‬ might be the infinitive (Ewald, §238, d): it is simpler, however, to take it as a
perfect, and supply the relative ‫ר‬ֶ‫ֲשׁ‬‫א‬. The meaning is, that Babylon is ripe for judgment.
‫ד‬ ‫ע‬ ‫ט‬ַ‫ע‬ ְ‫,מ‬ "yet a little while" (i.e., soon), comes the time of harvest, so that the grain will
be threshed, i.e., the judgment will be executed. The figure reminds us of Isa_21:10, cf.
Joe_3:13, Mic_4:13, etc.
CALVIN, "This verse most clearly proves that Jeremiah was God’s herald, and that
his language was under the guidance of the celestial Spirit; for he sets forth the
manner in which Babylon was taken, as though he had witnessed it with his own
eyes.
He says that the fords were taken, and that the pools were burnt with fire. We do
not read that Cyrus had made use of fire; and some render pools, reeds, but there is
no reason to constrain us so to render the word; for the Prophet speaks
metaphorically. Their object was to give a literal rendering, by saying that reeds
were burnt; but the Prophet shows, speaking hyperbolically, that the fords of the
Euphrates were dried up, as though one burned wood by applying fire to it. This,
indeed, is not suitable to water; but he, by a hyperbole, expresses more fully the
miracle which might have otherwise exceeded human comprehension. He then says,
that the fords were dried up, and then adds, that the pools were burnt. The same
thing is expressed twice, but in a different way; and as I have already said, he states
hyperbolically, that such was the skill of Cyrus and his army, that he made dry the
fords and the pools, as though one collected a large heap of wood and consumed it
with fire. (94) We now perceive the design of the Prophet.
He afterwards adds, that the men of war were broken in pieces For though the fords
were made dry, that is, the streams which were drawn from the Euphrates, vet. the
guards of the city might have still kept possession of a part of it, and have manfully
resisted, so as to prevent the soldiers of Cyrus from advancing farther; but the city
114

115. was so craftily taken, that the Babylonians were so terrified as not to dare to raise
up a finger, when yet they might have defended a part of the city, though one part of
it was taken.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they
have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
Ver. 32. And that the passages are stopped.] Or, Taken, seized, surprised. {as
Jeremiah 48:41}
And the reeds.] Or, Marshes, made by Euphrates overflowing. It is well observed
that the Babylonians might by this prophecy have been forewarned and forearmed
against Cyrus’s stratagem; but they slighted it, and never inquired after it likely.
PULPIT, “And that the passages are stopped; rather, are seized (as Jeremiah
48:41). Babylon, it should be remembered, was divided nearly in half by the
Euphrates. It was guarded, says Professor Rawlinson, "by two walls of brick, which
skirted them along their whole length. In each of these walls were twenty-five gates,
corresponding to the number of the streets which gave upon the river; and outside
each gate was a sloped landing place, by which you could descend to the water's
edge, if you had occasion to cross the river. Boats were kept ready at these landing
places to convey passengers from side to side; while for those who disliked this
method of conveyance, a bridge was provided of a somewhat peculiar construction"
('Ancient Monarchies,' 2.514). The reeds they have burned with fire. This rendering
is no doubt tenable, though it gives an unusual meaning to the first noun. The
"reeds" would be those of the marshes in the neighbourhood of Babylon; and
Kimchi suggests that these would be cut down to facilitate the entrance of the army
into the city, Surely a very forced explanation. The natural meaning of the first
noun is "pools" or "lakes," and, considering that Herodotus (1.185) speaks of a lake
in connection with the defences of Babylon, it has been thought (e.g. by Vitringa)
that the prophet may refer to something which was to happen to this and similar
lakes; "burned with fire" is then regarded as a hyperbolical expression equivalent
to "dried up" (comp. Jeremiah 51:36). This, however, is hardly less forced than the
first interpretation; and we seem almost compelled to assume s corruption of the
text, and to read (for 'agammı̄n) 'armōnı̄m, palaces. If "palaces" (i.e. lofty houses,
for such is the etymological meaning) were not uncommon at Jerusalem (Isaiah
32:14), much more frequent must they have been at Babylon, Or perhaps the
prophet refers to the two magnificent royal palaces, which, together with the temple
of Bel, constituted the wonders of Babylon. They were on opposite sides of the river,
and were guarded with triple enclosures, the circumference in the one case
amounting to sixty stadia (nearly seven miles), and in the other to thirty (Rawlinson,
'Ancient Monarchies,' 2.514, etc.).
115

116. 33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says:
“Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest her will soon come.”
BARNES, "Translate, “The daughter of Babylon is as a threshing-floor at the time
when it is trampled,” i. e., trodden hard in readiness for the threshing: “yet a little while
and the harvest-time” shall come to her, i. e., overtake her. In the East, the grain when
reaped is carried at once to the threshing-floor, a level spot carefully prepared
beforehand, usually about 50 feet in diameter, and trampled hard. The grain after it has
been beaten out by a sledge drawn over it by oxen is separated from the chaff and stored
up in granaries.
CLARKE, "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor - The threshing
wheel is gone over her; she is trodden under foot.
GILL, "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... "The Lord of
hosts", the Lord God omnipotent, and can do all things; "the God of Israel", and
therefore will plead their cause, and take vengeance on Babylon:
the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor; on which the nations of the
earth had been threshed, or punished and destroyed; and now she was like a threshing
floor, unto which should be gathered, and on which should be laid, her king, princes,
and the people of the land, and be there beat and crushed to pieces. The Targum renders
it the congregation of Babylon; and the Septuagint the houses of the king of Babylon; so
the Arabic version:
it is time to thresh her; not the floor, but the sheaves on it: or, "it is the time to tread
her" (u); as corn was trodden out by the oxen; or rather as threshing floors, being new
laid with earth, were trodden, and so made hard and even, and by that means prepared
for threshing against the harvest; when the corn would be ripe, cut down, and gathered
in, and laid up, as follows:
116

117. yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come; when she would be
ripe for ruin, and God would, by his instruments, put in the sickle of his wrath, and cut
her down, her king, her princes, her cities, and her people; see Rev_14:15. The Targum
is,
"and yet a very little while, and spoilers shall come to her.''
JAMISON, "like a threshing-floor, it is time to thresh her — rather, “like a
threshing-floor at the time of threshing,” or “at the time when it is trodden.” The
treading, or threshing, here put before the harvest, out of the natural order, because the
prominent thought is the treading down or destruction of Babylon. In the East the
treading out of the corn took place only at harvest-time. Babylon is like a threshing-floor
not trodden for a long time; but the time of harvest, when her citizens shall be trodden
under foot, shall come [Calvin]. “Like a threshing-floor full of corn, so is Babylon now
full of riches, but the time of harvest shall come, when all her prosperity shall be cut off”
[Ludovicus De Dieu]. Grotius distinguishes the “harvest” from the “threshing”; the
former is the slaying of her citizens, the latter the pillaging and destruction of the city
(compare Joe_3:13; Rev_14:15, Rev_14:18).
CALVIN, "BY this similitude the Prophet confirms what he had before said, even
that God would be the avenger of his Church, and would justly punish the
Babylonians, but at the suitable time, which is usually called in Scripture the time of
visitation, He then compares Babylon to a threshing-floor, not indeed in the sense
which interpreters have imagined, but because the threshing-floor only serves for
the time of harvest, and is afterwards closed up and not used. Babylon, then, had
been for a long time like a threshing-floor, because there had been no treading
there, that is, no noise or shouting. But God declares that the time of harvest would
come, when the threshing-floor would be used. Oxen did then tread the corn; for the
corn was not beaten out with flails, as with us and in most places in France, though
the inhabitants of Provence still use the treading. In Judea they tread out the corn
on floors, and oxen were used for the purpose. Now, the reason for the similitude
seems evident; for the time would come when God would smite Babylon, as oxen
after harvest tread out with their feet the corn on the threshing-floor, which for the
rest of the year is not wanted, but remains closed up and quiet. Hence I have said
that what we have before seen as to the time of visitation is confirmed; for it was
strange at the first view to promise deliverance to the Jews, while yet Babylon was
increasing more and more and extending the limits of its monarchy. (Isaiah 28:24.)
God shows in that passage that it was no matter of wonder if he did not daily
exercise his judgments in an equal degree; and he bids us to consider how
husbandmen act, for they do not sow at the same time wheat and barley and other
kinds of grain; nor do they always plough, or always reap, but wait for seasonable
times. “Since, then, husbandmen are endowed with so much care and foresight as I
have taught them, why may not I also have my times rightly distributed, so that
there may be now the harvest, and then the treading or threshing? and should I not
at one time sow wheat, and at another cumin?” for the Prophet adds these several
117

118. sorts. The same is the mode of reasoning in this place, though the Prophet speaks
more briefly.
He then says that Babylon would be like a threshing-foor, and how? because it had
been as a place closed up and wholly quiet; for God had spared the Chaldeans, and,
as we shall hereafter see, they had been so inebriated with pleasures that they feared
no danger.
And then immediately he explains himself, — it is time to tread or thresh her. Then
Babylon became like a threshing-fioor, for she had not been trodden or threshed for
a long time, as the threshing-floor is not used for nine or ten months through the
whole year. But he adds, yet a little while, and come will her harvest
We learn from this and other passages that treading or threshing was in use among
the Jews and other eastern nations only during harvest. In other places, corn is
often kept in the ears for five and six years. Some thresh the corn after six, or eight,
or nine months, as it suits their convenience. But there are many countries where
the corn is immediately threshed; it is not stored up, but is immediately conveyed to
the threshing-floor, and there it is trodden by oxen or threshed with flails. As then it
was usual immediately to tread the corn, hence God declares that the time of harvest
would come when Babylon would be trodden, as the threshing-floor is trodden after
harvest. (95)
We must observe that a little while is not to be understood according to the notions
of men; for though God suspends his judgments, he yet never delays beyond the
time; on the contrary, he performs his work with all due celerity The Prophet
Haggai says,
“Yet a little while, and I will shake the heaven and the earth.”
(Haggai 2:7)
But this was not fulfilled till many years after. But we must remember what is in
Habakkuk, —
“If the vision delays, wait for it, for it will come
and will not be slow.” (Habakkuk 2:5)
He says that prophecies delay, that is, according to the judgment of men, who make
too much haste, and are even carried away headlong by their own desires. But God
performs his work with sufficient celerity, provided we allow him to arrange the
times according to his own will, as it is just and right for us to do. Whenever, then,
the ungodly enjoy ease and securely indulge themselves, let this fact come to our
own minds, that the threshing-floor is not always trodden, but that the time of
harvest will come whenever it pleases God. This is the use we ought to make of what
is here said. It follows, —
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119. 33.For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Babylon shall be like a
threshing-floor; Come shall the time of threshing her; Yet a little while, and come to
her shall the time of harvest.
The order as to the threshing and harvest is similar to what is often found in the
prophets, — the last thing, being the main thing, is mentioned first, and then what
precedes or leads to it. — Ed.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The
daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshingfloor, [it is] time to thresh her: yet a little
while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
Ver. 33. The daughter of Babylon.] Proud of her wealth and strength, as young
maids many are of their beauty.
And the time of her harvest shall come.] When God shall put in his sickle, and cut
her down, being ripe and ready. See Revelation 14:16, Genesis 15:16.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:33
“For thus says YHWH 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 will come for her.”
For the truth was that Babylon’s time had come. It would be trodden down like a
threshing floor at the time when the grain was trodden down, at the time of harvest,
a harvest which was to come for Babylon in ‘a little while’. And this was the
declaration of YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel. For He was repairing the damage
done to His people.
34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has
devoured us,
he has thrown us into confusion,
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120. he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed us out.
BARNES, "Literally, “Nebuchadrezzar ... hath devoured us, hath crushed us, he hath
set as aside as an empty vessel, he hath swallowed as like a crocodile, he hath filled his
maw with my delicacies Gen_49:20, he hath cast us out. My wrong and my flesh be upon
Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say: and my blood be etc.” Nebuchadnezzar had
devoured Jerusalem, had treated her as ruthlessly as a crocodile does its prey, and for
this cruelty he and Babylon are justly to be punished.
CLARKE, "Nebuchadrezzar - hath devoured me - These are the words of
Judea; he has taken away all my riches.
He hath cast me out - He shall vomit all up; i.e., they shall be regained.
GILL, "Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me,.... Or "us" (w);
everyone of us: these are the words of Zion and Jerusalem, as appears from Jer_51:35;
complaining of the injuries done them by the king of Babylon, who had eaten them up;
spoiled their substance, as the Targum; took their cities, plundered them of their riches,
and carried them away captive:
he hath crushed me; to the earth; or "bruised" or "broken", even all her bones; see
Jer_50:17;
he hath made me an empty vessel; emptied the land of its inhabitants and riches,
and left nothing valuable in it:
he hath swallowed me up like a dragon; or "whale", or any large fish, which
swallow the lesser ones whole. The allusion is to the large swallow of dragons, which is
sometimes represented as almost beyond all belief; for not only Pliny (x) from
Megasthenes reports, that, in India, serpents, that is, dragons, grow to such a bulk, that
they will swallow whole deer, and even bulls; but Posidonius (y) relates, that in
Coelesyria was one, whose gaping jaws would admit of a horse and his rider: and
Onesicritus (z) speaks of two dragons in the country of Abisarus in India; the one was
fourscore and the other a hundred and forty cubits long;
he hath filled his belly with my delicates; with the treasures of the king and his
120

121. nobles; with the vessels of the temple, and the riches of the people, which he loaded
himself with to his full satisfaction. So the Targum,
"he filled his treasury with the good of my land;''
he hath cast me out; out of my land, and carried me captive; so the Targum.
JAMISON, "me — Zion speaks. Her groans are what bring down retribution in kind
on Babylon (Jer_50:17; Psa_102:13, Psa_102:17, Psa_102:20).
empty vessel — He has drained me out.
dragon — The serpent often “swallows” its prey whole; or a sea monster [Grotius].
filled his belly ... cast me out — like a beast, which, having “filled” himself to
satiety, “casts out” the rest [Calvin]. After filling all his storehouses with my goods, he
has cast me out of this land [Grotius].
K&D, "This judgment comes on Babylon for its offences against Israel. The king of
Babylon has devoured Israel, etc. Those who complain, in Jer_51:34, are the inhabitants
of Judah and Jerusalem, in whose name the prophet enumerates the crimes of Babylon.
"Nebuchadnezzar has devoured us," i.e., oppressed us. The plural suffixes to the verbs
have been needlessly changed in the Qeri into singulars, for the simple reason, perhaps,
that with ‫ַי‬‫נ‬ ָ‫ֲד‬‫ע‬ ַ‫מ‬ and in Jer_51:35 the address makes a transition into the singular. ‫ם‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫ה‬
signifies to throw enemies into confusion by causing a panic, for the purpose of
destroying them; hence to destroy, see on Deu_2:15; here to destroy, crush. "He set us
down like an empty vessel" refers to the country and the people; he has swept the
country of human beings, and robbed the people of everything. ‫ין‬ִ‫נּ‬ ַ‫,תּ‬ usually a sea-
monster, crocodile (Isa_27:1; Isa_51:9, etc.); here a beast of prey which devours
everything. ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ‫ֲד‬‫ע‬ ַ‫,מ‬ "delights," then "dainty meats," Gen_49:20.
(Note: The form actually found in the Masoretic text is ‫ָי‬‫נ‬ ָ‫ֲד‬‫ע‬ ֵ‫,מ‬ "from (out of, with)
my dainties." - Tr.)
ַ‫יח‬ ִ‫ד‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ from ַ‫,דּוּח‬ signifies to wash away, push away (see Delitzsch on Isa_4:4); in other
places Jeremiah uses ַ‫יח‬ ִ‫דּ‬ ִ‫,ה‬ Jer_8:3; Jer_16:15, etc. "Let my wrong (i.e., the wrong done
me) come upon Babylon." This wrong is more fully specified, with reference to the figure
of swallowing, by "my flesh and blood;" cf. Mic_3:3. The Lord will avenge this wrong,
Jer_51:36, cf. Jer_50:34; Jer_51:6, Jer_51:11; He will also dry up the sea of Babylon,
and make her spring dry up. Many expositors understand these latter words
metaphorically, as referring to the sea of nations surging in Babylon (Jer_51:42, Jer_
51:55), and view the treasures and riches as the fountain from which the sea of nations
sprang up (Hitzig); but the context demands a literal interpretation, inasmuch as in Jer_
51:37 the subject treated of is the laying waste of the country. The sea of Babylon is the
Euphrates, with its canals, lakes, and marshes, i.e., the abundance of water to which
Babylonia owed its fertility, and the city its influence as the centre of the then known
world. Isaiah (Isa_21:1) accordingly calls Babylon, emblematically, the desert of the sea,
inasmuch as the region in which Babylon stands is a plain, broken in such a manner by
the Euphrates, as well as by marshes and lakes, as that the city, so to speak, swims in the
sea (Delitzsch). The source of spring of the sea is the Euphrates, and the drying up of
121

122. this spring is not to be understood literally of the drying up of the Euphrates, but
signifies a drying up of the springs of water that fertilize the country. On the figures
employed in Jer_51:37, cf. Jer_9:10; Jer_18:16; Jer_49:33.
CALVIN, "Here is mentioned the complaint of the chosen people, and this was done
designedly by Jeremiah, in order that the Jews might feel assured that their miseries
were not overlooked by God; for nothing can distress us so much as to think that
God forgets us and disregards the wrongs done to us by the ungodly, hence the
Prophet here sets the Israelites in God’s presence, that they might be convinced in
their own minds that they were not disregarded by God, and that he was not
indifferent to the unjust and cruel treatment they received from their enemies. For
this complaint is made, as though they expostulated with God in his presence.
He then says, Devoured me and broken me in pieces has Nebuchadnezzar, the king
of Babylon (96) The word, to eat, or devour, was enough; but Jeremiah wished to
express something more atrocious by adding the word, to break in pieces; (97) for he
intimates that Babylon had not been like a man who devours meat set before him,
but that she had been a cruel wild beast, who breaks in pieces the very bones. We
now, then, understand the design of the Prophet; he amplifies the savageness of the
king of Babylon, by saying that God’s people had not only been devoured by him as
men swallow down their food, but that they had also been torn in pieces by his teeth,
as though he had been a lion, or a bear, or some other wild animal; for these not
only devour their prey, but also with their teeth break in pieces whatever is harder
than flesh, such as bones.
For the same purpose he adds, He has set me an empty vessel, that is, he has wholly
exhausted me, as when one empties a flagon or a cask. Then he says, he has
swallowed me like a dragon (98) It is a comparison different from the former, but
yet very suitable; for dragons are those who devour a whole animal; and this is what
the Prophet means. Though these comparisons do not in everything agree, yet as to
the main thing they are most appropriate, even to show that God suffered his people
to be devoured, as though they had been exposed to the teeth of a lion or a bear, or
as though they had been a prey to a dragon.
He adds, Filled has he his belly with my delicacies, that is, whatever delicate thing I
had, he has consumed it. He then says, he has cast off the remnants, like wolves and
lions and other wild beasts, who, when they have more prey than what suffices
them, choose what is most savory; for they choose the head of man that they may eat
the brain; they suck the blood, but leave the intestines and whatever they do not
like. So also the Prophet says here of the miserable Jews, that they had been so
devoured that the enemy, having been satiated, had cast. off the remainder. (99)
We hence learn that God’s people had been so exposed to plunder, that the
conqueror was not only satisfied, but cast away here and there what remained; for
122

123. satiety, as it is well known, produces loathsomeness. But the Prophet refers to the
condition of the miserable people; for their wealth had been swallowed up by the
Chaldeans, but their household furniture was plundered by the neighboring
nations; and the men themselves had been driven into exile, so that there came a
disgraceful scattering. They were then scattered into various countries, and some
were left through contempt in the land; thus was fulfilled what is said here, “He has
cast me out,” even because these wild beasts, the Chaldeans, became satiated; meat
was rejected by them, because they could not consume all that was presented to
them.
By these figurative terms, as it has been stated, is set forth the extreme calamity of
the people; and the Prophet no doubt intended to meet such thoughts as might
otherwise have proved very harassing to the Jews. For as they found no end to their
evils, they might have thought that they had been so cast away by God as to become
the most miserable of men. This is the reason why our Prophet anticipates what
might have imbittered the minds of the godly, and even driven them to despair, he
then says, that notwithstanding all the things which had happened, yet God had not
forgotten his people; for all these things were done as in his sight.
With regard to us, were God not only to double the calamities of his Church, but
also to afflict it in an extreme degree, yet what the Prophet says here ought to afford
us aid, even that God’s chosen people were formerly so consumed, that the
remainder was cast away in contempt; for the conqueror, though insatiable, could
not yet consume all that he got as a prey, because his cupidity could not contain it. It
now follows, —
COFFMAN, “"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 Genesis 16:5)."[16]
"I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry ..." (Jeremiah 51:36). This writer
123

124. 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.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:34. Nebuchadrezzar—hath crushed me— This is a pathetic
description of the calamities brought upon the Jews by Nebuchadrezzar and his
forces; who, after devouring the wealth, and laying waste the beauty of their
country, carried them away captives into a strange land. The imprecation in the
following verse is very similar to that in Psalms 137:8.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me,
he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up
like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Ver. 34. Nebuchadnezzar … hath devoured me, he hath crushed me.] A graphical
description of the Babylonian cruelty.
He hath cast me out.] He hath gorged himself with me, and laid up his gorge.
PETT, “Verse 34-35
The Cry Of Jerusalem For Vengeance (Jeremiah 51:34-35).
In these two verses we have the words of ‘the inhabitants of Zion’, the words of
‘Jerusalem’ as they remind God of what Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, had
done to them. Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Temple destroyed and emptied of its
treasures, the choicest of the people carried away into exile, the whole land utterly
devastated. What was more they had watched as their babies’ heads had been
smashed against the walls of their houses, their choicest young women, and even
their older women and wives, had been ceaselessly raped and left for dead, and their
sons had been slaughtered. They were totally distraught.
Jeremiah 51:34-35
“Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me,
He has crushed me,
He has made me an empty vessel,
124

125. He has, like a monster, swallowed me up,
He has filled his maw with my delicacies,
He has cast me out.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,
Will the inhabitant of Zion say,
And, ‘My blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,’
Will Jerusalem say.”
The cry of God’s people that YHWH would see what Nebuchadrezzar had done and
would avenge it on Babylon and Babylonia, is raised to YHWH. It is hugely
descriptive. Nebuchadrezzar is depicted as a fearsome monster who has devoured
them, who has crushed them, who has drained them of all that they had (made them
like an empty vessel), who has swallowed them up, filling himself up on all their
choicest things, and has then cast them away violently as unwanted scraps. And they
pray that Babylon will reap the consequences of what it has done, and that their
blood may be avenged on the whole of Babylonia as it thrived on its ill-gotten gains.
We must recognise that this cry was founded on what they saw as the basis of all
justice, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, neither more nor less. That was
true justice. It was not until the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that the
possibility was mooted that there should be forgiveness, even for such things under
all circumstances, something which He Himself illustrated as He cried out on behalf
of those who had crucified Him, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do’. Justice had been overridden by mercy.
PULPIT, “The Jewish captives are introduced, describing the offences of Babylon.
Hath devoured me; rather, hath devoured us, and so on. "My delicates" (delights),
however, is correct. He hath made me; rather, he hath set us (down) as. Swallowed
me up like a dragon; or, literally, like the dragon. Comparing this with Jeremiah
51:44, it is difficult not to see an allusion to the Babylonian myth of the Serpent, who
in the fight with Marduk (Meredach) devoured the tempest, which rent asunder her
belly. The cuneiform text is given in Transactions of Society of Biblical Archaeology,
vol. 4. part 2, appendix plate 6. Part of it runs thus—
25. ip-te-ra pi-i-sa Ti-amtu a-na la-h-a-h-sa
Opened also her mouth Tiamtu to swallow it.
26. rukhu limnu yus-te-ri-ba a-na la ca-par sap-ti-sa
125

126. The evil wind he caused to enter into the uncovering of her lips [= into her lips
before she could close them]
27. iz-zu-ti rukhi car-sa-sa i-tsa-mi-va
violent (were) the winds (which) her belly filled; and
28. in-ni-kud lib-ba-sa va-pa-a-sa yus-pal-ki (?)
she was pierced in her heart and her mouth it caused to divide.‹je-7›
Readers of Smith's 'Chaldean Genesis' will remember Tiamtu the dragon, and the
representations thereof given from the gems. In line 27 the word rendered "her
belly" contains the Babylonian analogue of the word rendered in this verse "his
belly" (kres). With my delicates, he hath cast me out; rather,… cast us out; or, from
my delights he hath cast as out. For the variation of person, comp. 11:19, "Let us
pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place;" and on the whole phrase,
Micah 2:9, "… ye have cast out from their pleasant homes."
35 May the violence done to our flesh[f] be on
Babylon,”
say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in
Babylonia,”
says Jerusalem.
BARNES, "Literally, “Nebuchadrezzar ... hath devoured us, hath crushed us, he hath
set as aside as an empty vessel, he hath swallowed as like a crocodile, he hath filled his
maw with my delicacies Gen_49:20, he hath cast us out. My wrong and my flesh be upon
Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say: and my blood be etc.” Nebuchadnezzar had
devoured Jerusalem, had treated her as ruthlessly as a crocodile does its prey, and for
this cruelty he and Babylon are justly to be punished.
126

127. CLARKE, "The violence done to me - be upon Babylon, - and my blood
upon the inhabitants of Chaldea - Zion begins to speak, Jer_51:34, and ends with
this verse. The answer of Jehovah begins with the next verse. Though the Chaldeans
have been the instrument of God to punish the Jews, yet in return they, being
themselves exceedingly wicked, shall suffer for all the carnage they have made, and for
all the blood they have shed.
GILL, "The violence done to me, and to my flesh, be upon Babylon,.... That is,
let the injuries done to Zion and her children, be avenged on Babylon; the hurt done to
their persons and families, and the spoiling of their goods, and destruction of their cities,
houses, and substance:
shall the inhabitant of Zion say; by way of imprecation:
and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say; let the
guilt of it be charged upon them, and punishment for it be inflicted on them. The
Targum is,
"the sin of the innocent blood which is shed in me;''
JAMISON, "my flesh — which Nebuchadnezzar hath “devoured” (Jer_51:34). Zion
thus calls her kinsmen (Rom_11:14) slain throughout the country or carried captives to
Babylon [Grotius]. Or, as “my blood” follows, it and “my flesh” constitute the whole
man: Zion, in its totality, its citizens and all its substance, have been a prey to Babylon’s
violence (Psa_137:8).
CALVIN, "Jeremiah goes on with the same subject; for, after having shown that the
calamities of the people were not unknown to God, he now, in an indirect way,
exhorts the faithful to deposit their complaints in the bosom of God, and to apply, or
appeal to him, as their defender. The design, then, of the Prophet is, (after having
explained how grievously the Jews had been afflicted,) to show them that their only
remedy was, to flee to God, and to plead their cause before him.
And this passage is entitled to particular notice, so that we may also learn in
extreme evils, when all things seem hopeless, to discover our evils to God, and thus
to unburden our anxieties in his bosom. For how is it, that sorrow often overwhelms
us, except that we do not follow what God’s Spirit prescribes to us? For it is said in
the Psalms,
“Roll thy cares into God’s bosom, and he will sustain thee, and will not give the
righteous to a perpetual change.”
(Psalms 55:23)
We may, then, by prayer, unburden ourselves, and this is the best remedy: but we
127

128. murmur, and sometimes clamor, or at least we bite and champ the bridle, according
to a common proverb; and, in the meantime, we neglect the chief thing, and what
the Prophet teaches us here.
We ought, then, carefully to mark the design of what is here taught, when it is said,
my violence and my flesh be upon Babylon When he adds, Say will (or let) the
daughter of Sion, he no doubt shows that the faithful have always this consolation in
their extreme calamities, that they can expostulate with God as to their enemies and
their cruelty. Then he says, my plunder or violence; some render it “the plunder of
me,” which is harsh. But the meaning of the Prophet is not ambiguous, for it follows
afterwards, my flesh Then violence was that which was done by enemies. But the
people is here spoken of under the name of a woman, according to what is
commonly done, Let the inhabitress of Sion say, My plunder and my flesh. By the
second word the Prophet shows sufficiently plain what he understood by plunder.
My flesh, he says, (even that which the Chaldeans had devoured and consumed,) be
on Babylon This is of the greatest weight, for by these words he intimates, that
though the Chaldeans thought that they had exercised with impunity their cruelty
towards the Jews, yet their innocent blood cried, and was opposed to them as an
enemy.
To the same purpose he afterwards adds, Let Jerusalem say, My blood is upon the
Chaldeans.
36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“See, I will defend your cause
and avenge you;
I will dry up her sea
and make her springs dry.
BARNES, "Her sea - Probably the great lake dug by Nitocris to receive the waters of
the Euphrates.
Her springs - Her reservoir; the whole system of canals dug Jer_51:13. The wealth of
128

129. Babylonia depended upon irrigation.
CLARKE, "I will dry up her sea - Exhaust all her treasures.
GILL, "Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... In answer to the prayers of the
inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem, imprecating divine vengeance on Babylon:
behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; not by words only,
but by deeds, inflicting punishment on their enemies:
and I will dry up her sea; the confluence of waters about Babylon; the river
Euphrates, the channel of which was drained by Cyrus, by which means he took the city;
and this may figuratively design the abundance of riches and affluence of good things in
Babylon, which should now be taken from her:
and make her springs dry; deprive her of all the necessaries of life; and stop up all
the avenues by which she was supplied with them; and cut off all communication of good
things to her.
JAMISON, "plead ... cause — (Jer_50:34).
sea — the Euphrates (Jer_51:13; Jer_50:38). Compare Isa_19:5, “sea,” that is, the
Nile (Isa_21:1).
CALVIN, "Then follows a clearer explanation, when God promises that he would
be the avenger of his chosen people, and that whatever the Jews had suffered would
be rendered to Babylon: Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will litigate thy
quarrel. By this passage we are taught to present our complaints to God, if we wish
him to undertake our cause; for when we are silent, he will in his turn rest, as he
considers us unworthy of being helped. But if we cry to him, he will doubtless hear
us. Then we must remember the order of things, for the Prophet says on the one
hand, Let Jerusalem cry, let the daughter of Sion say; and on the other hand he
says, Therefore God will come and hear the cry of his people.
He says, first, Behold, I will plead thy cause, and then, I will vindicate or avenge thy
vengeance. These are hard words to Latin ears; but yet they contain more force and
power than if we were to follow the elegance of the Latin tongue. It is then better to
retain the genuine terms than to study neatness too much.
In short, God promises to be the defender of his people, and by using the
demonstrative particle, he doubtless removes every doubt, as though the thing was
now present. We know that more than seventy years had elapsed since God had
spoken thus; for as it has been already stated, it was not after the taking of the city
that Jeremiah prophesied against the Chaldeans: but though God suspended his
judgment and vengeance for seventy years after the destruction of the city, yet this
129

130. was said, Behold, I, as though he brought the faithful to witness the event; and this
was done for the sake of certainty.
Now, we hence learn, that though God humbles his people, and suffers them even to
be overwhelmed with extreme miseries, he will at length become the avenger of all
the wrongs which they may have endured; for what has been said of the destruction
of the people has a reference to us; nay, what is here said, has not been left on
record except for our benefit. And further, let us learn, as I have before reminded
you, to prepare our minds for patience whenever God seems to forsake us. Let us, at
the same time exercise ourselves constantly in prayer, and God will hear our groans
and complaints, and regard our tears.
It is afterwards added, I will make dry her sea; for Babylon, as it has been already
stated, was surrounded by the streams of the Euphrates; and there was no easy
access to it. The Prophet then compares the fortifications of Babylon to a sea and a
fountain. For who would have thought that the Euphrates could be dried up, which
is so large a river, and has none equal to it in all Europe? Even the Danube does not
come up to the largeness of that river. Who then would have thought it possible that
such a river could be made dry, which was like a sea, and its fountain inexhaustible?
God then intimates by these words, that such was his power, that all obstacles would
vanish away, and that he was resolved at the same time to execute his judgment on
the Babylonians. It afterwards follows, —
PETT, “Verses 36-40
YHWH Promises That They Will Be Avenged (Jeremiah 51:36-40).
God acknowledges the justice of their plea, and assures them that He will take
vengeance on their behalf. Evil cannot be allowed to triumph, and therefore
Babylon, that representative of all evil, must reap what she has sown. Babylon must
be destroyed. This is in the end God’s verdict on all that is evil, and we must
remember that to Jeremiah and Israel/Judah Babylon represented all that was anti-
God, with its enforcement of the worship of its own gods and its destruction of
God’s Temple. It had to be destroyed.
Jeremiah 51:36-37
“Therefore thus says YHWH,
Behold, I will plead your cause,
And take vengeance for you,
And I will dry up her sea,
And make her fountain dry,
130

131. And Babylon will become heaps,
A dwelling-place for jackals,
An astonishment, and a hissing,
Without inhabitant.”
YHWH promises that He will take up the cause of His people, first as defending
counsel, and then as the exacter of retribution. He will ‘dry up her (Babylon’s) sea
and make her fountain dry.’ This probably refers to the River Euphrates and all the
multiplicity of channels which had been built for irrigation purposes or for defence
of the city, which would make Babylon look as though it was in the midst of the sea,
especially when the river was at its highest (compare the description of the River
Nile as ‘the sea’ in Isaiah 18:2; Isaiah 19:5). Indeed the rise of the river would often
turn Babylon into a sea as the waters overflowed its banks. But the main idea is that
He will take away the means of her sustenance, dependent at it was on water. And
whilst the Euphrates itself did not dry up as far as we know, certainly all the
channels which were fed from it did cease to exist. Babylon would no longer be
established on waters, and as a consequence it would not survive. Indeed it would
become ‘heaps’, the mounds or ‘tels’ that grew up when a city was destroyed and
nature was left to take its course.
The picture is of a ruined and desolate city, inhabited by jackals, which has become
an astonishment to the world, which would draw in its breath and hiss when it saw
what had happened to great Babylon. That once well populated city would be
deserted. This did not happen as a result of Cyrus’ invasion, for he preserved its
main buildings, but the destruction was completed by Xerxes as a result of later
rebellion, and whilst Alexander the Great planned to restore the city he died before
he could do so. Babylon did therefore finally literally become ‘heaps’. Note how the
same judgment had previously been exacted on Jerusalem (Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah
19:8; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 25:18). What Nebuchadrezzar had done to Jerusalem
would now be done to Babylon (Jeremiah 50:15; Jeremiah 50:29).
PULPIT, “Her sea; i.e. the Euphrates (comp. Isaiah 21:1), or perhaps the lake dug
by Nitocris to receive the waters of the Euphrates, Herod; 1.185 (Payne Smith).
Comp. on "the reeds," Jeremiah 51:32. Her springs, rather, her reservoirs. There
are no springs, remarks Dr. Payne Smith, in the flat alluvial soil of Babylonia. The
Hebrew word makor is used here collectively for the whole system of canals and
reservoirs for the storing of the water.
131

132. 37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,
a place where no one lives.
BARNES, "Heaps - Of rubbish, formed in this case by the decay of the unburned
bricks of which Babylon was built. It is these heaps which have yielded such a large
wealth of historical documents in our own days.
Dragons - Jackals Jer_10:22.
CLARKE, "Without an inhabitant - See Jer_50:39.
GILL, "And Babylon shall become heaps,.... The houses should be demolished,
and the stones lie in heaps one upon another, and become mere rubbish:
a dwelling place for dragons; and other wild and savage creatures. Dragons, as
Aelianus (a) observes, love to live in desert places, and such now Babylon is; it lies in
ruins; and even its palace is so full of scorpions and serpents, as Benjamin of Tudela (b)
says it was in his time, that men durst not enter into it; see Jer_50:39;
an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant; an astonishment to
neighbouring nations, and to all that pass by; who shall hiss at the destruction of it, and
rejoice, there being not so much as a single inhabitant in it; which is its case to this day;
see Jer_50:13.
JAMISON, "(Jer_50:26, Jer_50:39; Rev_18:2).
CALVIN, "He confirms what he had said, that when God raised his hand against
Babylon, such would be its destruction, that the splendor, which before astonished
all nations, would be reduced to nothing. Perish, he says, shall all the wealth of
Babylon — its towers and its walls shall fall, and its people shall disappear; in short,
it shall become heaps of stones, as he said before, that it would become a mountain
of burning. It is then for the same purpose that he now says that it would become
heaps. But we must bear in mind what we observed yesterday, that it would become
such heaps that they would not be fit for corners, that they could not be set in
foundations; for the ruins would be wholly useless as to any new building.
132

133. He says that it would become an astonishment and a hissing Moses also used these
words, when he threatened the people with punishment, in case they transgressed
the law of God. (Deuteronomy 28:37.) But these threatenings extend to all the
ungodly, and the despisers of God. Then God fulfilled as to the Babylonians what he
had denounced by Moses on all the despisers of his law. It then follows, —
38 Her people all roar like young lions,
they growl like lion cubs.
BARNES, "They shall roar together like lions,.... Some understand this of the
Medes and Persians, and the shouts they made at the attacking and taking of Babylon;
but this does not so well agree with that, which seems to have been done in a secret and
silent manner; rather according to the context the Chaldeans are meant, who are
represented as roaring, not through fear of the enemy, and distress by him; for such a
roaring would not be fitly compared to the roaring of a lion; but either this is expressive
of their roaring and revelling at their feast afterwards mentioned, and at which time
their city was taken; or else of the high spirits and rage they were in, and the fierceness
and readiness they showed to give battle to Cyrus, when he first came with his army
against them; and they did unite together, and met him, and roared like lions at him,
and fought with him; but being overcome, their courage cooled; they retired to their city,
and dared not appear more; See Gill on Jer_51:30;
they shall yell as lions' whelps. Jarchi and other Rabbins interpret the word of the
braying of an ass; it signifies to "shake"; and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they
shall shake their hair"; as lions do their manes; and young lions their shaggy hair; and
as blustering bravadoes shake theirs; and so might the Babylonians behave in such a
swaggering way when the Medes and Persians first attacked them.
GILL, "They shall roar together like lions,.... Some understand this of the Medes
and Persians, and the shouts they made at the attacking and taking of Babylon; but this
does not so well agree with that, which seems to have been done in a secret and silent
manner; rather according to the context the Chaldeans are meant, who are represented
as roaring, not through fear of the enemy, and distress by him; for such a roaring would
not be fitly compared to the roaring of a lion; but either this is expressive of their roaring
and revelling at their feast afterwards mentioned, and at which time their city was taken;
or else of the high spirits and rage they were in, and the fierceness and readiness they
showed to give battle to Cyrus, when he first came with his army against them; and they
did unite together, and met him, and roared like lions at him, and fought with him; but
133

134. being overcome, their courage cooled; they retired to their city, and dared not appear
more; See Gill on Jer_51:30;
they shall yell as lions' whelps. Jarchi and other Rabbins interpret the word of the
braying of an ass; it signifies to "shake"; and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they
shall shake their hair"; as lions do their manes; and young lions their shaggy hair; and
as blustering bravadoes shake theirs; and so might the Babylonians behave in such a
swaggering way when the Medes and Persians first attacked them.
JAMISON, "The capture of Babylon was effected on the night of a festival in honor of
its idols.
roar ... yell — The Babylonians were shouting in drunken revelry (compare Dan_
5:4).
K&D, "The inhabitants of Babylon fall; the city perishes with its idols, to the joy of
the whole world. - Jer_51:38. "Together they roar like young lions, they growl like the
whelps of lionesses. Jer_51:39. When they are heated, I will prepare their banquets,
and will make them drunk, that they may exult and sleep an eternal sleep, and not
awake, saith Jahveh. Jer_51:40. I will bring them down like lambs to be slaughtered,
like rams with he-goats. Jer_51:41. How is Sheshach taken, and the praise of the whole
earth seized! How Babylon is become an astonishment among the nations! Jer_51:42.
The sea has gone up over Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves. Jer_
51:43. Her cities have become a desolation, a land of drought, and a steppe, a land
wherein no man dwells, and through which no son of man passes. Jer_51:44. And I will
punish Bel in Babylon, and will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed, and no
longer shall nations go in streams to him: the wall of Babylon also shall fall. Jer_51:45.
Go ye out from the midst of her, my people! and save ye each one his life from the
burning of the wrath of Jahveh. Jer_51:46. And lest your heart be weak, and ye be
afraid because of the report which is heard in the land, and there comes the [= this]
report in the [= this] year, and afterwards in the [= that] year the [= that] report, and
violence, in the land, ruler against ruler. Jer_51:47. Therefore, behold, days are coming
when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall dry up,
(Note: Rather, "shall be ashamed;" see note at foot of p. 311. - Tr.)
and all her slain ones shall fall in her midst. Jer_51:48. And heaven and earth, and all
that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon: for the destroyers shall come to her
from the north, saith Jahveh. Jer_51:49. As Babylon sought that slain ones of Israel
should fall, so there fall, in behalf of Babylon, slain ones of the whole earth."
This avenging judgment shall come on the inhabitants of Babylon in the midst of their
revelry. Jer_51:38. They roar and growl like young lions over their prey; cf. Jer_2:15;
Amo_3:4. When, in their revelries, they will be heated over their prey, the Lord will
prepare for them a banquet by which they shall become intoxicated, so that they sink
down, exulting (i.e., staggering while they shout), into an eternal sleep of death. ‫ם‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֻ‫,ח‬
"their heat," or heating, is the glow felt in gluttony and revelry, cf. Hos_7:4., not
specially the result or effect of a drinking-bout; and the idea is not that, when they
become heated through a banquet, then the Lord will prepare another one for them, but
134

135. merely this, that in the midst of their revelry the Lord will prepare for them the meal
they deserve, viz., give them the cup of wrath to drink, so that they may fall down
intoxicated into eternal sleep, from which they no more awake. These words are
certainly not a special prediction of the fact mentioned by Herodotus (i. 191) and
Xenophon (Cyrop. vii. 23), that Cyrus took Babylon while the Babylonians were
celebrating a feast and holding a banquet; they are merely a figurative dress given to the
thought that the inhabitants of Babylon will be surprised by the judgment of death in the
midst of their riotous enjoyment of the riches and treasure taken as spoil from the
nations. In that fact, however, this utterance has received a fulfilment which manifestly
confirms the infallibility of the word of God. In Jer_51:40, what has been said is
confirmed by another figure; cf. Jer_48:5 and Jer_50:27. Lambs, rams, goats, are
emblems of all the classes of the people of Israel; cf. Isa_34:6; Eze_39:18.
CALVIN, "Here, by another figure, Jeremiah expresses what he had said of the
destruction of Babylon, even that in the middle of the slaughter, they would have no
strength to resist: they would, at the same time, perish amidst great confusion; and
thus he anticipates what might have been advanced against his prophecy. For the
Babylonians had been superior to all other nations; how then could it be, that a
power so invincible should perish? Though they were as lions, says the Prophet, yet
that would avail nothing; they will indeed roar, but roaring will be of no service to
them; they will roar as the whelps of lions, but still they will perish.
We now, then, understand the object of this comparison, even that the superior
power by which the Babylonians had terrified all men would avail them nothing, for
nothing would remain for them in their calamity except roaring. (100) It follows, —
Together as young lions shall they roar. And rouse themselves as whelps of lionesses.
There is a ‫ו‬ wanting before the last verb, which is supplied by the Vulg. , Syr. , and
the Targ. ; and it is rendered necessary by the tense of the verb. — Ed
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:38-40
“They will roar together like young lions,
They will growl as lions’ whelps,
When they are heated, I will make their feast,
And I will make them drunk,
That they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep,
And not wake,
135

136. The word of YHWH,
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
Like rams along with he-goats.”
In vivid terminology YHWH describes the demise of the leading citizens of Babylon.
They will roar together like young lions (compare Amos 3:4), prowling around and
feasting, having made a prey of nations, until they are fully ‘heated’ in their pride.
Then YHWH will make a feast for them, resulting in more drinking, leading on to
drunkenness, as they drank of the cup of YHWH’s wrath (Jeremiah 25:15-28, and
note that Sheshach in Jeremiah 51:26 = Babylon). Then in their drunken revelry
death would come suddenly to them, and they would sleep a perpetual sleep and not
awake. It is no doubt intended ironically that Babylon will drink of her own golden
cup (Jeremiah 51:7). We could have no better description of the feast to which
Belshazzar called for a thousand of his lords, a feast which ended in death as the
city was taken (Daniel 5). Herodotus confirms that on the night of the taking of
Babylon the city was engaged in feasting and revelry. Thus the roaring young lions
would become as lambs, rams and he-goats to the slaughter.
39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,
so that they shout with laughter—
then sleep forever and not awake,”
declares the Lord.
BARNES, "In their heat ... - While, like so many young lions, they are in the full
glow of excitement over their prey, God prepares for them a drinking-bout to end in the
sleep of death. Compare Dan_5:1.
CLARKE, "In their heat I will make their feasts - It was on the night of a feast
day, while their hearts were heated with wine and revelry, that Babylon was taken; see
Dan_5:1-3. This feast was held in honor of the goddess Sheshach, (or perhaps of Bel),
136

137. who is mentioned, Jer_51:41, as being taken with her worshippers. As it was in the night
the city was taken, many had retired to rest, and never awoke; slain in their beds, they
slept a perpetual sleep.
GILL, "In their heat I will make their feasts,.... I will order it that their feasts shall
be id the time of heat, that so they may be made drunk; so Jarchi: or when they are hot
with feasting, I will disturb their feast by a handwriting on the wall; so Kimchi; see Dan_
5:1; to which he directs: or when they are inflamed with wine, I will put something into
their banquets, into their cups; I will mingle their potions with the wine of my wrath;
and, while they are feasting, ruin shall come upon them; and so it was, according to
Herodotus and Xenophon, that the city of Babylon was taken, while the inhabitants were
feasting; and this account agrees with Dan_5:1. This text is quoted in the Talmud (c),
where the gloss on it says,
"this is said concerning Belshazzar and his company, when they returned from a battle
with Darius and Cyrus, who besieged Babylon, and Belshazzar overcame that day; and
they were weary and hot, and sat down to drink, and were drunken, and on that day he
was slain;''
and the Targum is,
"I will bring tribulation upon them:''
and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice; in a riotous and revelling
way; or that they may be mad and tremble, as R. Jonah, from the use of the word (d) in
the Arabic language, interprets it; so drunken men are oftentimes like mad men,
deprived of their senses, and their limbs tremble through the strength of liquor; and
here it signifies, that the Chaldeans should be so intoxicated with the cup of divine wrath
and vengeance, that they should be at their wits' end; in the utmost horror and
trembling; not able to stand, or defend themselves; and so the Targum,
"they shall be like drunken men, that they may not be strong;''
but as weak as they:
and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord; not only fall asleep as
drunken men do, and awake again; but sleep, and never awake more; or die, and not live
again, until the resurrection morn; no doubt many of the Chaldeans, being in a literal
sense drunk and asleep when the city was taken, were slain in their sleep, and never
waked again. The Targum is,
"and die the second death, and not live in the world to come;''
see Rev_21:8.
JAMISON, "In their heat I will make their feasts — In the midst of their being
heated with wine, I will give them “their” potions, - a very different cup to drink, but one
which is their due, the wine cup of My stupefying wrath (Jer_25:15; Jer_49:12; Isa_
137

138. 51:17; Lam_4:21).
rejoice, and sleep ... perpetual, etc. — that they may exult, and in the midst of
their jubilant exultation sleep the sleep of death (Jer_51:57; Isa_21:4, Isa_21:5).
CALVIN, "Here, also, he describes the manner in which Babylon was taken. And
hence we learn, that the Prophet did not speak darkly or ambiguously, but so
showed, as it were by the finger, the judgment of God, that the prophecy might be
known by posterity, in order that they might understand that God’s Spirit had
revealed these things by the mouth of the Prophet: for no mortal, had he been a
hundred times endowed with the spirit of divination, could ever have thus clearly
expressed a thing unknown. But as nothing is past or future with God, he thus
plainly spoke of the destruction of Babylon by his Prophet, that posterity, confirmed
by the event, might acknowledge him to have been, of a certainty, the instrument of
the Holy Spirit. And Daniel afterwards sealed the prophecy of Jeremiah, when he
historically related what had taken place; nay, God extorted from heathen writers a
confession, so that they became witnesses to the truth of prophecy. Though
Xenophon was not, indeed, by design a witness to Jeremiah, yet that unprincipled
writer, whose object was flattery, did, notwithstanding, render service for God, and
sealed, by a public testimony, what had been divinely predicted by Jeremiah.
In their heat, he says, I will make their feasts, that is, I will make them hot in their
feasts; for when the king of Babylon was drunk, he was slain, together with his
princes and counselors. I will inebriate them that they may exult, that is, that they
may become wanton. This refers to their sottishness, for they thought that they
should be always safe, and ridiculed Cyrus for suffering so many hardships. For he
lived in tents, and the siege had been now long, and there was no want in the city.
Thus, then, their wantonness destroyed them. And hence the Prophet says that God
would make them hot, that they might become wanton in their pleasures; and then,
that they might sleep a perpetual sleep, that is, that they might perish in their
luxury: (101) though they had despised their enemy, yet they should never awake;
for Babylon, as we observed yesterday, might have resisted for a long time, but it
was at once taken. The Babylonians were not afterwards allowed to have arms.
Cyrus, indeed, suffered them to indulge in pleasures, but took away from them the
use of arms, deprived them of all authority, so that they lived in a servile state, in the
greatest degradation: and then, in course of time, they became more and more
contemptible, until at length the city was so overthrown, that nothing remained but
a few cottages, and it became a mean village. We hence see that whatever God had
predicted by his servant Jeremiah was at length fulfilled, but at the appropriate
time, — at the time of treading or threshing, as it has been stated. It follows, —
In their heat I will set for them their drink, And will make them drunk, that they
may leap for joy; And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, And shall not awake, saith
Jehovah.
138

139. It is a clear allusion to the feast celebrated in Babylon the very night it was taken. —
Ed.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:39. In their heat I will make their feasts— I will give them
their cup when they are now heated, and I will make them drunken, that they may
be sick, and sleep, &c. "While they are feasting themselves, I will provide them
another cup to drink; namely, that of my fury and indignation." See the note on
Jeremiah 51:7. It is very well known, that Babylon was taken on a night of public
rejoicing, in honour of the goddess Sheshach, mentioned in the next note.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them
drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the
LORD.
Ver. 39. In their heat I will make their feasts.] Or, I will dispose their drinkings -
that is, I will pour into their cups the wine of my wrath. Now, poison mixed with
wine worketh the more furiously. God can punish one kind of drunkenness with
another worse.
That they may rejoice.] That they may revel it and sleep their last; and so they did,
as being slain in a night of public solemn feasting and great dissoluteness, which was
soon turned in moerorem et metum, into heaviness and horror. Ecce, hic
compotationum est finis. Behold this is the end of the party.
And not wake.] Till awakened by the sound of the last trump. The Chaldee here
hath it, They shall die the second death, and not be quickened in the world to come -
sc., unto life everlasting.
40 “I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.
BARNES, "Lambs ... rams ... he goats - i. e., all classes of the population (see Isa_
34:6 note).
139

140. GILL, "I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,.... To the place of
slaughter; who shall be able to make no more resistance than lambs. This explains what
is meant by being made drunk, and sleeping a perpetual sleep, even destruction and
death:
like rams with he goats; denoting the promiscuous destruction of the prince and
common people together.
CALVIN, "This is a comparison different from the former, when the Prophet said
that they would be like lions, but as to roaring only. But he now shows how easy
would that ruin be when it should please God to destroy the Babylonians. Then as to
their cry, they were like lions; but as to the facility of their destruction, they were
like lambs led to the slaughter. God does not mean here that they would be endued
with so much gentleness as to give themselves up to a voluntary death; but he
means, that however strong the Babylonians might have previously been, and
however they might have threatened all other nations, they would then be women in
courage, and be led to the slaughter as though they were lambs or rams.
This is a comparison which occurs often in the prophets, for sacrifices were then
daily made; and then the prophets considered the destruction of the ungodly as a
kind of sacrifice; for as sacrifices were offered under the Law as evidences of piety
and worship, so when God appears as a judge and takes vengeance on the
reprobate, it is the same as though he erected an altar, and thus exhibited an
evidence of the worship that is due to him; for his glory and worship is honored,
yea, and celebrated by such sacrifices. Then the destruction of all the ungodly, as we
have said, may be justly compared to sacrifices; for in such instances the glory of
God shines forth, and this is what especially belongs to his worship. It at length
follows, —
41 “How Sheshak[g] will be captured,
the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate Babylon will be
among the nations!
BARNES, "Sheshach - Babylon: see the Jer_51:1 note.
Surprised - i. e., seized, captured.
140

141. CLARKE, "How is Sheshach taken! - Perhaps the city is here called by the name
of its idol.
The praise of the whole earth - One of the seven wonders of the world;
superexcellent for the height, breadth, and compass of its walls, its hanging gardens, the
temple of Belus, etc., etc.
GILL, "How is Sheshach taken!.... Not the city Shushan, as Sir John Marsham
thinks (e); but Babylon, as is plain from a following clause; and so the Targum,
"how is Babylon subdued!''
called Sheshach, by a position and commutation of letters the Jews call "athbash"; so
Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel account for it; or else from their idol Shach, the same with
Bel, which was worshipped here, and had a temple erected for it; and where an annual
feast was kept in honour of it, called the Sacchean feast; and which was observing the
very time the city was taken; and may be the true reason of its having this name given it
now; See Gill on Jer_25:26; the taking of which was very wonderful; and therefore this
question is put by way of admiration; it being so well fortified and provided to hold out a
long siege:
and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised? for it was taken by stratagem
and surprise, before the king and his guards, the army, and the inhabitants of it, were
aware; that city, which was matter and occasion of praise to all the world, and went
through it; for the compass of it, and height and strength of its walls; the river Euphrates
that ran through it, and flowed about it; the temple, palaces, and gardens in it:
how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! or, "a desolation";
and indeed its being a desolation was the reason of its being an astonishment among the
nations; who were amazed to see so strong, rich, and splendid a city brought to ruin in a
very short time.
JAMISON, "Sheshach — Babylon (compare Note, see Jer_25:26); called so from
the goddess Shach, to whom a five days’ festival was kept, during which, as in the Roman
Saturnalia, the most unbridled licentiousness was permitted; slaves ruled their masters,
and in every house one called Zogan, arrayed in a royal garment, was chosen to rule all
the rest. He calls Babylon “Sheshach,” to imply that it was during this feast the city was
taken [Scaliger].
K&D, "The fearful destruction of Babylon will astonish the world. - Jer_51:41 is an
exclamation of astonishment regarding the conquest of the city which was praised
throughout the world. As to ַ‫שׁ‬ֵ‫,שׁ‬ see on Jer_51:1 and Jer_25:26. ‫ה‬ָ‫לּ‬ ִ‫ה‬ ְ‫,תּ‬ "praise," is
here used for "a subject of praise and fame;" cf. Jer_49:25.
141

142. CALVIN, "Here the wonder expressed by the Prophet tended to confirm what he
had said, for he thus dissipated those things which usually disturbed the minds of
the godly, so as not to give full credit to his predictions. There is indeed no doubt
but that the godly thought of many things when they heard Jeremiah thus speaking
of the destruction of Babylon. It ever occurred to them, “How can this be?” Hence
Jeremiah anticipated such thoughts, and assumed himself the character of one filled
with wonder — How is Shesbach taken? as though he had said, “Though the whole
world should be astonished at the destruction of Babylon, yet what I predict is
certain; and thus shall they find who now admit not the truth of what I say, as well
as posterity.”
But he calls Babylon here Sheshach, as in Jeremiah 25:0. Some think it to be there
the proper name of a man, and others regard it as the name of a celebrated city in
Chaldea. But we see that what they assert is groundless; for this passage puts an end
to all controversy, for in the first clause he mentions Sheshach, and in the second,
Babylon. That passage also in Jeremiah 25:0 cannot refer to anything else except to
Babylon; for the Prophet said,
“Drink shall all nations of God’s cup of fury,
and after them the king of Sheshach,”
that is, when God has chastised all nations, at length the king of Babylon shall have
his turn. But in this place the Prophet clearly shows that Sheshach can be nothing
else than Babylon. The name is indeed formed by inverting the alphabet. Nor is this
a new notion; for they had this retrograding alphabet in the time of Jerome. They
put ‫,ת‬ tau, the last letter, in the place of ‫,א‬ aleph, the first; then ‫,ש‬ shin, for ‫,ב‬ beth,
thus we see how they formed Shesbach. The ‫,ש‬ shin, is found twice in the word, the
last letter but one being put for ‫ב‬ , beth, the first, letter but one; and then ‫,כ‬ caph, is
put in the place of ‫,ל‬ lamed, according to the order of the retrograde alphabet.
There is no good reason for what some say, that the Prophet spoke thus obscurely
for the sake of the Jews, because the prophecy was disliked, and might have created
dangers to them; for why did he mention Sheshach and then Babylon in the same
verse?
Many understand this passage enigmatically; but there is no doubt but that that
alphabet was then, as we have stated, in common use, as we have Ziphras, as they
call it, at this day. In the meantime, though the Prophet was not timid, and
encouraged his own people to confidence, it yet pleased God that this prophecy
should in a manner be hidden, but not that it should be without evidence of its
certainty, for we shall see in the last verse but one of this chapter that he
commanded the volume to be thrown into the Euphrates, until the event itself
manifested the power of God, which for a long time remained as it were buried,
until the time of visitation which of which he had spoken.
COFFMAN, “"How is Sheshak taken and the praise of the whole earth seized! how
142

143. 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.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:41. How is Sheshach taken!— That is, Babylon; called
Sheshach from the goddess of that name, which the Babylonians worshipped, and
which is supposed by Calmet to have been the same with the moon. See ch. Jeremiah
25:26. The prophet calls Babylon the praise of the whole earth, as it was esteemed
one of the wonders of the world, for the height, breadth, and compass of its wall, the
palace and hanging-gardens belonging to it, the temple of Belus, &c. See chap.
Jeremiah 49:25. Daniel 4:30 and Isaiah 13:19.
PETT, “Verses 41-44
An Exultation Over The City of Babylon’s Demise (Jeremiah 51:41-44).
We note in this exultation the emphasis on what is to happen to Bel (Marduk), the
chief god of Babylon. Babylon had boasted that it was Marduk who had given them
the nations. Now Marduk would be caused by YHWH to spew them out (although
some see it as referring to the return of the Temple vessels), and no more nations
would flow to him any more. Marduk would be revealed as just what he was, the
work of man’s hands.
Jeremiah 51:41-43
“How is Sheshach taken!
And the praise of the whole earth seized!
143

144. How is Babylon become a desolation,
Among the nations!
The sea is come up on Babylon
She is covered with the multitude of its waves,
Her cities are become a desolation,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which no man dwells,
Nor does any son of man pass by it.”
Sheshach was originally probably a cryptogram for Babylon on the athbash
principle, shin replacing beth and chaph replacing lamed (similar to z replacing a, y
replacing b, x replacing c, and so on). Used as a cryptogram in letters passing
between Jerusalem and Babylon so as to disguise the fact that Babylon was being
spoken of it may well have gradually been incorporated into Hebrew thought as a
parallel name for Babylon. Indeed it may well be that its use here was intended to
indicate that the cryptogram was no longer needed because Babylon’s power was
broken.
Some, however, argue for Sheshach as being a genuine alternative name for
Babylon, citing the possible name of a moon god, Shishaki, or seeing it as meaning
‘warlike city’. Whichever way it is taken, however, it undoubtedly refers here to
Babylon. Only Babylon could have been described as ‘the praise of the whole earth’
(compare ‘Babylon the glory of the kingdoms’ - Isaiah 13:19, and this especially so
when the name is given in parallel with that of Babylon in typically Hebrew fashion.
So that magnificent city, so powerful and seemingly impregnable with its vast walls,
praised by the whole earth, will be seized. It will become a desolation among the
nations. As Isaiah puts it, it will be ‘as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah’
(Isaiah 13:19). Once praised by all it will become a heap, a ruin. And this will be
caused by ‘a sea’ coming up on it, covering it with the multitude of its waves. This
picture is a regular one in Scripture to describe an invading army, a ‘sea of nations’.
See, for example, Jeremiah 46:7; Isaiah 8:7-8; Isaiah 17:12-13.
And this ‘sea’, instead of refreshing the land like the Nile did Egypt, will turn it into
a desert. Her cities will become a desolation, a dry land and a desert. It will become
a land which is totally uninhabited, which no man passes through.
144

145. 42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
its roaring waves will cover her.
BARNES, "By a grand metaphor the invading army is compared to the sea.
CLARKE, "The sea is come up - A multitude of foes have inundated the city.
GILL, "The sea is come up upon Babylon,.... A vast army, comparable to the great
sea for the multitude thereof, even the army of the Medes and Persians under Cyrus; so
the Targum,
"a king with his armies, which are numerous like the waters of the sea, is come up
against Babylon:''
she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof; being surrounded,
besieged, surprised, and seized upon by the multitude of soldiers in that army, which
poured in upon it unawares. Some think here is a beautiful antithesis, between the
inundation of Cyrus's army and the draining of the river Euphrates, by which means he
poured in his forces into Babylon.
JAMISON, "The sea — the host of Median invaders. The image (compare Jer_47:2;
Isa_8:7, Isa_8:8) is appropriately taken from the Euphrates, which, overflowing in
spring, is like a “sea” near Babylon (Jer_51:13, Jer_51:32, Jer_51:36).
K&D, "Description of the fall. The sea that has come over Babylon and covered it with
its waves, was taken figuratively, even by the Chaldee paraphrasts, and understood as
meaning the hostile army that overwhelms the land with its hosts. Only J. D. Michaelis
was inclined to take the words in their proper meaning, and understood them as
referring to the inundation of Babylon by the Euphrates in August and in winter. But
however true it may be, that, in consequence of the destruction or decay of the great
river-walls built by Nebuchadnezzar, the Euphrates may inundate the city of Babylon
when it wells into a flood, yet the literal acceptation of the words is unwarranted, for the
simple reason that they do not speak of any momentary or temporary inundation, and
that, because Babylon is to be covered with water, the cities of Babylonia are to become
an arid steppe. The sea is therefore the sea of nations, cf. Jer_46:7; the description
145

146. reminds us of the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. On Jer_51:43, cf.
Jer_48:9; Jer_49:18, Jer_49:33., Jer_50:12. The suffix in ‫ן‬ ֵ‫ה‬ ָ‫בּ‬ refers to "her cities;" but
the repetition of ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫א‬ is not for that reason wrong, as Graf thinks, but is to be explained
on the ground that the cities of Babylonia are compared to a barren land; and the idea is
properly this: The cities become an arid country of steppes, a land in whose cities
nobody can dwell.
CALVIN, "THE Prophet here employs a comparison, in order more fully to confirm
his prophecy respecting the destruction of Babylon; for, as it was incredible that it
could be subdued by the power or forces of men, he compares the calamity by which
God would overwhelm it to a deluge. He then says that the army of the Persians and
of the Medes would be like the sea, for it would irresistibly overflow; as when a
storm rises, the sea swells, so he says the Medes and the Persians would come with
such force, that Babylon would be overwhelmed with a deluge rather than with the
forces of men. We now then understand the Prophet’s meaning, when he says that
Babylon would be covered with waves when the Medes and the Persians came It
then follows, —
43 Her towns will be desolate,
a dry and desert land,
a land where no one lives,
through which no one travels.
BARNES, "A wilderness - Or, a desert of sand.
A land wherein - Rather, “a land - no man shall dwell in them (i. e., its cities), and
no human being shall pass through them.”
GILL, "Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness,.... Which
some understand of Babylon itself, divided into two parts by the river Euphrates running
in the midst of it, called by Berosus (f) the inward and outward cities; though rather
these design the rest of the cities in Chaldea, of which Babylon was the metropolis, the
mother city, and the other her daughters, which should share the same fate with herself;
be demolished, and the ground on which they stood become a dry, barren, uncultivated,
146

147. and desert land:
a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby;
having neither inhabitant nor traveller; see Jer_50:12.
JAMISON, "Her cities — the cities, her dependencies. So, “Jerusalem and the cities
thereof” (Jer_34:1). Or, the “cities” are the inner and outer cities, the two parts into
which Babylon was divided by the Euphrates [Grotius].
CALVIN, "He repeats what he had previously said, but we have before reminded
you why he speaks so largely on a subject in itself not obscure. For he might have
comprehended in a few words all that he had said in the last chapter and also in
this; but it was difficult to convince men of what he taught — it was therefore
necessary to dwell at large on the subject.
He says now that the cities of Babylon, that is, of that monarchy, would become a
desolation. He seems to have hitherto directed his threatenings against the city itself;
but now he declares that God’s vengeance would extend to all the cities under the
power of the Chaldean nation; and he speaks at large of their desolation, for he says
that it would be a land of desert, a land of drought, or of filthiness, so that no one
would dwell in it. And though he uses the singular number and repeats it, yet he
refers to cities, Pass through it shall no man, dwell in it shall no man (102) He
indeed speaks of the whole land, but so that he properly refers to the cities, as
though he had said, that so great would be the destruction, that however far and
wide the monarchy of Babylon extended, all its cities would be cut off. It afterwards
follows, —
43.Become have her cities a desolation, Like a land of drought and a wilderness;
Dwell in them shall no man, And pass through them shall no son of man.
The second “land” is omitted in two MSS.; and one has “in her,” instead of “in
them.” — Ed.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon
and make him spew out what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
And the wall of Babylon will fall.
147

148. BARNES, "The sacred vessels plundered from Jerusalem, and laid up in the very
temple of Bel, should be restored; the men and women dragged from other lands to
people the city, released; and its wall falling would show the insignificance to which it
should be reduced.
CLARKE, "I will punish Bel in Babylon - Bel or Belus was their supreme deity.
That which he hath swallowed up - The sacred vessels of the temple of
Jerusalem, which were taken thence by Nebuchadnezzar, and dedicated to him in his
temple at Babylon.
The wall of Babylon shall fall - It shall cease to be a defense; and shall moulder
away until, in process of time, it shall not be discernible.
GILL, "And I will punish Bel in Babylon,.... The idol of the Babylonians, who had a
temple in Babylon, where he was worshipped: the same is called Belus by Aelianus (g),
Curtius (h), and Pausanias (i); perhaps the same Herodian (k) calls Belis, and says some
take him to be Apollo; for more of him; see Gill on Isa_46:1; and See Gill on Jer_50:2;
who was punished when his temple was demolished, and plundered of its wealth; this
golden image of Belus was broke to pieces, and the gold of it carried away. The Targum
is,
"I will visit or punish them that worship Bel in Babylon:''
and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; the
rich offerings made to him when victories were obtained; all success being ascribed to
him; and the spoils of conquered enemies, which were brought and laid up in his temple,
particularly the vessels of the sanctuary at Jerusalem, which were deposited there; see
2Ch_36:7; and which were restored by Cyrus, Ezr_1:7; which restoration of them greatly
fulfilled this prophecy; and was a refunding of what was lodged with him, or a vomiting
what he had swallowed up; compare with this the story of "Bel and the dragon":
and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him; either to worship
him, or bring their presents to him, to ingratiate themselves with the king of Babylon:
yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall; which Bel was not able to defend; and therefore
should be deserted by his worshippers. The Targum renders it in the plural, the walls of
Babylon; of which; see Gill on Jer_51:58. Some think that not the wall of the city is here
meant: but the temple of Bel, which was as a wall or fortress to the city; but now should
fall, and be so no more; since it is not easy to give a reason why mention here should be
made of the fall of the walls of the city; and seeing express mention is made of this
afterwards.
JAMISON, "Bel ... swallowed — in allusion to the many sacrifices to the idol which
148

149. its priests pretended it swallowed at night; or rather, the precious gifts taken from other
nations and offered to it (which it is said to have “swallowed”; compare “devoured,”
“swallowed,” Jer_51:34; Jer_50:17), which it should have to disgorge (compare Jer_
51:13; Jer_50:37). Of these gifts were the vessels of Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem
(2Ch_36:7; Dan_1:2). The restoration of these, as foretold here, is recorded in Ezr_
1:7-11.
flow — as a river; fitly depicting the influx of pilgrims of all “nations” to the idol.
K&D, "With the conquest of Babylon, Bel, the chief deity of the Babylonians (see on
Jer_50:2), is punished; and not only is his prey torn from him, but his fame also, which
attracted the nations, is destroyed. Under the prey which Bel has swallowed, and which
is to be torn out of his mouth, we must include not merely the sacred vessels which had
been deposited in the temple of Belus (Dan_1:3), and the voluntary offerings presented
him (Hitzig), but all the property which Babylon had taken as spoil from the nations;
and the nations themselves, with life and property, Babylon has swallowed (see 34 and
Jer_50:17). All this is now to be torn out of his jaws. Bel falls with the fall of Babylon (cf.
Isa_46:1), so that nations no longer come in streams to him, to dedicate their goods and
treasures to him. The description ends with the sentence, "the wall of Babylon also is
fallen," which Hitzig and Graf wrongly suspect, on the ground that it is insipid. Ewald,
on the contrary, perceives in the very same expression a brief and emphatic conclusion;
because the famous wall of Babylon, strong in every part, was the main defence of this
great city of the world. For explaining this sentence, therefore, it is unnecessary to
assume that the walls of Babylon seem to have been regarded as sacred to Bel, as
Nägelsbach is inclined to infer from the names which are said to be given to these walls
in an inscription translated by Oppert.
(Note: Cf. J. Oppert, Expédition en Mésopot. i. p. 227, where, on the strength of an
inscription of Asarhaddon, which is read, "Imgur-Bel is its (Babylon's) chief wall,
Ninivitti-Bel its rampart," the expressions found in the inscriptions of
Nebuchadnezzar before the mention of the walls - viz. "Imgur-Bel" (may Bel-Dagon
protect him) and "Ninivitti-Bel" (the abode of Bel) - have been explained by
Rawlinson and Oppert as names of the first and second lines of fortification round
Babylon.)
CALVIN, "God again declares that he would take vengeance on the idols of
Babylon; not that God is properly incensed against idols, for they are nothing but
things made by men; but that he might show how much he detests all superstitious
and idolatrous worship. But he speaks of Bel as though it was an enemy to himself;
yet God had no quarrel with a dead figure, void of reason and feeling; and such a
contest would have been ridiculous. God, however, thus rises up against Bel for the
sake of men, and declares that it was an enemy to himself, not because the idol, as
we have said, of itself deserved any punishment.
But we hence learn how detestable was that corruption and that false religion. It
appears evident from beathen writers that Bel was the supreme god of the Chaldean
nation; nay, that idol was worshipped throughout all Assyria, as all testify with one
149

150. consent. They thought that there had been a king skillful in the knowledge of the
stars, and hence he was placed by erring men among the gods. But we learn from
the prophets that this was a very ancient superstition; and it is hardly probable that
there had been any king of this name — for otherwise Isaiah and Jeremiah, when
predicting the ruin of this idol, would not have been silent on the subject. That
common opinion, then, does not appear to me probable; but I think that on the
contrary this name was given to the idol according to the fancies of men; for no
reason can be found why heathen nations so named their false gods. It is indeed
certain that divine honor was given to mortals by the Greeks and the Romans, and
by barbarous nations. But the worship of Bel was more ancient than the time when
such a thing was done. And in such veneration was that idol held, that from it they
called some of their precious stones. They consecrated the eye-stone to the god of the
Assyrians, because it was a gem of great price. (See Plin. lib. 37, chap. 10.)
Jeremiah, then, now declares that Bel would be exposed to God’s vengeance, not
that God, as we have said, was angry with that statue, but he intended in this way to
testify how much he abominated the ungodly worship in which the Chaldeans
delighted. Nor did he so much regard the Chaldeans as the Jews; for I have often
reminded you that it was a hard trial, which might have easily endangered the faith
of the people, to think that the Chaldeans had not obtained so many and so
remarkable victories, except God had favored them. The Jews might on this account
have had some doubts respecting the temple and the law itself. As then the
Babylonians triumphed when success accompanied them, it was necessary to fortify
the minds, of the godly, that they might remain firm, though the Babylonians
boasted of their victories. Lest the faithful should succumb under their trials, the
prophets supplied a suitable remedy, which is done here by Jeremiah. God then
declares that he would visit Bel; for what reason and to what purpose? that the Jews
might be convinced that that idol could do nothing, but that they had been afflicted
by the Babylonians on account of their sins. That true religion, then, might not be
discredited, God testified that he would some time not only take vengeance on the
Chaldeans themselves, but also on their idol, which they had devised for themselves;
I will then visit Bel in Babylon
And he adds, and I will bring or draw out of his mouth what he has swallowed The
word ‫,בעי‬ belo, means indeed what is devoured; but the Prophet refers here to the
sacred offerings by which Bel was honored until that time. And there is no doubt
but that many nations presented gifts to that idol for the sake of the Chaldean
nation, as we find that gifts were brought from all parts of the world to Jupiter
Capitolinus when the Roman empire flourished; for when the Greeks, the Asiatics,
or the Egyptians, wished to obtain some favor, they sent golden crowns, or
chandeliers, or some precious vessels; and they sought it as the highest privilege to
dedicate their gifts to Jupiter Capitolinus. So, then, there is no doubt but that many
nations offered their gifts to Bel, when they wished to flatter the Chaldeans. And
hence the Prophet declares that when God visited that idol, he would make it
disgorge what it had before swallowed. This is indeed not said with strict propriety;
but the Prophet had regard to the Jews, who might have doubted whether the God
150

151. of Israel was the only true God, while he permitted that empty image to be honored
with so many precious offerings; for this was to transfer the honor of the true God
to a dead figure. Then he says, I will draw out, as though Bel had swallowed what
had been offered to it, — I will draw out from its mouth what it has swallowed
Though the language is not strictly correct, yet we see that it was needful, so it might
not disturb the minds of the Jews, that almost all nations regarded that idol with so
much veneration.
He afterwards expresses his meaning more clearly by adding, the nations shall no
more flow together (103) We hence then see what he meant by the voracity of Bel,
even because there was a resort from all parts to this temple, for the nations, seeking
to ingratiate themselves with the Babylonians, directed their attention to their god.
We, indeed, know that the temple of Bel remained even after the city was
conquered; there is yet no doubt but that the predictions of Jeremiah and of Isaiah
have been accomplished. For Isaiah says,
“Lie prostrate does Bel, Nebo is broken.” (Isaiah 46:1)
He names some other god, who is not made known by heathen writers; but it is
sufficiently evident from this testimony that Bel was in high repute. He afterwards
says that it would “be a burden to the beasts even to weariness.” We hence learn
that Bel was carried away, not that it was worshipped by the Medes and the
Persians, but because all the wealth was removed, and probably that idol was made
of gold.
It afterwards follows, Even the wall of Babylon has fallen We have said elsewhere
that this prophecy ought not to be restricted to the first overthrow of Babylon, for
its walls were not then pulled down except in part, where the army entered, after the
streams of the Euphrates had been diverted. However, the ancient splendor of the
city still continued. But when Babylon was recovered by Darius, the son of
Hystaspes, then the walls were pulled down to their foundations, as Herodotus
writes, with whom other heathen authors agree. For Babylon had revolted together
with the Assyrians when the Magi obtained the government; but when Darius
recovered the kingdom, he prepared an army against the Assyrians who had
resorted to Babylon; and their barbarous cruelty is narrated, for they strangled all
the women that they might not consume the provisions. Each one was allowed to
keep one woman as a servant to prepare food and to serve as a cook; but they
spared neither matrons nor wives, nor their own daughters. For a time the Persians
were stoutly repulsed by them. At length, through the contrivance of Zopyrus,
Darius entered the city; he then demolished the walls and the gates, and afterwards
Babylon was no better than a village. Then also he hung the chief men of the city,
tothe number of three or four thousand, which would be incredible were we not to
consider the extent of the city; for such a slaughter would be horrible in a city of
moderate size, even were men of all orders put to death. But it hence appears what
an atrocious cruelty it must have been, when all the chief men were hung or fixed to
crosses; and then also the walls were demolished, though they were, as it has been
151

152. elsewhere stated, of incredible height and width. Their width was fifty feet;
Herodotus names fifty cubits, but I rather think they were feet; and yet their feet
were longer than common.
As, then, Jeremiah now says, that the wall of Babylon had fallen, there is no doubt
but his prophecy includes this second calamity, which happened under Darius; and
this confirms what I have referred to elsewhere. It now follows, —
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:44. And I will punish Bel— And I do take vengeance or
judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will draw his morsel out of his mouth; and the
nations, &c. That is, the presents which have been brought to his temple from
foreign nations shall be restored; which was particularly verified with respect to the
holy vessels of the temple at Jerusalem. Xerxes too plundered the temple of Belus of
immense wealth. This passage may be further explained from the apocryphal
history of Bel and the Dragon. This verse, I apprehend, should close with the words,
shall not flow any more unto him; and the 45th begin, The very walls of Babylon
shall fall; go ye therefore, my people, out of the midst, &c.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth
out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Ver. 44. And I will punish Bel in Babylon.] Nimrod was after his death called the
Babylonian Saturn; Belus, who succeeded him, the Babylonian Jupiter, as Berosus
testifieth. This idol of massy gold, and of a huge size, was carried away by Cyrus;
thus Bel was punished.
And I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up.] Bolum ex
ore Bell. Such an elegance there is also in the original. (a) Of the rich presents,
spoils, costly furniture found in Bel’s temple, see Diodore, lib. ii. Those taken from
God’s temple at Jerusalem, and laid up in his, [2 Chronicles 36:7] he was forced to
regurgitate. [Ezra 1:7; Ezra 5:14 Job 20:12; Job 20:15]
Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.] Which yet was strong to a miracle, as being two
hundred cubits high - of the king’s cubits, which were larger than ordinary - and
fifty cubits thick, having a hundred brazen gates, and many stately towers, &c.; all
shall down, saith the prophet.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:44
“And I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon,
And I will bring forth out of his mouth what he has swallowed up,
And the nations will not flow any more to him,
152

153. Yes, the wall of Babylon will fall.”
But above all would be the defeat of Bel (Marduk), the chief god of Babylon, of
whom Nebuchadrezzar and the Babylonians had claimed that it was he who had
defeated the nations and brought them in thrall to Babylon. It was he who in their
eyes had swallowed up the wealth of the nations, including the golden vessels of the
Jerusalem Temple. YHWH would execute judgment on him, and extract from his
mouth all that he had swallowed up. The golden vessels would be returned to
Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11). Nations would no longer flow to Babylon with their
tribute, nor would they honour it and seek its glory. For even the mighty double
wall of Babylon will fall, that double wall which bore the names of Imgur-Bel (Bel
protects) and Nimetti-Bel (dwelling of Bel). The outer wall was four metres (12 feet)
thick, and the inner wall six and a half metres (21 feet) thick. They were separated
by a gap of seven metres (23 feet). It was a formidable defence. Thus would YHWH,
having used Babylon as a means of chastening His people, bring Babylon into the
dust, and Marduk would be unable to do anything about it. The dwelling of Bel
would become a ruin, the protection of Bel would prove worthless. To the world of
that day, which fervently believed in its gods, this would have been significant
indeed.
PULPIT, “Bel; i.e. Merodach, the patron deity of Babylon (see on Jeremiah 50:2).
Swallowed up. An allusion to the myth mentioned above (see Jeremiah 51:34). That
which Bel, i.e. Babylon, has "swallowed up" is not only the spoil of the conquered
nations, but those nations themselves. Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall; literally, is
fallen (is as good as fallen). The famous wall of Babylon (comp. Jeremiah 51:58) is
described by Herodotus. From this clause down to the first half of Jeremiah 51:49 is
omitted in the Septuagint.
45 “Come out of her, my people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger of the Lord.
BARNES, "The fierce anger of the Lord - i. e., against Babylon. The people of
God are to flee away that they may not be involved in the miseries of Babylon. See the
Jer_50:8 note.
153

154. CLARKE, "My people, go ye out - A warning to all the Jews in Babylon to leave
the city, and escape for their lives.
GILL, "My people, go ye out of the midst of her,.... This is a call of the Jews to go
out of Babylon, not before the taking of the city by Cyrus; but when he should issue out a
proclamation, giving them liberty to return to their own land; which many of them,
being well settled in Babylon, would not be ready to accept of, but choose to continue
there; wherefore they are urged to depart from thence, because of the danger they would
be exposed unto; for though the city was not destroyed by Cyrus upon his taking it, yet it
was by Darius Hystaspes some time after. The same call is given to the people of God to
come out of mystical Babylon, Rev_18:4;
and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord; shown in
the destruction of Babylon; See Gill on Jer_51:6.
HENRY, "Here is a call to God's people to go out of Babylon. It is their wisdom, when
the ruin is approaching, to quit the city and retire into the country (Jer_51:6): “Flee out
of the midst of Babylon, and get into some remote corner, that you may save your lives,
and may not be cut off in her iniquity.” When God's judgments are abroad it is good to
get as far as we can from those against whom they are levelled, as Israel from the tents of
Korah. This agrees with the advice Christ gave his disciples, with reference to the
destruction of Jerusalem. Let those who shall be in Judea flee to the mountains, Mat_
24:16. It is their wisdom to get out of the midst of Babylon, lest they be involved, if not
in her ruins, yet in her fears (Jer_51:45, Jer_51:46): Lest your heart faint, and you fear
for the rumour that shall be heard in the land. Though God had told them that Cyrus
should be their deliverer, and Babylon's destruction their deliverance, yet they had been
told also that in the peace thereof they should have peace, and therefore the alarms
given to Babylon would put them into a fright, and perhaps they might not have faith
and consideration enough to suppress those fears, for which reason they are here
advised to get out of the hearing of the alarms. Note, Those who have not grace enough
to keep their temper in temptation should have wisdom enough to keep out of the way of
temptation. But this is not all; it is not only their wisdom to quit the city when the ruin is
approaching, but it is their duty to quit the country too when the ruin is accomplished,
and they are set at liberty by the pulling down of the prison over their heads. This they
are told, Jer_51:50, Jer_51:51 : “You Israelites, who have escaped the sword of the
Chaldeans your oppressors, and of the Persians their destroyers, now that the year of
release has come, go away, stand not still; hasten to your own country again, however
you may be comfortably seated in Babylon, for this is not your rest, but Canaan is.” 1. He
puts them in mind of the inducements they had to return: “Remember the Lord afar off,
his presence with you now, though you are here afar off from your native soil; his
presence with your fathers formerly in the temple, though you are now afar off from the
ruins of it.” Note, Wherever we are, in the greatest depths, at the greatest distances, we
may and must remember the Lord our God; and in the time of the greatest fears and
hopes it is seasonable to remember the Lord. “And let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Though it be now in ruins, yet favour its dust (Psa_102:14); though few of you ever saw
it, yet believe the report you have had concerning it from those that wept when they
remembered Zion; and think of Jerusalem until you come up to a resolution to make the
best of your way thither.” Note, When the city of our solemnities is out of sight, yet it
154

155. must not be out of mind; and it will be of great use to us, in our journey through this
world, to let the heavenly Jerusalem come often into our mind. 2. He takes notice of the
discouragement which the returning captives labour under (Jer_51:51); being reminded
of Jerusalem, they cry out, “We are confounded; we cannot bear the thought of it; shame
covers our faces at the mention of it, for we have heard of the reproach of the
sanctuary, that is profaned and ruined by strangers; how can we think of it with any
pleasure?” To this he answers (Jer_51:52) that the God of Israel will now triumph over
the gods of Babylon, and so that reproach will be for ever rolled away. Note, The
believing prospect of Jerusalem's recovery will keep us from being ashamed of
Jerusalem's ruins.
JAMISON, "
K&D, "
Since Babylon will be punished by the Lord with destruction, the people of God are to
flee out of it, and to preserve their lives from the fierce anger of Jahveh, which will
discharge itself on Babylon. ‫ן‬ ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬ ‫ף‬ ַ‫,א‬ as in Jer_4:8, Jer_4:26, etc.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet exhorts the Israelites to flee from Chaldea and
Assyria. Yet this exhortation was intended for another purpose, to encourage them
in the hope of deliverance; for it was hardly credible that they should ever have a
free exit, for Babylon was to them like a sepulcher. As then he exhorts them as to
their deliverance, he intimates that God would be their redeemer, as he had
promised. But he shows that God’s vengeance on Babylon would be dreadful, when
he says, Flee from the indignation of God’s wrath.
We must, however, observe, that the faithful were thus awakened, lest, being
inebriated with the indulgences of the Chaldeans, they should obstinately remain
there, when God stretched forth his hand to them; for we know what happened
when liberty to return was given to the Israelites — a small portion only returned;
some despised the great favor of God; they were so accustomed to their habitations,
and were so fixed there, that they made no account of the Temple, nor of the land
promised them by God. The Prophet, then, that he might withdraw the faithful from
such indulgences, says, that all who, in their torpor, remained there, would be
miserable, because the indignation of God would kindle against that city. We now
perceive the object of the Prophet.
It appears, indeed, but a simple exhortation to the Jews to remove, that they might
not be polluted with the filth of Babylon, but another end is also to be regarded,
proposed by the holy Prophet. This exhortation, then, contains in it a promise of
return, as though he had said, that they were not to fear, because liberty would at
length be given them, as God had promised. In the meantime, a stimulant is added
to the promise, lest the Israelites should be delighted with the pleasures of Chaldea,
and thus despise the inheritance promised them by God; for we know how great was
the pleasantness of that land, and how great was the abundance it possessed of all
blessings; for the fruitfulness of that land is more celebrated than that of all other
155

156. countries. No wonder, then, that the Prophet so strongly urged the Jews to return,
and that he set before them the vengeance of God to frighten them with terror, in
case they slumbered in Chaldea. And he afterwards adds, —
COFFMAN, “"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.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye
every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Ver. 45. My people, go ye out of the midst of her.] This is much pressed, [Jeremiah
48:6] and it was but need; for many of the Jews were as hardly drawn to depart
thence as a dog, ab uncto corio, from a fat morsel.
PETT, “Verse 45-46
God’s People Are Called On To Flee From Babylon (Jeremiah 51:45-46).
This is not so much a call to God’s people to return from exile, as a call to flee for
their lives, deserting Babylon and all that it stood for, because of the catastrophe
that was coming on it. Compare Jeremiah 50:8; Jeremiah 51:6. It is saying that
Babylon was not the place for God’s people to be, because it was subject to the
anger of YHWH against its multitudinous sins. They were, however, to bring
Jerusalem to mind (Jeremiah 51:50). And the same applies today to the ‘Babylon’
represented by this world with its selfish aims and motives, and all its sexual
crudeness and ‘liberality’. God’s people are to flee from it, for it is under the wrath
of God, and instead they are to look to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).
156

157. Jeremiah 51:45-46
“My people, go you out of the midst of her,
And save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of YHWH,
And do let not your heart faint,
Nor fear you for the tidings that will be heard in the land,
For tidings will come one year,
And after that in another year, tidings,
And violence in the land,
Ruler against ruler.”
The call, then is for God’s people to flee from Babylon. We are reminded of Lot’s
flight from Sodom (Genesis 19:12-13). Babylon was subject to the same anger, an
anger arising because of the sins of Babylon. God’s anger is never arbitrary. It
results from His aversion to sin. Note the individuality of the appeal. Each must
ensure his own escape. Nor were they to fear the tidings that they would hear from
Babylonia, for it was to be subject to a period of great political uncertainty, as year
by year tidings of violence flowed from the land, with ruler battling against ruler.
Certainly after the death of Nebuchadrezzar uncertainty reigned in Babylonia. The
rising power of the Medes and Persians threatened without, whilst the murder of
Nebuchadrezzar’s son Evil-merodach (in 560 BC) would be brought about by
Neriglissar, Nebuchadrezzar’s son-in-law, who would himself be killed fighting
against Babylon’s enemies (in 555 BC). His infant son Labashi Marduk would also
take the throne only to be replaced within months by Nabonidus, father of
Belshazzar. And Nabonidus would ‘retire’ to Arabia (the details are obscure),
leaving his son to rule Babylon. All was uncertainty.
46 Do not lose heart or be afraid
when rumors are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
rumors of violence in the land
157

158. and of ruler against ruler.
BARNES, "Literally, “And beware lest your heart faint, and ye be afraid because of
the rumour that is heard in the land: for in one year shall one rumour come, and
afterward in another year another rumour; and violence shall be in the land etc.” The fall
of Babylon was to be preceded by a state of unquiet, men’s minds being unsettled partly
by rumors of the warlike preparations of the Medes, and of actual invasions: partly by
intestine feuds. So before the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans the Church had
similar warnings Mat_24:6-7.
CLARKE, "A rumor shall - come one year - A year before the capture of the city
there shall be a rumor of war, - and in that year Belshazzar was defeated by Cyrus. In the
following year the city was taken.
GILL, "And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be
heard in the land,.... The rumour of war in the land of Chaldea; the report of the
Medes and Persians preparing to invade it, and besiege Babylon, in the peace of which
city the Jews had peace; and therefore might fear they should suffer in the calamities of
it; but, lest they should, they are ordered to go cut of it, and accept the liberty that
should be granted by the conqueror, who would do them no hurt, but good; and had
therefore nothing to fear from him; and, as a token, assuring them of this, the following
things are declared; which, when they should observe, they need not be troubled, being
forewarned; yea, might take encouragement from it, and believe that their redemption
drew nigh:
a rumour shall both come one year and after that in another year shall come
a rumour; in one year there was a rumour of the great preparation Cyrus was making
to invade Chaldea, and besiege Babylon; in another year, that is, the following, as the
Targum rightly renders it, there was a second rumour of his coming; and who actually
did come into Assyria, but was stopped at the river Gyndes, not being able to pass it for
want of boats; and, being enraged at the loss of a favourite horse in it, resolved upon the
draining it; which he accomplished, by cutting many sluices and rivulets; in doing which
he spent the whole summer; and the spring following came to Babylon, as Herodotus (l)
relates; when what is after predicted followed:
and violence in the land, ruler against ruler; the king of Babylon came out with
his forces to meet Cyrus, as the same historian says; when a battle ensue, in which the
former was beat, and obliged to retire into the city, which then Cyrus besieged; and thus
violence and devastations were made in the land by the army of the Medes and Persians;
and ruler was against ruler; Cyrus against Belshazzar, and Belshazzar against him. Some
read it, "ruler upon ruler" (m); that is, one after another, in a very short time; so Jarchi,
Kimchi, and Abarbinel; thus two before Belshazzar, then Darius, and, after Darius,
Cyrus.
158

159. JAMISON, "And lest — Compare, for the same ellipsis, Gen_3:22; Exo_13:17; Deu_
8:12. “And in order that your heart may not faint at the (first) rumor” (of war), I will give
you some intimation of the time. In the first “year” there shall “come a rumor” that
Cyrus is preparing for war against Babylon. “After that, in another year, shall come a
rumor,” namely, that Cyrus is approaching, and has already entered Assyria. Then is
your time to “go out” (Jer_51:45). Babylon was taken the following or third year of
Belshazzar’s reign [Grotius].
violence in the land — of Babylon (Psa_7:16).
ruler against ruler — or, “ruler upon ruler,” a continual change of rulers in a short
space. Belshazzar and Nabonidus, supplanted by Darius or Cyaxares, who is succeeded
by Cyrus.
K&D, "Yet they are not to despair when the catastrophe draws near, and all kinds of
rumours of war and oppression are abroad. The repetition of ‫ה‬ָ‫מוּע‬ ְ‫שּׁ‬ ַ‫ה‬ expresses the
correlative relation, - this and that report; cf. Ewald, §360, c. The suffix in ‫יו‬ ָ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬ ַ‫א‬ has a
neuter sense; the word means "afterwards" (= ‫י‬ ֵ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬ ַ‫א‬ ‫ֹאת‬‫,ז‬ Job_42:16). ‫ס‬ ָ‫מ‬ ָ‫ח‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫בּ‬ is also
to be taken as dependent, grammatically, on ‫א‬ ָ‫:וּב‬ "and when a deed of violence is
committed in the land, one ruler (rises up) against the other." These words presuppose
not merely a pretty long duration of the war, but also rebellion and revolution, through
which Babylon is to go to ruin. In this sense they are employed by Christ for describing
the wars and risings that are to precede His advent; Mat_24:6; Mar_13:7; Luk_21:9.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet in due time anticipates a danger, lest the Jews should
be disturbed in their minds, when they saw those dreadful shakings which
afterwards happened; for when their minds were raised to an expectation of a
return, great commotions began to arise in Babylon. Babylon, as it is well known,
was for a long time besieged, and, as is usual in wars, every day brings forth
something new. As, then, God, in a manner, shook the whole land, it could not be,
especially under increasing evils, but that the miserable exiles should become faint,
being in constant fear; for they were exposed to the wantonness of their enemies.
Then the Prophet seasonably meets them here, and shows that there was no cause
for them to be disturbed, whatever might happen.
Come, he says, and rise shall various rumors; but stand firm in your minds.
Interpreters confine these rumors to the first year of Belshazzar; but I know not
whether such a view is correct. I consider the words simply intended to strengthen
weak minds, lest they should be overwhelmed, or at least vacillate, through trials,
when they heard of grievous commotions.
But there is a doctrine here especially useful; for when God designs to aid his
Church, he suffers the world to be, in a manner, thrown into confusion, that the
favor of redemption may appear more remarkable. Unless, then, the faithful were to
159

160. have some knowledge of God’s mercy, they could never endure with courageous
minds the trials by which God proves them, and while Satan, on the other hand,
seeks to upset their faith. There is the prelude of this very thing to be seen in the
ancient people: God had promised to be their redeemer; when the day drew nigh,
war suddenly arose, and the Medes and the Persians, as locusts, covered the whole
land. We know what various evils war brings with it. There is, then, no doubt but
that the children of God sustained many and grievous troubles, especially as they
were exiles there; they must have suffered want, they must have been harassed in
various ways. Now, as the event of war was uncertain, they might have fainted a
hundred times, had they not been supported by this prophecy. But, as I have said, so
now also God deals with his Church; for when a deliverer appears, all things seem
to threaten ruin rather than to promise a joyful and happy deliverance. It is then
necessary, that these prophecies should come to our minds, and that we should
apply, for our own benefit, what happened formerly to our fathers, for we are the
same body. There is, therefore, no reason for us at this day to wonder, if all things
seem to get worse and worse, when yet God has promised that the salvation of his
Church will ever be precious to him, and that he will take care of her: how so?
because it is said, Let not your heart be faint, fear ye not when rumors arise, one
after another; when one year brings tumults, and then another year brings new
tumults, yet let not all this disturb your minds. (104)
And Christ seems to allude to these words of the Prophet, when he says,
“Wars shall arise, and rumors of wars: be ye not troubled.” (Matthew 24:6)
These words of Christ sufficiently warn us not to think it strange, if the Church at
this day be exposed to violent waves, and be tossed as by continual storms: why so?
because it is right and just that our condition should be like that of the fathers, or at
least approach to it. We now, then, understand the design of the Prophet, and the
perpetual use that ought to be made of what is here taught.
He afterwards adds, Violence in the land, and a ruler upon or after a ruler. This
refers to Cyrus, who succeeded Darius, whom some call Cyaxares. They, indeed, as
it is well known, both ruled; but Darius, who was older, had the honor of being the
supreme king. Afterwards Cyrus, when Darius was dead, became the king of the
whole monarchy. And Darius the Mede lived only one year after Babylon was taken.
But I doubt not but that the Prophet here bids the Jews to be of good courage and of
a cheerful mind, though the land should often change its masters; for that change,
however often, could take away nothing from God’s authority and government. It
afterwards follows, —
And lest your heart faint, And ye be afraid of the rumor rumored in the land, —
For it shall come in one year, the romor, etc.
But if ‫,פן‬ rendered lest, be taken, as it is sometimes, a dissuasive particle, then the
rendering would be as follows, —
160

161. And let not your heart be faint, Nor be ye afraid of the rumor rumored in the land;
When it shall come in one year, the rumor, And afterwards in a year, the rumor,
And violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler.
The reference seems to be to the commotions in Babylon before the liberation of the
Jews. — Ed.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:46. And lest your heart faint— Let not your heart faint,
neither do ye tremble when a rumour shall be heard in the land. One year a rumour
shall come, and then another rumour in the same year. Then the spoiler shall come
into the land, ruler after ruler. Houbigant. The prophet gives these tokens, that they
may know that the time of the dissolution of the Babylonish empire is drawing near;
namely, that the first rumour of war denounced against the head of that empire
shall be the year before the siege, when Cyrus and Belshazzar shall engage in a
battle, and the latter shall be defeated: upon which the conqueror in the following
year shall lay siege to Babylon itself. See Lowth and Calmet.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that
shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come [one] year, and after that in
[another] year [shall come] a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
Ver. 46. And lest your heart faint.] Or, And let not your hearts faint.
And ye fear for the rumour,] sc., Of Cyrus’s coming. Fear it not, all is for the best to
you; your redemption draweth nigh.
A rumour shall both come one year,] sc., Of Cyrus’s preparation, and then another
of his expedition toward Babylon.
Ruler against ruler,] i.e., Cyrus against Belshazzar; so Constantine against
Maxentius, Maximinus, Lucinius, &c.; this was for the best to the poor Church of
Christ.
47 For the time will surely come
when I will punish the idols of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced
161

162. and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
BARNES, "Therefore - The exiles were to note these things as signs of the approach
of God’s visitation.
Confounded - Or, ashamed.
CLARKE, "Therefore, behold, the days come that I will do judgment on the
graven images of Babylon,.... Because of the connection of these words, some
understand Jer_51:46 of the report of the deliverance of the Jews time after time; and
yet nothing came of it, which disheartened them; and they were used more cruelly, and
with greater violence, by the Chaldeans and their kings, one after another; and
"therefore" the following things are said; but the particle may be rendered "moreover"
(n), as some observe; or "surely", certainly, of a truth, as in Jer_5:2; the time is
hastening on, the above things being done, when judgment shall be executed, not only
upon Bel the chief idol, Jer_51:44; but upon all the idols of the Chaldeans; which should
be broke to pieces, and stripped of everything about them that was valuable; the Medes
and Persians having no regard to images in their worship; though Dr. Prideaux (o)
thinks that what is here said, and in Jer_51:44; were fulfilled by Xerxes, when he
destroyed and pillaged the Babylonian temples:
and her whole land shall be confounded; the inhabitants of it, when they see their
images destroyed, in which they trusted for their safety:
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her; in the midst of Babylon; where the
king and his army were shut up, and dared not move out; and where they were slain
when the army of Cyrus entered.
GILL, "Therefore, behold, the days come that I will do judgment on the
graven images of Babylon,.... Because of the connection of these words, some
understand Jer_51:46 of the report of the deliverance of the Jews time after time; and
yet nothing came of it, which disheartened them; and they were used more cruelly, and
with greater violence, by the Chaldeans and their kings, one after another; and
"therefore" the following things are said; but the particle may be rendered "moreover"
(n), as some observe; or "surely", certainly, of a truth, as in Jer_5:2; the time is
hastening on, the above things being done, when judgment shall be executed, not only
upon Bel the chief idol, Jer_51:44; but upon all the idols of the Chaldeans; which should
be broke to pieces, and stripped of everything about them that was valuable; the Medes
and Persians having no regard to images in their worship; though Dr. Prideaux (o)
thinks that what is here said, and in Jer_51:44; were fulfilled by Xerxes, when he
destroyed and pillaged the Babylonian temples:
and her whole land shall be confounded; the inhabitants of it, when they see their
162

163. images destroyed, in which they trusted for their safety:
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her; in the midst of Babylon; where the
king and his army were shut up, and dared not move out; and where they were slain
when the army of Cyrus entered.
JAMISON, "Grotius translates, “Because then (namely, on the third year) the time
shall have come that,” etc.
confounded — at seeing their gods powerless to help them.
her slain — in retribution for “Israel’s slain” (Jer_51:49) who fell by her hand.
Grotius translates, “her dancers,” as in Jdg_21:21, Jdg_21:23; 1Sa_18:6, the same
Hebrew word is translated, alluding to the dancing revelry of the festival during which
Cyrus took Babylon.
CALVIN, "He repeats a former sentence, that God would visit the idols of Babylon
He does not speak now of Bel only, but includes all the false gods. We have already
said why God raised his hand against idols, which were yet mere inventions of no
account. This he did for the sake of men, that the Israelites might know that they
had been deceived by the wiles of Satan, and that the faithful might understand that
they ought not to ascribe it to false gods, when God for a time spared the ungodly.
However wanton, then, they might be, in their prosperity, yet when they perished
together with their idols, the faithful would then learn by experience, that idols
obtained no victory for their worshippers.
When, therefore, the Prophet now says, Behold, the days are coming, and I will visit,
etc., he no doubt intended to support the minds of the godly, who otherwise would
have been cast down. And it was the best support, patiently to wait for the time of
visitation, of which he now speaks;. I will visit, he says, all the images of Babylon;
and then he adds, her whole land shall be ashamed. He speaks of the land, because
the dominion of that monarchy extended far, so that it was difficult to travel
through all its regions, and enemies could hardly have access to them. At length he
adds, all her slain shall fall in the midst of her (105) He then speaks first of the
country, and then he adds, that however fortified the city might be, yet. its walls and
towers would be of no moment, for conquerors would march through her very
streets, and everywhere kill those who thought themselves hid in a safe place, and
set, as it were, above the clouds. He then adds, —
And all her slain, they shall fall in the midst of her.
— Ed
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:47. Therefore, behold— For, behold. Instead of all her slain,
Houbigant reads all her wounded, as in Jeremiah 51:4 and Kennicott all her
soldiers: and so in the 49th verse, the latter reads, as Babylon hath caused the
soldiers of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the soldiers of all that country, or
163

164. land. The next verse should be read, And the heavens and the earth shall shout over
Babylon.
PETT, “Verses 47-49
The Reasons For Babylon’s Demise (Jeremiah 51:47-49).
We now learn again the reasons for Babylon’s demise. It was because of her graven
images (Jeremiah 51:47), with all their para-normal ramifications (Isaiah 47:9 ff),
and because of what she had done to Israel (Jeremiah 51:49). On the one hand she
has exalted herself and led the world astray after the para-normal, on the other she
has humiliated God’s people. These themes have been present throughout these
chapters.
Jeremiah 51:47-49
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
That I will execute judgment on the graven images of Babylon,
And her whole land will be confounded,
And all her slain will fall in the midst of her,
.
Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them,
Will sing for joy over Babylon,
For the destroyers will come to her from the north,
The word of YHWH.
As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
So at Babylon will fall the slain of all the land.”
‘Therefore --.’ That is, it is because of the weakness which will result from the
constant changes in leadership described in Jeremiah 51:45-46. YHWH works
through man’s history.
‘Behold, the days are coming --’. A regular Jeremaic introduction to future events.
See Jeremiah 7:32; Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 16:14; Jeremiah 19:6; Jeremiah 23:5;
Jeremiah 23:7; Jeremiah 30:3; Jeremiah 31:27; Jeremiah 31:31; Jeremiah 31:38;
Jeremiah 33:14; Jeremiah 48:12; Jeremiah 49:2; Jeremiah 51:52).
164

165. And what is coming? Judgment on the graven images of Babylon. They will be
revealed as nothings, unable to prevent what is coming on Babylon. Their
powerlessness will be laid bare, for they will be unable to protect either the land or
the people, the destruction and slaughter of which will reveal their impotence. And
the consequence will be that the very heavens, and all that is in them, will sing for
joy over what is to happen to them. Such were the blasphemies perpetrated in the
names of these gods that their downfall will be noted in Heaven, as well as on earth.
This must be seen in the light of the great claims made by Babylon about her gods,
whom she claimed had made her master of the world, and we must remember that
many, even in Israel, would have believed it. Now those gods were to be totally
humiliated.
Note how closely intertwined are the fates of the gods, the land and the people. The
latter two were the responsibility of the former. Thus the ravaging of the land and
the ‘wounding to death’ (compare the use of the word in Psalms 69:26; Job 24:12) of
the people would be a slight on the very name of those gods. They would prove the
impotence of Bel/Marduk and all the other gods of Babylon.
Thus there would be rejoicing in the heavens and on earth. Compare the similar
idea in Isaiah 44:23 at the redemption of Israel/Judah. The rejoicing on earth
would, of course, have been because at last Babylon’s iron grip had been broken
and the nations would be freed from her cruel dominance. The overlordship of
Cyrus that would follow would be in a totally different category for in the main it
was humane and supportive, showing concern for the different peoples.
All this would be wrought by ‘the destroyers from the north’ (north as far as Israel
was concerned. In fact Media, the prominent empire before the rise of Cyrus, was
north of Babylon. Persia, however, was east of Babylon, but would still be ‘in the
north’ as far as Israel was concerned). The forces of the Medo-Persian empire would
sweep in and destroy Babylonia and its cities, even though Babylon itself would get
off more lightly, partly due to the strategy by which it was taken (a surprise entry
brought about by diverting the river and using the consequent river bed to enter the
city), and partly due to the humaneness of Cyrus. Later rebellion would, however,
result in the completion of the destruction of Babylon itself at Persian hands.
‘As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon will fall the slain of
all the land.’ What Babylon has sown it will reap, and this especially because of
what it had done to God’s people. Babylon had caused the slain of Israel to fall, now
it would itself suffer the same fate. God is not unmindful of what happens to His
people, and although His retribution may be delayed, leaving us sometimes
bewildered, we can be sure that in the final analysis it is certain of fulfilment.
165

166. 48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north
destroyers will attack her,”
declares the Lord.
CLARKE, "he heaven and the earth - shall sing for Babylon - Its fall shall be
a subject of universal rejoicing.
GILL, "Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein,
shall sing for Babylon,.... At the destruction of her, rejoicing at it; not at the ruin of
fellow creatures, simply considered; but relatively, at the righteousness of God in it, and
the glory of his justice, and the deliverance of many by it from tyranny and bondage.
This seems to be a figurative expression often used, in which the heavens and the earth
are brought in as witnesses, approvers, and applauders, of what is done by the Lord.
Some indeed interpret it of the angels, the inhabitants of the heavens, and of the Jews,
dwellers on earth; and others of the church of God, in heaven and in earth; which, of the
two, seems best; the like will be done at the fall of mystical Babylon, Rev_18:20;
for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord; the Medes
and Persians that should and did spoil and plunder Babylon; and who came from
countries that lay north to it.
JAMISON, "heaven ... earth ... sing for Babylon — (Isa_14:7-13; Isa_44:23;
Rev_18:20).
K&D, "Heaven and earth, with all that is in them (i.e., the whole world, with its
animate and inanimate creatures), break out into rejoicing over the fall of Babylon (cf.
Isa_44:23), for Babylon has enslaved and laid waste all the world. The second part of
Jer_51:48, "for the destroyers shall come from the north," is logically connected with
Jer_51:47, to which Jer_51:48 is to be taken as subordinate, in the sense, "over which
heaven and earth rejoice." On Jer_51:48, cf. Jer_50:3, Jer_50:9,Jer_50:41. Both parts
of Jer_51:49 are placed in mutual relation by ‫ַם‬‫גּ‬‫ַם־‬‫גּ‬. These two particles, thus used,
166

167. signify "as well as," "not only...but also," or "as...so." Ewald, Hitzig, and Graf have quite
missed the meaning of both clauses, since they take ‫י‬ֵ‫ל‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ as a vocative, and
render the whole thus: "Not only must Babylon fall, O ye slain ones of Israel, but slain
ones of the whole earth have fallen on the side of Babylon (or through Babylon)." This
view of the expression "slain ones of Israel" cannot be established, either from
grammatical considerations or from a regard to the meaning of the whole. Not only is
there no occasion for a direct address to the slain ones of Israel; but by such a view of the
expression, the antithesis indicated by ‫ַם‬‫גּ‬‫ַמררר‬‫גּ‬, between "the slain ones of Israel" and
"the slain ones of the earth," is thereby destroyed. Viewed grammatically, "the slain ones
of Israel" can only be the subject dependent on the inf. ‫ֹל‬‫פּ‬ ְ‫נ‬ ִ‫:ל‬ "the fall of the slain ones of
Israel." Kimchi has long ago hit the meaning in the explanation, ‫ַם‬‫גּ‬ ‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ָ‫בּ‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ת‬ְ‫י‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ת‬ ַ‫בּ‬ ִ‫ס‬ ‫ֹל‬‫פּ‬ ְ‫נ‬ ִ‫,ל‬
"as Babylon was the cause of the slain ones of Israel falling." Similarly Jerome: et
quomodo fecit Babylon ut caderent occisi ex Israel. This paraphrase may be vindicated
on grammatical grounds, for the inf. constr. with ְ‫,ל‬ with or without ‫ָה‬‫י‬ ָ‫,ה‬ is used to
express that on which one is engaged, or what one is on the point of doing; cf. Gesenius,
§132, 3, Rem. 1. In this meaning, ‫ֹל‬‫פּ‬ ְ‫נ‬ ִ‫ל‬ stands here without ‫ָה‬‫י‬ ָ‫:ה‬ "Just as Babylon was
concerned in making the slain ones of Israel fall;" or better: "Just as Babylon was intent
on the fall of slain ones in Israel, so also there fall because of Babylon (prop. dative, for
Babylon) slain ones of all the earth;" because there are to be found, in the capital of the
empire, people from all quarters of the world, who are slain when Babylon is conquered.
The perf. ‫לוּ‬ ְ‫ֽפ‬ָ‫נ‬ is prophetic, like ‫י‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ְ‫ד‬ ַ‫ק‬ָ‫פּ‬ in Jer_51:47.
CALVIN, "That, he might more fully convince the Jews of the truth of all that he
has hitherto said of the destruction of Babylon, he declares that God would effect it,
and that it would be applauded by all the elements. Shout, he says, shall heaven and
earth; which is a kind of personification — for he ascribes knowledge to heaven and
earth. It might, indeed, be more refinedly explained, that angels and men would
shout for joy, but it would be a frigid explanation; and the Prophet removes every
ambiguity, by adding, and all that is in them: he includes, no doubt, the stars, men,
trees, fishes, birds, fields, stones, and rivers. And the expression is very emphatical
when he says, that all created things, though without reason and understanding,
would yet be full of joy, so that they would, in a manner, rejoice and sing praise. If
such would be the feeling in dead creatures, when God put forth his hand against
Babylon, would it be possible for that city to remain safe, which was so hated by
heaven and earth, and which was accursed by birds and wild beasts, by trees, and
everything void of understanding!
We hence see that the Prophet heaps together all kinds of figures and modes of
speaking, in order to confirm weak minds, so that they might confidently look
forward to the destruction of Babylon. He at the same time intimates that Babylon
was hated by all creatures, because it had reached to the highest pitch of
wickedness. He then shows the cause by the effect, as though he had said that
Babylon was hated by heaven and earth, so that heaven and earth seemed as though
they deemed themselves in a manner polluted by the sight of that city. As long, then,
167

168. as Babylon stood, heaven and earth sighed: but, on the contrary, when God
appeared as an avenger, then heaven and earth, and all things in them, would shout
with joy. Could it then be that God, the judge of the world, would always connive at
its sins? If heaven and earth could not endure it, and Babylon was so loathsome to
all, and joy would arise from its destruction, could God possibly allow that city,
filled with so many sins, and detested by heaven and earth, to escape with impunity
his judgment?
We now, then, more fully understand why the Prophet says that triumph and joy
would be in heaven and earth, and among all created things.
He says, because; but the particle ‫,כי‬ ki, may be taken for an adverb of time: then he
says, when from the north shall come wasters He alludes to the Medes, for the
Persians were eastward. But as the Medes were nigher, and also their monarch hr
wealthier, the Prophet refers especially to the Medes when he says that evil would
come from the north. For the Medes were north of Chaldea, as the Persians were
eastward.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that [is] therein,
shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the
LORD.
Ver. 48. Then the heaven and the earth, &c., shall sing.] Est hyperbolica
prosopopoeia. This is an exagerated personification. There shall be, as it were, a new
face set upon the world, and all the creatures shall appear to be well paid at the
downfall of Babylon, under the oppressions whereof they even groaned and
laboured. See what a similar general joy there will be at the ruin of Rome!
[Revelation 18:20]
49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
just as the slain in all the earth
have fallen because of Babylon.
BARNES, "Render, “As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so because of
Babylon, hare fallen the slain of (or, in) the whole earth.” Babylon has to answer for the
general carnage caused by its wars.
168

169. GILL, "As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel,.... In Jerusalem, when that
city was taken the Chaldeans, and destroyed:
so at Babylon shall all the slain of all the earth; or "land"; that is, the land of
Chaldea; the inhabitants of which fled to Babylon upon the invasion of the Medes and
Persians, both for their own safety, and the defence of that city; and where, being slain,
they fell; and this was a just retaliation of them for what they had done to Israel. These
words may be considered, as they are by some, as the song of the inhabitants of heaven
and earth, observing and applauding the justice and equity of divine Providence in this
affair; see Rev_13:7.
JAMISON, "caused ... to fall — literally, “has been for the falling,” that is, as
Babylon made this its one aim to fill all places with the slain of Israel, so at Babylon shall
all the slain of that whole land (not as English Version, “of all the earth”) [Maurer].
Henderson translates, “Babylon also shall fall, ye slain of Israel. Those also of Babylon
shall fall, O ye slain of all the earth.” But, “in the midst of her,” Jer_51:47, plainly
answers to “at Babylon,” Jer_51:49, English Version.
CALVIN, "THE words literally read thus, “As Babylon, that they might fall, the
slain of Israel, so for Babylon they shall fall, the slain of all the lands.” Some,
omitting the ‫,ל‬ lamed, in the second clause, render the passage thus, “As the slain of
Israel have fallen through Babylon, so by Babylon shall they fall: “and others
render the last like the first, “through Babylon.” But the simpler rendering is that
which I have given, even that this would be the reward which God would render
Babylon, that they would fall everywhere through its whole land, as it had slain the
people of Israel. For the Prophet no doubt had this in view, to alleviate the sorrow of
the godly by some consolation; and the ground of consolation was, that God would
be the avenger of all the evils which the Babylonians had brought on them. For it is
a heavy trial when we think that we are disregarded by God, and that our enemies
with impunity oppress us according to their own will. The Prophet, then, testifies
that God would by no means suffer that so many of the Israelites should perish
unpunished, for he would at length render to the Babylonians what they deserved,
even that they who destroyed others should in their turn be destroyed.
We may now easily gather what the Prophet means, “As Babylon,” he says, “has
made many in Israel to fall, so now the Babylonians themselves shall fall.” To
render ‫,ל‬ lamed, by “through,” or, on account of, is improper. Then he says the
Babylonians themselves shall fall, the slain of the whole land. By the whole land, I
do not understand the whole world, as other interpreters, but Chaldea only. Then
everywhere in Chaldea, they who had been so cruel as to shed innocent blood
everywhere would perish. (106) And though that saying is generally true, Whoso
sheddeth man’s blood shall be punished; yet the word is especially addressed to the
Church. God, then, avenges all slaughters, because he cannot bear his own image to
be violated, which he has impressed on men. But as he has a paternal care for his
Church, he is in an especial manner the avenger of that cruelty which the ungodly
169

170. exercise towards the faithful.
In short, the Prophet means, that though God may suffer for a time the ungodly to
rage against his Church, yet he will be at the suitable season its avenger, so that they
shall everywhere be slain who have been thus cruel.
But we hence learn that we ought by no means to despair when God allows so much
liberty to the ungodly, so that they slay the miserable and the innocent, for the same
thing happened formerly to the ancient people. It was the Church of God in which
the Chaldeans committed that carnage of which the Prophet speaks: the children of
God were then slain as sheep. If the same thing should happen to us at this day,
there would be no reason for us to despond, but to wait for the time of vengeance of
which the Prophet speaks here; for experience will then show how precious to God
is the life of all the godly. It now follows, —
“As Babylon made to fall the slain of Israel, So for Babylon have fallen the slain of
all the land.”
It is said before, in Jeremiah 51:47, that her slain should fall in the midst of her
land. “For Babylon” means, on account of what she had done. But if it be “in
Babylon,” means, on account of what she had done. But of Babylon; and the
intimation is, that there would be none led captive, but slain in the land, except “all”
be taken, as is often the case, as signifying a large number. — Ed.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:49. So at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth— So
through Babylon have fallen the slain of the whole earth. The reason is here
assigned, why the heavens and the earth, and all that were therein, should rejoice at
the fall of Babylon, because not only the people of Israel, but of the whole earth
likewise, had been greatly annoyed by the power of that ambitious nation.
PULPIT, “As Babylon hath caused, etc. The verse is very difficult. Ewald and others
render thus: "Not only must Babylon fall, O ye slain ones of Israel, but slain ones of
the whole earth have fallen because of Babylon." But why this address to the slain
ones of Israel? Besides, the antithesis indicated in the Hebrew is thereby destroyed.
Hell explains the antithesis thus: "Just as Babylon was intent on the fall of slain
ones in Israel, so also there fall because of Babylonian slain ones of all the earth,"
viz. because there are to be found, in the capital of the empire, people from all
quarters of the world, who are slain when Babylon is conquered. A better antithesis
seems to be gained if we follow the Peshito, and read, at the end of the verse, "in the
whole earth." It will then be asserted by the prophet that, just as Babylon was the
cause of the slaying of Israelites, so (as a punishment) the Babylonian fugitives shall
be slain wherever they may wander.
170

171. 50 You who have escaped the sword,
leave and do not linger!
Remember the Lord in a distant land,
and call to mind Jerusalem.”
BARNES, "Afar off - Or, from afar, from Chaldaea, far away from Yahweh’s
dwelling in Jerusalem. The verse is a renewed entreaty to the Jews to leave Babylon and
journey homewards, as soon as Cyrus grants them permission.
CLARKE, "Ye that have escaped the sword - The Jews.
Let Jerusalem come into your mind - Pray for its restoration; and embrace the
first opportunity offered of returning thither.
GILL, "Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still,.... The Jews,
who had escaped the sword of the Chaldeans when Jerusalem was taken, and were
carried captive into Babylon, where they had remained to this time; and had also
escaped the sword of the Medes and Persians, when Babylon was taken; these are bid to
go away from Babylon, and go into their land, and not stay in Babylon, or linger there, as
Lot in Sodom; or stop on the road, but make the best of their way to the land of Judea:
remember the Lord afar off; the worship of the Lord, as the Targum interprets it;
the worship of the Lord in the sanctuary at Jerusalem, from which they were afar off at
Babylon; and had been a long time, even seventy years, deprived of it, as Kimchi explains
it:
and let Jerusalem come into your mind; that once famous city, the metropolis of
the nation, that now lay in ruins; the temple that once stood in it, and the service of God
there; that upon the remembrance of, and calling these to mind, they might be
quickened and stirred up to hasten thither, and rebuild the city and temple, and restore
the worship of God. It is not easy to say whose words these are, whether the words of the
prophet, or of the Lord by him; or of the inhabitants of the heavens and earth, whose
song may be here continued, and in it thus address the Jews.
JAMISON, "escaped ... sword — namely, of the Medes. So great will be the
slaughter that even some of God’s people shall be involved in it, as they had deserved.
afar off — though ye are banished far off from where ye used formerly to worship
God.
let Jerusalem come into your mind — While in exile remember your temple and
171

172. city, so as to prefer them to all the rest of the world wherever ye may be (Isa_62:6).
K&D, "Final summing up of the offence and the punishment of Babylon. Jer_51:50.
"Ye who have escaped the sword, depart, do not stay! remember Jahveh from afar, and
let Jerusalem come into your mind. Jer_51:51. We were ashamed, because we heard
reproach; shame hath covered our face, for strangers have come into the holy places of
the house of Jahveh. Jer_51:52. Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jahveh,
when I will take vengeance on her graven images; and through all her land shall the
wounded groan. Jer_51:53. Though Babylon ascended to heaven, and fortified the
height of her strength, yet from me there shall come destroyers to her, saith Jahveh.
Jer_51:54. The noise of a cry [comes] from Babylon, and great destruction from the
land of the Chaldeans. Jer_51:55. For Jahveh lays waste Babylon, and destroys out of
her the great noise; and her waves sound like many waters: a noise of their voice is
uttered. Jer_51:56. For there comes against her, against Babylon, a destroyer, and her
heroes are taken; each one of their bows is broken: for Jahveh is a God of retributions,
He shall certainly recompense. Jer_51:57. And I will make drunk her princes and her
wise men, her governors and her lieutenant-governors, and her heroes, so that they
shall sleep an eternal sleep, and not awake, saith the King, whose name is Jahveh of
hosts. Jer_51:58. Thus saith Jahveh of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be
utterly destroyed, and her high gates shall be burned with fire, so that nations toil for
nothing, and peoples for the fire, and thus are weary."
Once more there is addressed to Israel the call to return immediately; cf. Jer_51:45
and Jer_50:8. The designation, "those who have escaped from the sword," is occasioned
by the mention in Jer_51:49 of those who are slain: it is not to be explained (with
Nägelsbach) from the circumstance that the prophet sees before him the massacre of the
Babylonians as something that has already taken place. This view of the matter agrees
neither with what precedes nor what follows, where the punishment of Babylon is set
forth as yet to come. It is those who have escaped from the sword of Babylon during the
exercise of its sway that are meant, not those who remain, spared in the conquest of
Babylon. They are to go, not to stand or linger on the road, lest they be overtaken, with
others, by the judgment falling upon Babylon; they are also to remember, from afar,
Jahveh the faithful covenant God, and Jerusalem, that they may hasten their return.
‫כוּ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ִ‫ה‬ is a form of the imperative from ַ‫ל‬ ָ‫;ה‬ it occurs only here, and has probably been
chosen instead of ‫כוּ‬ ְ‫,ל‬ because this form, in the actual use of language, had gradually
lost its full meaning, and become softened down to a mere interjection, while emphasis
is here placed on the going. After the call there follows, in Jer_51:51, the complaint, "We
have lived to see the dishonour caused by the desecration of our sanctuary." This
complaint does not permit of being taken as an answer or objection on the part of those
who are summoned to return, somewhat in this spirit: "What is the good of our
remembering Jahveh and Jerusalem? Truly we have thence a remembrance only of the
deepest shame and dishonour" (Nägelsbach). Such an objection the prophet certainly
would have answered with a reproof for the want of weakness of faith. Ewald accordingly
takes Jer_51:51 as containing "a confession which the exiles make in tears, and filled
with shame, regarding the previous state of dishonour in which they themselves, as well
as the holy place, have been." On this view, those who are exhorted to return encourage
themselves by this confession and prayer to zeal in returning; and it would be necessary
to supply dicite before Jer_51:51, and to take ‫נוּ‬ ְ‫ֹשׁ‬‫בּ‬ as meaning, "We are ashamed
172

173. because we have heard scoffing, and because enemies have come into the holy places of
Jahveh's house." But they might have felt no shame on account of this dishonour that
befell them. ‫שׁ‬ ‫בּ‬ signifies merely to be ashamed in consequence of the frustration of
some hope, not the shame of repentance felt on doing wrong. Hence, with Calvin and
others, we must take the words of Jer_51:51 as a scruple which the prophet expresses in
the name of the people against the summons to remember Jahveh and Jerusalem, that
he may remove the objection. The meaning is thus something like the following: "We
may say, indeed, that disgrace has been imposed on us, for we have experienced insult
and dishonour; but in return for this, Babylon will now be laid waste and destroyed."
The plural ‫ים‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫דּ‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ denotes the different holy places of the temple, as in Ps. 68:36. The
answer which settles this objection is introduced, Jer_51:52, by the formula, "Therefore,
behold, days are coming," which connects itself with the contents of Jer_51:51 :
"Therefore, because we were obliged to listen to scoffing, and barbarians have forced
their way into the holy places of the house of our God, - therefore will Jahveh punish
Babylon for these crimes," The suffixes in ָ‫יה‬ֶ‫יל‬ ִ‫ס‬ ְ‫פּ‬ and ‫הּ‬ָ‫צ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫א‬ refer to Babylon. ‫ל‬ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫ח‬ is
used in undefined generality, "slain, pierced through."
CALVIN, "The Prophet again bids the faithful quickly to flee from Chaldea; but he
says, They who remain from the sword He then intimates that the slaughter would
be such, that it would include many of God’s people, and that they would be
destroyed. And we know that many among them deserved such a sad end; but the
Prophet now turns to address those who had been preserved through God’s special
favor. He then bids them to depart and not to stand still or stay.
Now, we said yesterday what was the object of this exhortation, even that the
faithful might feel assured of their free return to their own country, from which,
nevertheless, they thought they were perpetually excluded; for they had wholly
despaired of deliverance, though it had been so often promised. This exhortation,
then, contains a promise; and in the meantime the Prophet reminds us, that though
God inflicted a temporary punishment on the chosen people, yet his vengeance on
the Babylonians would be perpetual. For God not only tempers his rigor towards
the faithful when he chastises them, but he also gives them a happy issue, so that all
their afflictions become helps to their salvation, as Paul also teaches us. (Romans
8:28.) In short, the punishments inflicted by God on his children are so many
medicines; for he always consults their safety even when he manifests tokens of his
wrath. But the case with the ungodly is different; for all their punishments are
perpetual, even those which seem to have an end. How so? because they lead to
eternal ruin. This is what the Prophet means when he bids those who remained, to
flee from Chaldea, according to what we observed yesterday, when he said, Flee ye
from the indignation of God’s wrath. There is, then, an implied comparison between
the punishment which brings ultimate ruin on the reprobate, and the temporary
punishment inflicted by God on his children.
He bids them to remember Jehovah from afar Some apply this to the seventy years,
but, in my view, in a sense too restricted. I then doubt not but that the Prophet bids
173

174. them to entertain hope and to look to God, however far they may have been driven
from him, as though he were wholly alienated from them. The Israelites had then
been driven into distant lands, as though God never meant to restore them. As, then,
the distance was so great between Chaldea and Judea, what else could come into the
minds of the miserable exiles but that God was far removed from them, so that it
was in vain for them to seek or call upon him? The Prophet obviates this want of
faith, and raises their confidence, so that they might not cease to flee to God, though
they had been driven into distant lands: Be, then, mindful of Jehovah from afar
Then he adds, Let Jerusalem ascend on your heart; that is, though so many
obstacles may intercept your faith, yet think of Jerusalem. The condition of the
people required that they should be thus animated, for they might otherwise, as it
has been said, have a hundred times despaired, and have thus become torpid in
their calamities. Then the Prophet testifies that an access to God was open to them,
and that though they were removed far, he yet had a care for them, and was ready
to bring help whenever called upon And for the same reason he bids them to direct
their minds to Jerusalem, so as to prefer the Temple of God to all the world, and
never to rest quiet until God restored them, and liberty were given them of
worshipping him there.
Now this passage deserves special notice, as it applies to us at this day; for when the
scattering of the Church takes place, we think that we are forsaken by God, and we
also conclude that he is far away from us, so that he is sought in vain. As, then, we
are wont, being inclined to distrust, to become soon torpid in our calamities, as
though we were very remote from God, and as though he did not turn his eyes to
look on our miseries, let us apply to ourselves what is here said, even to remember
Jehovah from afar; that is, when we seem to be involved in extreme miseries, when
God hides his face from us and seems to be afar off; in short, when we think
ourselves forsaken, and circumstances appear as proving this, we ought still to
contend with all such obstacles until our faith triumphs, and to employ our thoughts
in remembering God, though he may be apparently alienated from us. Let us also
learn to direct our minds to the Church; for however miserable our condition may
be, it is yet better than the happiness which the ungodly seek for themselves in the
world. When, therefore, we see the ungodly flattering themselves as to their
possessions, when we see them pleased and delighted as though God were dealing
indulgently with them, let then Jerusalem come to our minds, That is, let us prefer
the state of the Church, which may be yet sad and deformed, and such as we would
shun, were we to follow our own inclinations. Let then the condition of the Church
come to our minds, that is, let us embrace the miseries common to the godly, and let
it be more pleasant to us to be connected with the children of God in all their
afflictions, than to be inebriated with the prosperity of those who only delight in the
world, and are at the same time accursed by God. This is the improvement which we
ought to make of what is here taught. It now follows, —
COFFMAN, “"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,
174

175. 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?
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still:
remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Ver. 50. Ye that have escaped the sword,] sc., Of the Medes and Persians, who at the
taking of the city killed all promiscuously.
Go away, stand not still.] Haste home to your own country, for therefore hath the
Lord delivered you from so many deaths and dangers. See Jeremiah 51:25.
Remember the Lord afar off.] Should not we mind heaven, and hasten thither? If a
heathen could say, ought we not much more, Fugiendum est ad clarissimum
patriam; ibi Pater, ibi omnia, Haste we home to heaven; there is our Father, there
are all things.
PETT, “Verse 50-51
In The Light Of Events God Calls On His People To Remember Him Afresh, And
To Remember Jerusalem, Revealing The State Of Confusion In Which His People
175

176. Are (Jeremiah 51:50-51).
God now calls on His exiled people, in the light of the events which will take place,
to ‘remember YHWH’ (turn their thoughts towards Him in worship and obedience)
even though they are far from the land and the Temple site (at which spasmodic
worship still continued), and to let Jerusalem ‘go up on their hearts’, i.e. affect their
thinking spiritually, with the consequence that they will make their way back there.
They are not to be content with their exile. For while God could be worshipped
anywhere, as the prophets had made clear, the fulfilment of God’s purposes
required His people to return to their land.
The people, however, were not so sure. All that they could see was that strangers
occupied what remained of Jerusalem, and that, to their reproach, the holy Temple
mount, with all that remained of its holy buildings, was occupied by them. They
were acknowledging that they bore a great burden of guilt.
Jeremiah 51:50
“You who have escaped the sword,
Go you, stand not still,
Remember YHWH from afar,
And let Jerusalem come into your mind.”
The call goes out to those of Israel/Judah who had survived all that had happened
and were still alive, not to stand still where they were, but to come back to their land
despite the difficulties. This message would have gone out to exiled groups around
the known world with whom Jeremiah was in contact. In their distant places they
were to ‘remember YHWH’, calling to mind Him, His promises and His covenant.
Parallel to this they were to ‘let Jerusalem go up on their hearts’, bringing it to mind
and being filled with a desire to return there (compare Psalms 137:5-6). This in the
end was why Babylon had had to be severely dealt with, for while Babylon ruled on,
such a return to Jerusalem would be impossible.
PULPIT, “Ye that have escaped the sword. Evidently Jews are the persons
addressed. It is not, however, perfectly clear whether the escape is from the sword of
Babylon or from that of Divine vengeance. The parallel of Isaiah 24:14 would
suggest the latter; but in the following verses the fall of Babylon is described as still
to come. Stand not still. Lest ye be overtaken by the judgment.
51 “We are disgraced,
176

177. for we have been insulted
and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s house.”
BARNES, "Confounded - Or, ashamed. The verse is a statement of the wrong done
to the exiles by Babylon, and so leads naturally to Babylon’s punishment Jer_51:52.
CLARKE, "Strangers are come into the sanctuaries - The lamentation of the
pious Jews for the profanation of the temple by the Chaldeans.
GILL, "We are confounded, because we have heard reproach,.... These are the
words of the Jews, either objecting to their return to their land; or lamenting the
desolation of it; and complaining of the reproach it lay under, being destitute of
inhabitants; the land in general lying waste and uncultivated; the city of Jerusalem and
temple in ruins; and the worship of God ceased; and the enemy insulting and
reproaching; suggesting, that their God could not protect and save them; and, under
these discouragements, they could not bear the thoughts of returning to it:
shame hath covered our faces; they knew not which way to look when they heard
the report of the state of their country, and the reproach of the enemy, and through
shame covered their faces:
for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house; the oracle, or
the holy of holies; the temple, or the holy place, and the porch or court; so Kimchi and
Abarbinel; into which the Chaldeans, strangers to God and the commonwealth of Israel,
had entered, to the profanation of them, and had destroyed them.
JAMISON, "The prophet anticipates the Jews’ reply; I know you will say in despair,
“We are confounded,” etc. “Wherefore (God saith to you) behold, I will,” etc. (Jer_51:52)
[Calvin]. I prefer taking Jer_51:51 as the prayer which the Jews are directed to offer in
exile (Jer_51:50), “let Jerusalem come into your mind” (and say in prayer to God), “We
are confounded.” This view is confirmed by Psa_44:15, Psa_44:16; Psa_79:4; Psa_
102:17-20; Isa_62:6, Isa_62:7.
for strangers — The “reproach,” which especially has stung us, came when they
taunted us with the fact that they had burned the temple, our peculiar glory, as though
our religion was a thing of naught.
177

178. CALVIN, "It is thought that these words were spoken by the Prophet to the faithful,
to confirm them as to their return. But I rather think that they were spoken by way
of anticipation. They who think that they were spoken as a formula to the Israelites,
that they might with more alacrity prepare themselves for their return, suppose a
verb understood, “Say ye, we are confounded (or ashamed), because we have heard
reproach;” even that sorrow would wound the minds of the faithful, to the end that
they might nevertheless go through all their difficulties. But as I have said, the
Prophet here repeats what the faithful might have of themselves conceived in their
own minds; and he thus speaks by way of concession, as though he said, “I know
that you have in readiness these words, ‘We are ashamed, we are overwhelmed with
reproaches; strangers have entered into the sanctuary of God: since the temple is
polluted and the city overthrown, what any more remains for us? and doubtless we
see that all things supply reasons for despair.’”
As, then, the thoughts of the flesh suggested to the faithful such things as might have
dejected their minds, the Prophet meets them and recites their words. He then says,
as in their person, We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; that is,
because we have been harassed by the reproaches of our enemies. For there is no
doubt but that the Chaldeans heaped many reproaches on that miserable people; for
their pride and their cruelty were such that they insulted the Jews, especially as
their religion was wholly different. As, then, the ears of the people were often
annoyed by reproaches, the Prophet declares here that they had some cause
according to the flesh, why they could hardly dare to entertain the hope of a return.
To the same purpose is what he adds, Shame hath covered our faces, because
strangers have come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah For it was the chief glory of the
chosen people that they had a temple where they did not in vain call upon God; for
this promise was like an invaluable treasure,
“I will dwell in the midst of you; this is my rest, here will I dwell.” (Psalms 132:13)
As, then, God was pleased to choose for himself that throne and habitation in the
world, it was, as I have said, the principal dignity of the people. But when the temple
was overthrown, what more remained for them? it was as though religion was
wholly subverted, and as though God also had left them and moved elsewhere; in
short, all their hope of divine aid and of salvation was taken away from there.
We now, then, understand why the Prophet speaks thus according to the common
thoughts of the people, even that they were covered with shame, because strangers
had come into God’s sanctuaries; for that habitation, which God had chosen for
himself, was polluted. And he says “sanctuaries,” in the plural number, because the
temple had many departments, as the tabernacle had; for there was rite vestibule or
the court where they killed the victims; and then there was the holy place, and there
was the holy of holies, which was the inner sanctuary. It was then on this account
that he said that the sanctuaries of the house of God were possessed by strangers;
for it was a sad and shameful pollution when strangers took possession of God’s
178

179. temple, where even the common people were not admitted; for though the whole of
the people were consecrated to God, yet none but the priests entered the temple. It
was therefore a dreadful profanation of the temple, when enemies entered it by
force and for the sake of degrading it. What then remained for the people, except
despair?
“This is your glory,” said Moses, “before all nations; for what people so noble, what
nation so illustrious, as to have gods so near to it!” (Deuteronomy 4:6)
When, therefore, God ceased to dwell familiarly with the Jews, all their glory fell,
and they were overwhelmed with shame. But after the Prophet recited these
complaints, he immediately subjoins a consolation, —
PETT, :Jeremiah 51:51
“We are confounded,
Because we have heard reproach,
Confusion has covered our faces,
For strangers are come into the sanctuaries of YHWH’s house.”
The reply of the worldwide exiles is that they are demoralised as they look at what
the situation is. They see what remains of Jerusalem as occupied by foreigners, who
even walk over the area where the holy places of YHWH’s house had been without
giving it any thought, perhaps even conducting their own false worship there. And
the thought fills the exiles with reproach, causing them to be confounded and
confused and ashamed. One answer to their situation lies in the next verse. The
graven images which had been given the credit for the destruction of Jerusalem and
the Temple were themselves about to be humbled in the dust by YHWH. What had
happened to His Temple He would be fully avenged for.
Furthermore, little did they realise that one day God would cause the greatest man
in the world of that day to arrange for exiles to return from Babylon, giving them
his support and permission, returning to them the Temple vessels, and promising
funds for the rebuilding of the Temple. They would only be comparatively few to
begin with, but gradually others would be galvanised to return from distant places,
to become a part of the new Israel. The beginnings of the story are told in the Book
of Ezra fortified by the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah
52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
179

180. “when I will punish her idols,
and throughout her land
the wounded will groan.
GILL, "Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do
judgment upon her graven images,.... Destroy their gods, who have reproached the
God of Israel, and profaned his sanctuaries; and for that reason; See Gill on Jer_51:47; it
is an answer to the objection and complaint of the Jews, and is designed for their
comfort and encouragement:
and through all her land the wounded shall groan; because of their wounds and
pain; and which their idols could not cure, ease, or prevent.
JAMISON, "Wherefore — because of these sighs of the Jews directed to God (Jer_
51:21).
I ... judgment upon ... images — in opposition to the Babylonian taunt that
Jehovah’s religion was a thing of naught, since they had burned His temple (Jer_51:51):
I will show that, though I have thus visited the Jews neglect of Me, yet those gods of
Babylon cannot save themselves, much less their votaries, who shall “through all her
land” lie and “groan” with wounds.
CALVIN, "Verse 52
The design of the Prophet is, as I have reminded you, to raise up the minds of the
godly that they might not succumb under their trials, on seeing that they were
exposed to shame and were destitute of all honors. He then says that the time would
come when God would take vengeance on the idols of Babylon. And thus God claims
for himself that power which seemed then to have almost disappeared; for the
temple being overthrown, the Babylonians seemed in a manner to triumph over
him, as God’s power in the temple was overcome. Then as the ruin of it, as we have
said, seemed to have extinguished God’s power, the Prophet applies a remedy, and
says that though the temple was overthrown, yet God remained perfect and his
power unchangeable. But among other things he bids the faithful patiently to wait,
for he invites their attention to the hope of what was as yet hidden.
We now see how, these things, agree, and why the Prophet uses the particle
“therefore,” ‫,לכן‬ laken: Therefore, behold, the days are coming, that is, though ye
are confounded, yet God will give you a reason for glorying, so that ye shall again
sing joyfully his praises. But he says, “the days will come;” by these words he
reminds us that we are to cherish the hope of the promises until God completes his
180

181. work; and thus he corrected that ardor by which we are seized in the midst of our
afflictions, for we wish immediately to fly away to God. The Prophet, then, here
exhorts the faithful to sustain courage until the time fixed by God; and so he refers
them to God’s providence, lest they assumed too much in wishing him to act as their
own minds led them. Come then shall the days when I shall visit the graven images
of Babylon; and groan or cry, etc.; for the word ‫אנק‬ , anak, means to cry. Some
render thus, “groan shall the wounded;” and they render the last word “wounded,”
because they think it improper to say that the slain cry or groan. But the Prophet
means that the cry in that slaughter would be great, that is, that while the
Babylonians were slain, a great howling would be everywhere. It follows, —
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded
shall groan.
Ver. 52. Wherefore, behold, the days come.] So soon is God up at the cry of his poor
people. [Psalms 12:5]
I will do judgment.] See Jeremiah 51:37; Jeremiah 51:49.
PETT, “Verse 52-53
A Further Prophecy Of The Destruction Of Babylon And Its Gods (Jeremiah
51:52-53).
Note the similarity of these words with Jeremiah 51:47. The repetition brings out
the importance and certainty of what is said. YHWH will execute judgment on the
graven images of Babylon, bringing them into disrepute and shaming them utterly.
Their gods would be shown up as helpless. That the destruction of Babylon would
bring Bel/Marduk into disrepute was also the view of Nebuchadrezzar, for when
speaking of the great walls which he had built, he stated, ‘to make more difficult the
attack of an enemy against Imgur Bel, the indestructible wall of Babylon, I
constructed a bulwark like a mountain’. He knew that as Babylon’s protective ‘wall’
Bel would have to take the shame of its defeat.
Furthermore the whole land of Babylonia was to be filled with the groans of the
wounded. None of their gods would do them any good (each city would have its own
gods). Why even though Babylon should mount up to Heaven it would not save her.
There is a probable reference her to Genesis 11:4 in respect of the city and tower of
Babel whose ‘top was unto Heaven’. Compare the similar hint in Jeremiah 51:8. So
very much in Jeremiah’s mind was Babylon as antagonistic to YHWH from the
beginning of history, the great anti-God city. But all its attempts to make
impregnable defences would prove in vain. For the destroyers who came against her
would be from YHWH.
Jeremiah 51:52-53
181

182. “Wherefore, behold, the days come,
The word of YHWH,
That I will execute judgment on her graven images,
And throughout all her land,
The wounded will groan.
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
And though she should fortify the height of her strength,
Yet from me will destroyers come to her,
The word of YHWH.”
Compare for the beginning Jeremiah 51:47. Once more the prophetic word of
YHWH declares judgment on the gods of Babylon which are but ‘graven images’.
The humbling of Babylonia was to be the humbling of these images, and a revealing
of them for what they were. We must not underestimate the effect of these words on
the people of Jeremiah’s day. To us they were long forgotten idols. To the people of
Jeremiah’s day they had great significance. Besides being huge and awe-inspiring
they could be seen as the foundation of the might of Babylon, and they sustained a
huge culture of soothsayers, magicians, enchanters, astrologers, stargazers,
prognosticators and religious wise men (Isaiah 47:9-15), all at the service of the king
and of Babylon. But the defeat, and finally the destruction, of Babylon would bring
the whole into disrepute.
‘Throughout all her land the wounded (literally those who have been pierced) will
groan.’ The graven images will have proved unable to prevent the slaughter of its
people, and the large number of dying wounded arising from the invasion. And this
would be so whatever attempts (like that of Nebuchadrezzar above) were made to
protect Babylon. Another attempt to mount up to Heaven would do her no good,
and all her great fortifications would be in vain. For the destroyers who came
against her would be from YHWH. And this was the assured word of YHWH.
53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens
and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
182

183. I will send destroyers against her,”
declares the Lord.
CLARKE, "Though Babylon should mount up to heaven - Though it were
fortified even to the skies, it shall fall by the enemies that I will send against it.
GILL, "Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,.... Could the walls of it,
which were very high, two hundred cubits high, as Herodotus (p) says, be carried up as
high as heaven; or the towers of it, which were exceeding high, ten foot higher than the
walls, as Curtius (q) says, likewise be raised to the same height:
and though she should fortify the height of her strength: make her walls and
towers as strong as they were high; unless this is to be understood particularly of the
temple of Bel, in which was a solid tower, in length and thickness about six hundred and
sixty feet; and upon this tower another; and so on to the number of eight, towers; and in
the last of them a large temple, as the above historian (r) relates: but if these towers
could have been piled up in a greater number, even so as to reach to heaven, it would
have availed nothing against the God of heaven, to secure from his vengeance. The
Targum is,
"if Babylon should be built with buildings as high as heaven, and should fortify the
strong holds on high:''
yet from me shall spoilers come, saith the Lord; the Medes and Persians, sent
and commissioned by him, who would pull down and destroy her walls and towers, be
they ever so high and strong.
JAMISON, "We are not to measure God’s power by what seems to our perceptions
natural or probable. Compare Oba_1:4 as to Edom (Amo_9:2).
K&D, "Babylon shall by no means escape punishment. Even though it mounted up to
heaven (cf. Job_20:6; there may, at the same time, be an allusion to Isa_14:12, and
possibly also to the tower at Babylon), and ‫ר‬ֵ‫צּ‬ ַ‫ב‬ ְ‫,תּ‬ "cut off (i.e., made inaccessible) the
height of its strength," i.e., the height in which its strength consists, its lofty wall of
defence (probably an allusion to the lofty walls of Babylon; see on Jer_51:58), yet
destroyers are to come against it from Jahveh.
183

184. CALVIN, "The Prophet again teaches us, that however impregnable Babylon might
be, there was yet no reason to fear but that God would be its judge; for it is by no
means right to measure his power by our thoughts. And nothing does more hinder
or prevent us from embracing the promises of God, than to think of what may be
done naturally, or of what is probable. When, therefore, we thus consult our own
thoughts, we exclude the power of God, which is superior to all the means that may
be used.
Hence the Prophet says here, that though Babylon ascended above the heavens, and
in the height fortified strength for itself, yet from me, he says, shall come wasters to
it (107) There is to be understood here a contrast between God and men; for if there
be a contest between men, they fight one with another; but the way of God is
different, for he can thunder from heaven, and thus lay prostrate the highest
mountains. We now, then, perceive the purpose of the Prophet by saying, that
desolators would come from God to destroy Babylon, were it to ascend above the
clouds. It follows, —
Though Babylon mounted the skies, And though she fortified the height as her
strength, From me would come to her destroyers, saith Jehovah. — Ed
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though
she should fortify the height of her strength, [yet] from me shall spoilers come unto
her, saith the LORD.
Ver. 53. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven.] As her walls are said to have
been of an incredible height (see on Jeremiah 51:44), and her tower to have been
little less than four miles high, threatening heaven, as it were.
54 “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction
from the land of the Babylonians.[h]
GILL, "A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon,.... Of the inhabitants of it upon its
being taken; which is said to denote the certainty of it, which was as sure as if the cry of
the distressed was then heard:
and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans; that is, the report of a
great destruction there, was, or would be, carried from thence, and spread all over the
184

185. world.
HENRY, "Here is the diversified feeling excited by Babylon's fall, and it is the same
that we have with respect to the New Testament Babylon, Rev_18:9, Rev_18:19. 1. Some
shall lament the destruction of Babylon. There is the sound of a cry, a great outcry
coming from Babylon (Jer_51:54), lamenting this great destruction, the voice of
mourning, because the Lord has destroyed the voice of the multitude, that great voice of
mirth which used to be heard in Babylon, Jer_51:55. We are told what they shall say in
their lamentations (Jer_51:41): “How is Sheshach taken, and how are we mistaken
concerning her! How is that city surprised and become an astonishment among the
nations that was the praise, and glory, and admiration of the whole earth!” See how that
may fall into a general contempt which has been universally cried up. 2. Yet some shall
rejoice in Babylon's fall, not as it is the misery of their fellow-creatures, but as it is the
manifestation of the righteous judgment of God and as it opens the way for the release of
God's captives; upon these accounts the heaven and the earth, and all that is in both,
shall sing for Babylon (Jer_51:48); the church in heaven and the church on earth shall
give to God the glory of his righteousness, and take notice of it with thankfulness to his
praise. Babylon's ruin is Zion's praise.
K&D, "The prophet in the spirit sees these destroyers as already come. A cry of
anguish proceeds from Babylon, and great destruction; cf. Jer_50:22, Jer_50:46, and
Jer_48:3. For (Jer_51:55) Jahveh lays waste Babylon, and destroys out of her ‫ל‬ ‫ק‬ ‫ל‬ ‫ָד‬‫גּ‬,
properly "the loud voice," i.e., the loud noise and bustle of the city. "Their waves," i.e.,
the surging masses of the conquering army, roar like many or great waters; cf. Isa_17:12.
‫ן‬ ַ‫תּ‬ ִ‫נ‬ , lit., "there is given" (i.e., there sounds) "the noise of their voice," i.e., of the roaring
of their waves. "For there comes on Babylon a destroyer, so that her heroes are made
prisoners, and her bows (by synecdoche for weapons) broken in pieces." The Piel ‫ה‬ ָ‫ת‬ ְ‫תּ‬ ִ‫ח‬
has here an intransitive sense, "to break or shiver into pieces," like ‫ח‬ ַ‫תּ‬ ִ‫,פּ‬ Isa_48:8; Isa_
60:11. This must take place, for Jahveh is a God of retribution; cf. Jer_51:24. This
retribution He will execute in such a way as to make the princes, wise men, rulers, and
heroes of Babylon sink down into an eternal sleep, by presenting to them the cup of
wrath. On ‫י‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ְ‫ר‬ַ‫כּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ה‬ and ‫נוּ‬ ְ‫ֽשׁ‬ָ‫י‬ ְ‫,ו‬ cf. Jer_51:39. On the enumeration of the different classes
of leaders and supporters of the state, cf. Jer_51:23 and Jer_50:35; and on the
designation of Jahveh as King, Jer_48:15, with the remark there made.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah in a manner exults over Babylon, in order that the faithful,
having had all obstacles removed or surmounted, might feel assured that what the
Prophet had predicted of the fall of Babylon would be confirmed, he then brings
them to the very scene itself, when he says, that there would be the voice of a cry
from Babylon, and that there would be great breaking or distress from the land of
the Chaldeams
We, at the same time, may render ‫,שבר‬ shober, here “crashing,” so that it may
correspond with the previous clause: he had said, The voice of a cry from Babylon;
185

186. now he says,a crashing from the land of the Chaldeans They call that sound
crashing, which is produced by some great shaking; as when a great mass falls, it
does not happen without a great noise. This, then, is properly what the Prophet
means. We have already stated why he used these words, even that the faithful
might have before their eyes the event itself, which as yet was incredible. It
follows, —
COFFMAN, “"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.
PETT, “Verses 54-58
A Prophetic Description Of The Fulfilment Of YHWH’s Word Spoken Against
Babylon And Confirmation That It Would Be So (Jeremiah 51:54-58).
The section dealing with YHWH’s word against Babylon, which began at Jeremiah
50:1, ends with these verses making clear that Babylon will be laid waste and that
God will obtain recompense for what Babylon had done to Israel/Judah, to His
Temple and to the nations. It follows on Jeremiah 51:50 where we have more than a
hint of the coming restoration of Jerusalem. Thus the restoration of Jerusalem and
the destruction of Babylon can be seen as inter-connected. It is not accidental that
chapter 52 will major on Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple,
followed by the hint of the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. Out of darkness
will come the first glimmer of light.
Jeremiah 51:54-57
186

187. “The sound of a cry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
For YHWH lays Babylon waste,
And destroys 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 on Babylon,
And her mighty men are taken,
Their bows are broken in pieces,
For a God of recompenses is YHWH,
He will surely requite (‘requiting He will requite’).
And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men,
Her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men,
And they will sleep a perpetual sleep,
And will not wake,
The word of the King,
Whose name is YHWH of hosts.”
Note the continuing play on the idea of the voices arising from the land. Initially the
sound of a cry coming from Babylon probably indicates a cry of hopelessness, for it
is accompanied by the sounds of destruction coming from the land, and these arise
because YHWH Himself is laying the land waste, even though the instruments be
Medo-Persians. There might be a case, however, for seeing the cry that arises as
being that of the invaders, tying in with Jeremiah 51:55 b. But either way the
consequence is that ‘the great voice’ of Babylon is destroyed. The great voice of
Babylon is the noise of the city’s conversations and cries arising out of its day to day
living, and especially out of its festivities. That will be destroyed as the cry of
187

188. Jeremiah 51:51 goes upwards.
‘And their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered, for the
destroyer is come upon her, even on Babylon.’ If we take the cry in Jeremiah 51:54
as that of the invaders then the ‘their’ refers back to it. If we see it as referring to
the plaintive cry of Babylon then the ‘their’ must still be seen as referring to the
invaders, with the antecedent being found in ‘the destroyers’ of Jeremiah 51:53.
‘Their waves roaring like many waters’ parallels ‘the noise of their voice being
uttered’, and refers not to literal waters but to the flood of armed men who will
pour over the land crying out their war-cries, and shouting exultantly as they seize
booty and rape women (compare Jeremiah 6:23), as the destroyer comes on
Babylon. For the idea of a flood of invaders compare Isaiah 8:7-8
‘And her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces, for a God of
recompenses is YHWH, He will surely requite.’ The result is that Babylon’s armed
mighty men are rendered helpless, and their bows are broken in pieces. Compare
Jeremiah 51:3. And this is because it is the recompense of God towards a sinful and
evil nation. For He is ‘a God of recompenses’. It is His very nature. And He is
requiting on them what they have done to others, and especially what they have
done to His people, a continuing theme of the whole two chapters.
‘And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her
deputies, and her mighty men, and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and will not
wake. The word of the King, Whose name is YHWH of hosts.’ Note the repetition of
the idea in Jeremiah 51:29. The primary idea here is that they will drink of the cup
of YHWH’s anger (antipathy against sin) which will result in perpetual sleep, i.e.
death. See chapter Jeremiah 25:15-16; Jeremiah 25:26-27. There was, however, a
more literal fulfilment as Daniel 5 makes clear. On the night that Babylon was taken
Belshazzar and his lords were feasting and drowning themselves in drink,
something which was immediately followed by their deaths as the Persian soldiery
arrived in the palace. Herodotus tells us that in fact the whole city was engaged in
feasting.
And so that we might have no doubt as to the fulfilment of this prophecy it is
declared to be that, not only of YHWH, but of YHWH, King over all, in contrast to
the mere princes of the Babylonians (which included their king).
‘Her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty
men.’ This description covers all the people whom Babylon depended on for its
security. The chief princes and their advisers, the governors and the deputies, and
finally the trained fighting machine.
188

189. 55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;
he will silence her noisy din.
Waves of enemies will rage like great waters;
the roar of their voices will resound.
BARNES, "Render, “For Yahweh wasteth Babylon, and will make to cease from her
the loud noise (of busy life); and their wares (the surging masses of the enemy) roar like
many waters: the noise of their shouting is given forth, i. e., resounds.”
CLARKE, "The great voice - Its pride and insufferable boasting.
GILL, "Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon,.... By means of the Merits and
Persians; these were his instruments he made use of; to these he gave commission,
power, and strength to spoil Babylon; and therefore it is ascribed to him:
and destroyed out of her the great voice; the noise of people, which is very great in
populous cities, where people are passing to and fro in great numbers upon business;
which ceases when any calamity comes, as pestilence, famine, or sword, which sweep
away the inhabitants; this last was the case of Babylon. The Targum is,
"and hath destroyed out of her many armies:''
or it may design the great voice of the roaring revelling company in it at their feast time;
which was the time of the destruction of he city, as often observed: or the voice of
triumphs for victories obtained, which should be no more in it: or the voice of joy and
gladness in common, as will be also the case of mystical Babylon, Rev_18:22; this "great
voice" may not unfitly be applied to the voice of antichrist, that mouth speaking
blasphemies, which are long shall be destroyed out of Babylon, Rev_13:5;
when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered;
that is, when her enemies come up against her like the waves of the sea: a loud shout will
be made by them, which will be very terrible, and silence the noise of mirth and jollity
among the Babylonians; see Jer_51:42; though some understand this of the change that
should be made among the Chaldeans; that, instead of the voice of joy and triumph,
there would be the voice of howling and lamentation; and even among their high and
mighty ones, who would be troubled and distressed, as great waters are, when moved by
tempests. The Targum is,
"and the armies of many people shall be gathered against them, and shall lift up their
voice with a tumult.''
189

190. JAMISON, "great voice — Where once was the great din of a mighty city, there
shall be the silence of death [Vatablus]. Or, the “great voice” of the revelers (Jer_51:38,
Jer_51:39; Isa_22:2). Or, the voice of mighty boasting [Calvin], (compare Jer_51:53).
her waves — “when” her calamities shall cause her to give forth a widely different
“voice,” even such a one as the waves give that lash the shores (Jer_51:42) [Grotius]. Or,
“when” is connected thus: “the great voice” in her, when her “waves,” etc. (compare Jer_
51:13). Calvin translates, “their waves,” that is, the Medes bursting on her as impetuous
waves; so Jer_51:42. But the parallel, “a great voice,” belongs to her, therefore the wave-
like “roar” of “their voice” ought also belong to her (compare Jer_51:54). The “great
voice” of commercial din, boasting, and feasting, is “destroyed”; but in its stead there is
the wave-like roar of her voice in her “destruction” (Jer_51:54).
CALVIN, "The reason for the crashing is now added, even because God had
resolved to lay waste Babylon, and to reduce it to nothing. Jeremiah again calls the
faithful to consider the power of God. He then says, that it would not be a work
done by men, because God would put forth his great power, which cannot be
comprehended by human minds. He then sets the name of God in opposition to all
creatures, as though he had said, that what exceeds all the efforts of men, would yet
be easily done by God. He, indeed, represents God here as before our eyes, and says
that Babylon would perish, but that it was God who would lay it waste. He thus sets
forth God here as already armed for the purpose of cutting off Babylon. And he will
destroy from her the magnificent voice, that is, her immoderate boasting.
What follows is explained by many otherwise than I can approve; for they say that
the waves made a noise among the Babylonians at the time when the city was
populous; for where there is a great concourse of men, a great noise is heard, but
solitude and desolation bring silence. They thus, then, explain the words of the
Prophet, that though now waves, that is, noises, resounded in Babylon like great
waters, and the sound of their voice went forth, yet God would destroy their great or
magnificent voice. But I have no doubt but that what the Prophet meant by their
great voice, was their grandiloquent boasting in which the Babylonians indulged
during their prosperity. While, then, the monarchy flourished, they spoke as from
the height. Their silence from fear and shame would follow, as the Prophet
intimates, when God checked that proud glorying.
But what follows I take in a different sense; for I apply it to the Medes and the
Persians: and so there is a relative without an antecedent — a mode of speaking not
unfrequent in Hebrew. He then expresses the manner in which God would destroy
or abolish the grandiloquent boasting of the Babylonians, even because their waves,
that is, of the Persians, would make a noise like great waters; that is, the Persians,
and the Medes would rush on them like impetuous waves, and thus the Babylonians
would be brought to silence and reduced to desolation. (108) When they were at
peace, and no enemy disturbed them, they then gave full vent to their pride; and
thus vaunting was the speech of Babylon as long as it flourished; but when suddenly
190

191. the enemies made an irruption, then Babylon became silent or mute on account of
the frightful sound within it. We hence see why he compares the Persians and the
Medes to violent waves which would break and put an end to that sound which was
before heard in Babylon. It follows, —
55.For Jehovah is laying waste Babylon and destroying her: From her comes a loud
voice! And roar do their waves like great waters, Going forth is the tumult of their
voice.
According to the preceding verse, the destruction of Babylon is represented as then
taking place, —
54.A voice of howling from Babylon! And of great destruction from the land of the
Chaldeans!
The commotions and tumults, arising from the invasion of enemies, seem to be set
forth in Jeremiah 51:55; and the beginning of the following, Jeremiah 51:56, ought
to be rendered in the present tense, the first verb being a participle. — Ed.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:55. And destroyed out of her the great voice— When cities are
populous, they are of course noisy. See Isaiah 22:2. Silence is therefore a mark of
depopulation; and in this sense we are to understand God's destroying or taking
away out of Babylon the great noise, which during the time of her prosperity was
constantly heard there; "the busy hum of men," as the poet very expressively calls
it. In this manner the mystical Babylon is threatened, Revelation 18:22-23. Compare
ch. Jeremiah 7:34, Jeremiah 16:9, Jeremiah 25:10.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed
out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their
voice is uttered:
Ver. 55. Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon.] Heb., Is spoiling. For it was long
in doing; but as sure as if done together, and at once. In like sort many of the
promises are not to have their full accomplishment till the end of the world; as those
about the full deliverance of the godly, the destruction of the wicked, the confusion
of Antichrist, &c.
And destroyed out of her the great voice.] Of the revellers and roaring boys; or of
their enemies, as some rather sense it, breaking in upon them.
56 A destroyer will come against Babylon;
191

192. her warriors will be captured,
and their bows will be broken.
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
he will repay in full.
BARNES, "Every one ... - Or, “Their bows are broken, for Yahweh is a God of
recompenses; He will certainly requite.”
CLARKE, "The Lord God of recompenses - The fall of Babylon is an act of
Divine justice; whatever it suffers, it is in consequence of its crimes.
GILL, "Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon,.... That is,
Cyrus, with his army:
and her mighty men are taken; unawares, by surprise:
everyone of their bows is broken; they had no strength to withstand the enemy,
and were obliged to yield at once; lay down their arms, and submit:
for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite; that God to whom
vengeance belongs, and will recompense it; who is a God of justice and equity, the Judge
of all the earth; he will render tribulation to them that trouble his; and requite his
enemies and the enemies of his people, in a righteous manner, for all the evil they have
done, as literal, so mystical Babylon; see Rev_18:6.
JAMISON, "taken — when they were least expecting it, and in such a way that
resistance was impossible.
CALVIN, "He confirms the former verse; for as the thing of which he speaks was
difficult to be believed, he sets God before them, and shows that he would be the
author of that war. He now continues his discourse and says, that desolators shall
come against Babylon. He had ascribed to God what he now transfers to the Medes
and the Persians. He had said, Jehovah hath desolated or wasted, ‫יהוה‬ ‫,שדד‬ shedad
Jeve; he says now, coming is a desolator, ‫שודד‬ , shudad. Who is he? not God, but
Cyrus, together with the united army of the Persians and the Medes; yea, with vast
forces assembled from many nations, Now that the same name is given to God and
to the Persians, this is done with regard to the ministration. Properly speaking, God
192

193. was the desolator of Babylon; but as in this expedition he employed the services of
men, and made the Persians and the Medes, as it were, his ministers, and the
executioners of his judgment, the name which properly belongs to God is
transferred to the ministers whom he employed. The same mode of speaking is also
used when blessings are spoken of. He is said to have raised up saviors for his
people, while yet he himself is the only Savior, nor can any mortal assume that name
without sacrilege. (Jude 3:15; 2 Kings 13:5.) For God’s peculiar glory is taken away,
when salvation is sought through the arm of men, as we have seen in Jeremiah 17:0.
But though God is the only author of salvation, yet it is no objection to this truth,
that he employs men in effecting his purposes. So also he converts men, illuminates
their minds by the ministers of the gospel, and also delivers them from eternal
death. (Luke 1:17.) Doubtless were any one to arrogate to himself what Christ is
pleased to concede to the ministers of his gospel, he could by no means be endured;
but as I have already said, we must bear this in mind, that though God acts by his
own power and never borrows anything from any one, nor stands in need of any
help, yet what properly belongs to him is, in a manner, applied to men, at least by
way of concession. So now, then, the Prophet calls God the desolator, and
afterwards he honors with the same title the Persians and the Medes.
He adds, that the valiant men of Babylon were taken, according to what we have
before seen, that the city was so taken that no one resisted. Then he adds, that their
bow was broken, there is a part stated for the whole; for under the word bow he
includes all kinds of armor. But as bows were used at a distance, and as enemies
were driven from the walls by casting arrows, the Prophet says that there would be
no use made of bows, because the enemies would skew themselves in the middle of
the city before the watchmen saw them, as we know that such was really the case.
We now perceive why the Prophet mentions the bow rather than swords or other
weapons.
The reason follows, Because Jehovah is the God of retributions, and recompensing
her recompenses, that is, he will recompense. The Prophet here confirms all that he
had said, and reasons from the nature or character of God himself. As then the fall
of Babylon would hardly be believed by the faithful, the Prophet does not ask what
God is in himself, but declares that he is the God of retributions, as though he had
said, that it belonged to God, and that it could not be separated from his nature, to
be the God of retributions, otherwise his judgment would be nothing, his justice
would be nothing. For if the reprobate succeeded with impunity, and if the righteous
were oppressed without any aid, would not God be like a stock of wood or an
imaginary thing? For why has he power, except that he may exercise justice? But
God cannot be without power.
We now, then, see how forcible is this confirmation, with which the Prophet doses
his discourse: for it is the same as if he had said, that no doubt could possibly be
entertained as to the fall of Babylon, because God is the God of retributions. Either
there is no God, he says, or Babylon must be destroyed; how so? for if there be a
God, he is the God of retributions; if he is the God of retributions, then
193

194. recompensing he will recompense. Now, it is well known how wicked Babylon was,
and in what various ways it had provoked the wrath of God. Then it was impossible
for it to escape his hand unpunished, since it had in so many ways sought its own
ruin.
57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep forever and not awake,”
declares the King, whose name is the Lord
Almighty.
CLARKE, "I will make drunk her princes - See on Jer_51:39 (note).
GILL, "And I will make drunk her princes,.... With the wine of divine wrath; that
is, slay them; though there may be an allusion to their being drunk with wine at the feast
Belshazzar made for his thousand lords; who are the princes here intended, together
with the king and his royal family, Dan_5:1;
and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: the
counsellors of state, priests, magicians, and astrologers; officers in the army, superior
and inferior ones; and the soldiers and warriors, whom Cyrus and his men slew; when
they entered the city; compare with this Rev_19:18;
and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake; be all asleep in their
drunken fits, and be slain therein; and so never wake, or live more. The Targum is,
"and they shall die the second death, and not come into the world to come;''
See Gill on Jer_51:39;
saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts; the King of kings and Lord of
lords; the Lord of armies in heaven and earth; and can do, and does, what he pleases in
both worlds.
JAMISON, "(Jer_51:39; Dan_5:1, etc.).
194

195. CALVIN, "Jeremiah pursues the same subject, he said yesterday that desolators
would come to destroy Babylon. He now confirms this by a similitude; and God
himself speaks, I will inebriate the princes and captains as well as the soldiers and
all the counselors. He seems here to allude to that feast of which Daniel speaks, and
of which heathen authors have written. (Daniel 5:1) For while the feast was
celebrated by the Babylonians, the city was that night taken, not only through the
contrivance and valor of Cyrus, but also through the treachery of those who had
revolted from Belshazzar. As, then, they were taken while at the feast, and as the
king was that night slain together with his satraps, God seems to refer to this event
when he declares, that when he had inebriated them, they would be overtaken with
perpetual sleep; for death immediately followed that feasting. They had prolonged
their feast to the middle of the night; and while they were sitting at table, a tumult
arose suddenly in the city, and the king heard that he was in the hand of his
enemies. As, then, feasting and death followed in close succession, it is a striking
allusion given by the Prophet, when God threatens the Babylonians with perpetual
sleep, after having inebriated them.
But he mentions here the rulers and the captains, as well as the counsellors and the
wise men. We, indeed, know that the Babylonians were inflated by a twofold
confidence, — they thought themselves endued with consummate wisdom, and also
that they possessed warlike valor. This is the reason why the Prophet expresses so
distinctly, that all the captains and rulers in Babylon, however superior in acuteness
and prudence, would yet be overtaken with perpetual sleep before they rose from
their table. And we must observe that Jeremiah had many years thus prophesied of
Babylon; and hence we conclude that his mind as well as his tongue was guided by
the Spirit of God, for he could not have possibly conjectured what would be after
eighty years: yet so long a time intervened between the prediction and its
accomplishment, as we shall presently see.
Moreover, the Prophet uses here a mode of speaking which often occurs in
Scripture, even that insensibility is a kind of drunkenness by which God dementates
men through his hidden judgment. It ought, then, to be noticed, that whatever
prudence and skill there is in the world, they are in such a way the gifts of God, that
whenever he pleases the wisest are blinded, and, like the drunken, they either go
astray or fall. But we must bear in mind what I have already said, that the Prophet
alludes to that very history, for there was then an immediate transition from
feasting to death. It now follows,
58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
195

196. “Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled
and her high gates set on fire;
the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”
BARNES, "The broad walls - Herodotus makes the breadth of the walls 85 English
feet.
Broken - See the margin. i. e., the ground beneath them shall be laid bare by their
demolition.
The people - Or, peoples. Jeremiah concludes his prophecy with a quotation from
Habakkuk; applying the words to the stupendous works intended to make Babylon an
eternal city, but which were to end in such early and utter disappointment.
CLARKE, "The broad walls of Babylon - Herodotus, who saw these walls, says,
“The city was a regular square, each side of which was one hand red and twenty stadia,
the circumference four hundred and eighty stadia. It was surrounded by a wall fifty
cubits broad, and two hundred cubits high; and each side had twenty-five brazen
gates.” - Herod. lib. 1 c. 178. Had not Cyrus resorted to stratagem, humanly speaking, he
could not have taken this city. For the destruction of this wall and its very vestiges, see
on Isa_13:19 (note).
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Because what follows might seem
incredible ever to be effected; it is introduced with this preface, expressed by him who is
the God of truth, and the Lord God omnipotent:
the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken; or rased up; the foundations
of them, and the ground on which they stood made naked and bare, and open to public
view; everyone of the walls, the inward and the outward, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
interpret it. Curtius says (s) the wall of Babylon was thirty two feet broad, and that
carriages might pass by each other without any danger. Herodotus (t) says it was fifty
royal cubits broad, which were three fingers larger than the common measure; and both
Strabo (u) and Diodorus Siculus (w) affirm, that two chariots drawn with four horses
abreast might meet each other, and pass easily; and, according to Ctesias (x), the
breadth of the wall was large enough for six chariots: or the words may be read, "the
walls of broad Babylon" (y); for Babylon was very large in circumference; more like a
country than a city, as Aristotle (z) says. Historians differ much about the compass of its
wall; but all agree it was very large; the best account, which is that of Curtius (a), makes
it to be three hundred and fifty eight furlongs (about forty five miles); with Ctesias it was
196

197. three hundred and sixty; and with Clitarchus three hundred and sixty five, as they are
both quoted by Diodorus Siculus (b); according to Strabo (c) it was three hundred and
eighty five; and according to Dion Cassius (d) four hundred; by Philostratus (e) it is said
to be four hundred and eighty; as also by Herodotus; and by Julian (f) the emperor
almost five hundred. Pliny (g) reckons it sixty miles:
and her high gates shall be burnt with fire; there were a hundred of them, all of
brass, with their posts and hinges, as Herodotus (h) affirms:
and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be
weary; which some understand of the builders of the walls, gates, and city of Babylon,
whose labour in the issue was in vain, since the end of them was to be broken and
burned; but rather it designs the Chaldeans, who laboured in the fire to extinguish and
save the city and its gates, but to no purpose.
JAMISON, "broad walls — eighty-seven feet broad [Rosenmuller]; fifty cubits
[Grotius]. A chariot of four horses abreast could meet another on it without collision.
The walls were two hundred cubits high, and four hundred and eighty-five stadia, or
sixty miles in extent.
gates — one hundred in number, of brass; twenty-five on each of the four sides, the
city being square; between the gates were two hundred and fifty towers. Berosus says
triple walls encompassed the outer, and the same number the inner city. Cyrus caused
the outer walls to be demolished. Taking the extent of the walls to be three hundred and
sixty-five stadia, as Diodorus states, it is said two hundred thousand men completed a
stadium each day, so that the whole was completed in one year.
labour ... in the fire — The event will show that the builders of the walls have
“labored” only for the “fire” in which they shall be consumed, “In the fire” answers to the
parallel, “burned with fire.” Translate, “shall have labored in vain,” etc. Compare Job_
3:14, “built desolate places for themselves,” that is, grand places, soon about to be
desolate ruins. Jeremiah has in view here Hab_2:13.
K&D, "And not only are the defenders of the city to fall, but the strong ramparts also,
the broad walls and the lofty towers, are to be destroyed. The adjective ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ח‬ ְ‫ר‬ ָֽ‫ה‬ is joined
in the singular with the plural ‫ת‬ ‫מ‬ֹ‫ח‬, because the complex notion of the walls of Babylon,
denoted by the latter word, is viewed as a unity; cf. Ewald, §318. ‫ר‬ ַ‫ר‬ָ‫,ע‬ in Hithpael,
means "to be made bare," i.e., to be destroyed down to the ground; the inf. abs. Pilel is
added to intensify the expression. Regarding the height and breadth and the extent of
the walls of Babylon, cf. the collection of notices by the old writers in Duncker's Gesch.
des Alt. i. S. 856ff. According to Herodotus (i. 178f.), they were fifty ells "royal cubits," or
nearly 85 feet thick, and 200 ells 337 1/2 feet high; Ctesias assigns them a height of 300
feet, Strabo that of 50 ells cubits, or 75 feet, and a breadth of 32 feet. On this Duncker
remarks: "The height and breadth which Herodotus gives to the walls are no doubt
exaggerated. Since the wall of Media, the first line of defence for the country, had a
height of 100 feet and a breadth of 20 feet, and since Xenophon saw in Nineveh walls
150 feet in height, we shall be able with some degree of certainty to assume, in
197

198. accordance with the statement of Pliny (vi. 26), that the wall of Babylon must have had a
height of 200 feet above the ditch, and a proportionate breadth of from 30 to 40 feet.
This breadth would be sufficient to permit of teams of four being driven along the
rampart, between the battlements, as Herodotus and Strabo inform us, without
touching, just as the rampart on the walls of Nineveh is said to have afforded room for
three chariots."
(Note: For details as to the number of the walls, and statistics regarding them, see
Duncker, S. 858, Anm. 3, who is inclined to understand the notice of Berosus
regarding a triple wall as meaning that the walls of the river are counted as the
second, and those round the royal fortress as the third line of circumvallation. J.
Oppert, Expéd. en Mésop. i. p. 220ff., has given a thorough discussion of this
question. By carefully comparing the accounts of the ancient writers regarding the
walls of Babylon, and those given in the inscriptions, lately discovered and
deciphered, found on the buildings of Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar, with the
vast extent of the long mounds of rubbish on the places where the ruins are met with,
he has obtained this result, - that the city was surrounded by a strong double wall
with deep ditches, an outer and an inner enceinte, and that the outer or large wall
enclosed a space of 513 square kilometres, i.e., a piece of ground as large as the
department of the Seine, fifteen times the extent of the city of Paris in the year 1859,
seven times that of the same city in 1860, while the second or inner wall enclosed an
area of 290 square kilometres, much larger than the space occupied by London.)
The gates leading into the city were, according to Herodotus, l.c., provided with
beautifully ornamented gateways; the posts, the two leaves of the gates, and the
thresholds, were of bronze. The prophecy concludes, Jer_51:58, with some words from
Hab_2:13, which are to be verified by the destruction of Babylon, viz., that the nations
which have built Babylon, and made it great, have laboured in vain, and only wearied
themselves. Habakkuk probably does not give this truth as a quotation from an older
prophet, but rather declares it as an ordinance of God, that those who build cities with
blood, and strongholds with unrighteousness, make nations toil to supply food for fire.
Jeremiah has made use of the passage as a suitable conclusion to his prophecy, but made
some unimportant alterations; for he has transposed the words ‫י‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ְ‫בּ‬ ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫א‬ and ‫י‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ְ‫בּ‬ ‫יק‬ ִ‫,ר‬ and
changed ‫פוּ‬ָ‫יע‬ into ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫,ו‬ that he may conclude his address with greater emphasis. For,
according to the arrangement here, ‫ים‬ ִ‫מּ‬ ֻ‫א‬ ְ‫וּל‬ ‫שׁ‬ ֵ‫י־א‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ְ‫בּ‬ still depends on ‫עוּ‬ְ‫ג‬ִ‫י‬ ְ‫,ו‬ and ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬
indicates the result of this toil for the enslaved nations, - they only weary themselves
thereby. The genuineness of this reading is put beyond a doubt by the repetition of ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬
at the close of the epilogue in Jer_51:64. What Habakkuk said generally of the
undertakings of the Chaldeans, Jeremiah applied specially to the fall of the city of
Babylon, because it was to exhibit its fulfilment most plainly in that event.
CALVIN, "The Prophet again introduces God as the speaker, that what he said
might obtain more attention from the Jews; and for this reason he subjoined a
eulogy to the last verse, and said that the king spoke, whose name is Jehovah of
hosts We have stated elsewhere what is the design of such expressions, even that
men may rise above everything seen in the world when God’s power is mentioned,
that they may not try to contain it in their own small measure. Then the Prophet
now again repeats the name of God, that the Jews might receive with becoming
198

199. reverence what he announced.
And what he says is, The wall of Babylon, however wide it may be, shall yet be
surely demolished. We have said that the walls were fifty feet wide, and the feet
were indeed long, though Herodotus, as I have said, mentions cubits and not feet.
The width, indeed, was such that four horses abreast meeting, could pass, there
being space enough for them. It hence, then, appears, that their thickness was so
great, that the Babylonians confidently disregarded whatever had been predicted by
the Prophet; for no engines of war could have ever beaten down walls so thick,
especially as they were made of bricks and cemented by bitumen. As, then, the
material, beside the thickness, was so firm and strong, this prophecy was incredible.
It did not indeed reach the Babylonians, but the Jews themselves regarded as a fable
all that they had heard from the mouth of the Prophet. Yet God did not in vain refer
to width of the wall, in order that the faithful might feel assured that the walls of
Babylon could not possibly resist him, however firm they might be in their materials
and thickness. The wall, he says, shall surely be demolished.
He afterwards mentions the gates, which Herodotus says were of brass when Darius
took them away. He, indeed, means the doors, but the Prophet includes the
framework as well as the brazen doors. He then says, they shall be consumed with
fire The Babylonians might have laughed at this threatening of Jeremiah, for brass
could not have been consumed with fire, even if enemies had been permitted to set
fire to them — for brass could not have been so soon melted. But as the Prophet had
predicted this by God’s command, so at length his prophecy was verified when he
was dead, because it was proved by the event that this proceeded from God; for
when the doors were removed, the gates themselves were demolished; and it may
have been that Darius put fire to them, that he might the sooner destroy the gates
and the towers, which were very high, as well as the walls.
He afterwards adds, Labor shall the people in vain, and the nations in the fire; they
shall be wearied So this passage is commonly explained, as though the Prophet had
said, that when the walls of Babylon had begun to burn, and the gates to be
consumed with fire, there would be no remedy, though the Babylonians might
greatly weary themselves and fatigue themselves in attempting to quench the fire.
But this exposition seems to be forced and unnatural. I therefore take the words,
though future, in the past tense. And as the walls of Babylon had not been erected
without great labor, and a vast number of men had been hired, some to bring
bitumen, others to heap up the earth, and others to make the bricks, the Prophet in
this place intimates that all this labor would be in vain, even because it was spent for
the fire, — that whatever they did who had been either hired for wages or forced by
authority to erect the walls, was labor for the fire; that is, they labored that their
work might eventually be consumed by fire. This seems to me to be the real meaning
of the Prophet. He then says that the people had labored in vain, or for nothing, and
why? because they labored for the fire. The second clause is in my view an
explanation of the former. (109) It now follows, —
199

200. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, The wall of Babylon, the brroad one, It shall be utterly
laid in ruins; And her gates, the lofty ones, They shall be consumed with fire: So
that people had labored for vanity, And nations for the fire, and wearied
themselves.
Several MSS. have ‫,חמת‬ wall, and so it is in the Sept. , as required by “broad,” which
is in the singular number. “For vanity” is for the vain object; and “for the fire”
means for what was to be consumed by fire. The last words may be rendered
“though they wearied themselves.” — Ed
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of
Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and
the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
Ver. 58. The broad walls of Babylon.] See on Jeremiah 51:44. Or, The walls of
broad Babylon, that greatest of all cities, saith Strabo; (a) the compass whereof
within the walls was near upon seventy miles, saith Pliny. (b)
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:58
“Thus says YHWH of hosts,
The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown,
And her high gates will be burned with fire,
And the peoples shall labour for vanity,
And the nations for the fire,
And they will be weary.”
The section on the judgment of Babylon closes with a confirmation of the fact that
all its attempts to make itself invulnerable would fail. Its huge walls, one of the
wonders of the ancient world, would eventually be overthrown. Its massive gates
would be burned with fire. The labour of those who had built and erected them
would turn out to be in vain, and they would weary themselves over something that
would end up being burned with fire. That is the end of all labour and activity
which is not truly God-driven (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
‘The peoples shall labour for vanity (for what is in vain).’ This is also cited in
Habakkuk 2:13, possibly suggesting that it was a common saying.
‘And they shall be weary.’ The people will have worn themselves out for nothing.
Possibly it also contains the idea that, having laboured so much on the walls, to then
see their destruction rendering their labour useless, would add to their weariness.
200

201. But its repetition in Jeremiah 51:64 suggests that it has a deeper meaning, and that
is that the fruit of association with Babylon was not to be ‘rest’ (which was the
destiny of God’s people) but permanent weariness. The repetition in Jeremiah 51:64
brings out that the state is to be seen as being a permanent one, just as today we live
in a weary world.
PULPIT, “The broad walls of Babylon … and her high gates. See Herod; 1.179, 181,
and the parallel accounts from other authors, cited by Duncker ('Hist. of Antiquity,'
3.373, etc.), who taxes Herodotus with exaggeration, but admits as probable that the
walls were not less than forty feet broad. Utterly broken; rather, destroyed even to
the ground (literally, made bare). The people; rather, peoples.
59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave
to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son
of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with
Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his
reign.
BARNES, "
Historical appendix. In his fourth year Zedekiah journeyed to Babylon either to obtain
some favor from Nebuchadnezzar, or because he was summoned to be present on some
state occasion. Jeremiah took the opportunity of sending to the exiles at Babylon this
prophecy.
Jer_51:59
Seraiah - Brother to Baruch.
A quiet prince - literally, “prince of the resting place, i. e., quartermaster.” It was his
business to ride forward each day, and select the place where the king would halt and
pass the night.
CLARKE, "The word which Jeremiah - On account of the message sent by
Jeremiah to the Jewish captives in Babylon.
GILL, "The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah,.... This
201

202. word is no other than the above prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon,
contained in this and the preceding chapter; or rather the order the prophet gave this
prince to take a copy of it with him to Babylon, and there read it, and their cast it into the
river Euphrates, with a stone bound it. Of this Seraiah we read nowhere else: he is
further described as
the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the
king of Judah into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign; the Jews say (i) that
Zedekiah, in the fourth year of his reign, went to Babylon, to reconcile himself to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and took Seraiah with him, and returned and came to
his kingdom in Jerusalem; but we have no account in Scripture of any such journey he
took. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "when he went from Zedekiah"; as
this particle is sometimes (k) elsewhere rendered, Gen_4:1; and so the Targum explains
it,
"when he went on an embassy of Zedekiah;''
and Abarbinel, by the command of the king; it seems he was ambassador from the king
of Judah to the king of Babylon upon some business or another; and Jeremiah took this
opportunity of sending a copy of the above prophecy by him, for the ends before
mentioned: this was in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, seven years before the
destruction of Jerusalem, and sixty years before the taking of Babylon; so long before
was it prophesied of. The Syriac version wrongly reads it "in the eleventh year"; the year
of Jerusalem's destruction; supposing that Seraiah's going with Zedekiah to Babylon was
his going with him into captivity:
and this Seraiah was a quiet prince; one of a peaceable disposition, that did not
love war, or persecution of good men; and so a fit person for Zedekiah to send upon an
embassy of peace; and for Jeremiah to employ in such service as he did; for, had he been
a hot and haughty prince, he would have despised his orders and commands. Some
render it, "prince of Menuchah" (l); taking it to be the proper name of a place of which
he was governor; thought to be the same with Manahath, 1Ch_8:6. The Targum and
Septuagint version call him "the prince of gifts": one by whom such were introduced into
the king's presence that brought treasure, gifts, or presents to him, as Jarchi interprets
it; according to Kimchi, he was the king's familiar favourite, with whom he used to
converse and delight himself when he was at rest and at leisure from business. Some
take him to be the lord of the bedchamber, or lord chamberlain; and others lord chief
justice of peace. The first sense seems most agreeable.
HENRY 59-64, “We have been long attending the judgment of Babylon in this and
the foregoing chapter; now here we have the conclusion of that whole matter. 1. A copy is
taken of this prophecy, it should seem by Jeremiah himself, for Baruch his scribe is not
mentioned here (Jer_51:60): Jeremiah wrote in a book all these words that are here
written against Babylon. He received this notice that he might give it to all whom it
might concern. It is of great advantage both to the propagating and to the perpetuating
of the word of God to have it written, and to have copies taken of the law, prophets, and
epistles. 2. It is sent to Babylon, to the captives there, by the hand of Seraiah, who went
there attendant on or ambassador for king Zedekiah, in the fourth year of his reign, Jer_
202

203. 51:59. He went with Zedekiah, or (as the margin reads it) on the behalf of Zedekiah, into
Babylon. The character given of him is observable, that this Seraiah was a quiet prince,
a prince of rest. He was in honour and power, but not, as most f the princes then were,
hot and heady, making parties, and heading factions, and driving things furiously. He
was of a calm temper, studied the things that made for peace, endeavoured to preserve a
good understanding between the king his master and the king of Babylon, and to keep
his master from rebelling. He was no persecutor of God's prophets, but a moderate man.
Zedekiah was happy in the choice of such a man to be his envoy to the king of Babylon,
and Jeremiah might safely entrust such a man with his errand too. Note, it is the real
honour of great men to be quiet men, and it is the wisdom of princes to put such into
places of trust. 3. Seraiah is desired to read it to his countrymen that had already gone
into captivity: “When thou shalt come to Babylon, and shalt see what a magnificent
place it is, how large a city, how strong, how rich, and how well fortified, and shalt
therefore be tempted to think, Surely, it will stand forever” (as the disciples, when they
observed the buildings of the temple, concluded that nothing would throw them down
but the end of the world, Mat_24:3), “then thou shalt read all these words to thyself and
thy particular friends, for their encouragement in their captivity: let them with an eye of
faith see to the end of these threatening powers, and comfort themselves and one
another herewith.” 4. He is directed to make a solemn protestation of the divine
authority and unquestionable certainty of that which he had read (Jer_51:62): Then
thou shalt look up to God, and say, O Lord! it is thou that hast spoken against this place,
to cut it off. This is like the angel's protestation concerning the destruction of the New
Testament Babylon. These are the true sayings of God, Rev_19:9. These words are true
and faithful, Rev_21:5. Though Seraiah sees Babylon flourishing, having read this
prophecy he must foresee Babylon falling, and by virtue of it must curse its habitation,
though it be taking root (Job_5:3): “O Lord! thou hast spoken against this place, and I
believe what thou hast spoken, that, as thou knowest every thing, so thou canst do every
thing. Thou hast passed sentence upon Babylon, and it shall be executed. Thou hast
spoken against this place, to cut it off, and therefore we will neither envy its pomp nor
fear its power.” When we see what this world is, how glittering its shows are and how
flattering its proposals, let us read in the book of the Lord that its fashion passes away,
and it shall shortly be cut off and be desolate for ever, and we shall learn to look upon it
with a holy contempt. Observe here, When we have been reading the word of God it
becomes us to direct to him whose word it is a humble believing acknowledgment of the
truth, equity, and goodness, of what we have read. 5. He must then tie a stone to the
book and throw it into the midst of the river Euphrates, as a confirming sign of the
things contained in it, saying, “Thus shall Babylon sink, and not rise; for they shall be
weary, they shall perfectly succumb, as men tired with a burden, under the load of the
evil that I will bring upon them, which they shall never shake off, nor get from under,”
Jer_51:53, Jer_51:64. In the sign it was the stone that sunk the book, which otherwise
would have swum. But in the thing signified it was rather the book that sunk the stone; it
was the divine sentence passed upon Babylon in this prophecy that sunk that city, which
seemed as firm as a stone. The fall of the New Testament Babylon was represented by
something like this, but much more magnificent, Rev_18:21. A mighty angel cast a
great millstone into the sea, saying, Thus shall Babylon fall. Those that sink under the
weight of God's wrath and curse sink irrecoverably. The last words of the chapter seal up
the vision and prophecy of this book: Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Not that this
prophecy against Babylon was the last of his prophecies; for it was dated in the fourth
year of Zedekiah (Jer_51:59), long before he finished his testimony; but this is recorded
203

204. last of his prophecies because it was to be last accomplished of all his prophecies against
the Gentiles, Jer_46:1. And the chapter which remains is purely historical, and, as some
think, was added by some other hand.
JAMISON 59-64, “A special copy of the prophecy prepared by Jeremiah was
delivered to Seraiah, to console the Jews in their Babylonian exile. Though he was to
throw it into the Euphrates, a symbol of Babylon’s fate, no doubt he retained the
substance in memory, so as to be able orally to communicate it to his countrymen.
went with Zedekiah — rather, “in behalf of Zedekiah”; sent by Zedekiah to appease
Nebuchadnezzar’s anger at his revolt [Calvin].
fourth year — so that Jeremiah’s prediction of Babylon’s downfall was thus solemnly
written and sealed by a symbolical action, six whole years before the capture of
Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
quiet prince — Compare 1Ch_22:9, “a man of rest.” Seraiah was not one of the
courtiers hostile to God’s prophets, but “quiet” and docile; ready to execute Jeremiah’s
commission, notwithstanding the risk attending it. Glassius translates, “prince of
Menuchah” (compare 1Ch_2:52, Margin). Maurer translates, “commander of the
caravan,” on whom it devolved to appoint the resting-place for the night. English
Version suits the context best.
K&D, "Epilogue. - Jer_51:59. "The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded
Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king
of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was 'quartermaster-
general'" (Ger. Reisemarschall).
(Note: The Peshito renders ‫ר‬ַ‫שׂ‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫נוּח‬ ְ‫מ‬ by "chief of the camp," evidently reading
‫ָה‬‫נ‬ֲ‫ח‬ ַ‫.מ‬ Gesenius, following in this line, though that Seraiah held an office in the
Babylonian army similar to that of quartermaster-general. It is evident, however,
that he was rather an officer of the Jewish court in attendance on the king. Maurer,
who is followed by Hitzig, and here by Keil, in his rendering "Reisemarschall,"
suggested the idea that he was a functionary who took charge of the royal caravan
when on the march, and fixed the halting-place. - Tr.)
Seraiah the son of Nerijah was, no doubt, a brother of Baruch the son of Nerijah; cf. Jer_
32:12. ‫ר‬ַ‫שׂ‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫נוּח‬ ְ‫מ‬ does not mean "a peaceful prince" (Luther), "a quiet prince," English
Version, but "prince of the resting-place" (cf. Num_10:33), i.e., the king's
"quartermaster-general." What Jeremiah commanded Seraiah, or charged him with,
does not follow till Jer_51:61; for the words of Jer_51:60, "And Jeremiah wrote in a
book all the evil that was to come on Babylon, namely all these words which are written
against Babylon" (in the preceding address, Jer 50 and 51), form a parenthetic remark,
inserted for the purpose of explaining the charge that follows. This remark is attached to
the circumstantial clause at the end of Jer_51:59, after which "the word which he
commanded" is not resumed till Jer_51:61, with the words, "and Jeremiah spake to
Seraiah;" and the charge itself is given in vv. 61b-64: "When thou comest to Babylon,
then see to it, and read all these words, and say, O Jahveh, Thou hast spoken against
this place, to destroy it, so that there shall be no inhabitant in it, neither man nor beast,
but it shall be eternal desolations. And it shall be, when thou hast finished reading this
204

205. book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates (v.
64), and say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again, because of the evil that I
bring upon her; and they shall be weary." ֲ‫א‬ֹ‫ב‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ‫ל‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ָ‫ב‬ does not mean, "when thou shalt
have got near Babylon, so that thou beholdest the city lying in its full extent before thee"
(Hitzig), but, according to the simple tenor of the words, "when thou shalt have come
into the city." The former interpretation is based on the erroneous supposition that
Seraiah had not been able to read the prophecy in the city, from fear of being called to
account for this by the Babylonians. But it is nowhere stated that he was to read it
publicly to the Babylonians themselves in an assembly of the people expressly convened
for this purpose, but merely that he is to read it, and afterwards throw the book into the
Euphrates. The reading was not intended to warn the Babylonians of the destruction
threatened them, but was merely to be a proclamation of the word of the Lord against
Babylon, on the very spot, for the purpose of connecting with it the symbolic action
mentioned in v. 63f. ָ‫ית‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ו‬ does not belong to ֲ‫א‬ֹ‫ב‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ("when thou comest to Babylon, and
seest"), but introduces the apodosis, "then see to it, and read," i.e., keep it in your eye, in
your mind, that you read (cf. Gen_20:10); not, "seek a good opportunity for reading"
(Ewald). At the same time, Seraiah is to cry to God that He has said He will bring this
evil on Babylon, i.e., as it were to remind God that the words of the prophecy are His
own words, which He has to fulfil. On the contents of Jer_51:62, cf. Jer_50:3; Jer_
51:26.
After the reading is finished, he is to bind the book to a stone, by means of which to
sink it in the Euphrates, uttering the words explanatory of this action, "Thus shall
Babylon sink," etc. This was to be done, not for the purpose of destroying the book
(which certainly took place, but was not the object for which it was sunk), but in order to
symbolize the fulfilment of the prophecy against Babylon. The attachment of the stone
was not a precautionary measure to prevent the writing from being picked up
somewhere, and thus bringing the writer or the people of the caravan into trouble
(Hitzig), but was merely intended to make sure that the book would sink down into the
depths of the Euphrates, and render it impossible that it should rise again to the surface,
thus indicating by symbol that Babylon would not rise again. the words which Seraiah is
to speak on throwing the book into the Euphrates, contain, in nuce, the substance of the
prophecy. The prophet makes this still more plain, by concluding the words he is
likewise to utter with ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫ו‬ as the last word of the prophecy. Luther has here well
rendered ‫ף‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬, "to weary," by "succumb" (erliegen). The Babylonians form the subject of
‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬.
(Note: Mistaking the meaning of the repetition of the word ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫,ו‬ Movers, Hitzig,
and Graf have thereon based various untenable conjectures. Movers infers from the
circumstance that the whole epilogue is spurious; Hitzig and Graf conclude from it
that the closing words, "Thus far are the words of Jeremiah," originally came after
Jer_51:58, and that the epilogue, because it does not at all admit of being separated
from the great oracle against Babylon, originally preceded the oracle beginning Jer_
50:1, but was afterwards placed at the end; moreover, that the transposer cut off
from Jer_51:58 the concluding remark, "Thus far," etc., and put it at the end of the
epilogue (Jer_51:64), but, at the same time, also transferred ‫פוּ‬ֵ‫ָע‬‫י‬ ְ‫,ו‬ in order to show
that the words, i.e., the prophecies of Jeremiah, strictly speaking, extend only thus
far. This intimation is, indeed, quite superfluous, for it never could occur to the mind
of any intelligent reader that the epilogue, Jer_51:59-64, was an integral portion of
205

206. the prophecy itself. And there would be no meaning in placing the epilogue before
Jer_50:1.)
The symbolic meaning of this act is clear; and from it, also, the meaning of the whole
charge to the prophet is not difficult to perceive. The sending of the prophecy through
Seraiah, with the command to read it there, at the same time looking up to God, and
then to sink it in the Euphrates, was not intended as a testimony to the inhabitants of
Babylon of the certainty of their destruction, but was meant to be a substantial proof for
Israel that God the Lord would, without fail, fulfil His word regarding the seventy years'
duration of Babylon's supremacy, and the fall of this great kingdom which was to ensue.
This testimony received still greater significance from the circumstances under which it
was given. The journey of King Zedekiah to Babylon was, at least in regard to its official
purpose, an act of homage shown by Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, as the vassal of the
king of Babylon. This fact, which was deeply humiliating for Judah, was made use of by
Jeremiah, in the name of the Lord, for the purpose of announcing and transmitting to
Babylon, the city that ruled the world, the decree which Jahveh, the God of Israel, as
King of heaven and earth, had formed concerning the proud city, and which He would
execute in His own time, that He might confirm the hope of the godly ones among His
people in the deliverance of Israel from Babylon.
The statement, "Thus far are the words of Jeremiah," is an addition made by the editor
of the prophecies. From these words, it follows that Jer 52 does not belong to these
prophecies, but forms a historical appendix to them.
Finally, if any question be asked regarding the fulfilment of the prophecy against
Babylon, we must keep in mind these two points: 1. The prophecy, as is shown both by
its title and its contents, is not merely directed against the city of Babylon, but also
against the land of the Chaldeans. It therefore proclaims generally the devastation and
destruction of the Chaldean kingdom, or the fall of the Babylonian empire; and the
capture and destruction of Babylon, the capital, receive special prominence only in so far
as the world-wide rule of Babylon fell with the capital, and the supremacy of the
Chaldeans over the nations came to an end. 2. In addition to this historical side, the
prophecy has an ideal background, which certainly is never very prominent, but
nevertheless is always more or less to be discovered. Here Babylon, as the then mistress
of the world, is the representative of the God-opposing influences on the earth, which
always attempt to suppress and destroy the kingdom of God. The fulfilment of the
historical side of this prophecy began with the capture of Babylon by the united forces of
the Medes and Persians under the leadership of Cyrus, and with the dissolution of the
Chaldean empire, brought about through that event. By this means, too, the people of
Israel were delivered from the Babylonish captivity, while Cyrus gave them permission
to return to their native land and rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; 2Ch_
36:22., Ezr_1:1. But Babylon was not destroyed when thus taken, and according to
Herodotus, iii. 159, even the walls of the city remained uninjured, while, according to a
notice of Berosus in Josephus, contra Ap. i. 19, Cyrus is said to have given orders for the
pulling down of the outer wall. Cyrus appointed Babylon, after Susa and Ecbatana, the
third city in the kingdom, and the winter residence of the Persian kings (according to
Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 6. 22). Darius Hystaspes, who was obliged to take the city a
second time, in consequence of its revolt in the year 518 b.c., was the first who caused
the walls to be lowered in height; these were diminished to 50 ells royal cubits - about 85
feet, and the gates were torn away (Herodotus, iii. 158f.). Xerxes spoiled the city of the
golden image of Belus (Herodot. i. 183), and caused the temple of Belus to be destroyed
(Arrian, vii. 17. 2). Alexander the Great had intended not merely to rebuild the sanctuary
206

207. of Belus, but also to make the city the capital of his empire; but he was prevented by his
early death from carrying out this plan. The decay of Babylon properly began when
Seleucus Nicator built Seleucia, ion the Tigris, only 300 stadia distant. "Babylon," says
Pliny, vi. 30, "ad solitudinem rediit, exhausta vicinitate Seleuciae." And Strabo (born 60
b.c.) says that, even in his time, the city was a complete wilderness, to which he applies
the utterance of a poet: ἐρημία μεγάλη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη πόλις (xvi. l. 5). This decay was
accelerated under the rule of the Parthians, so that, within a short time, only a small
space within the walls was inhabited, while the rest was used as fields (Diodorus Siculus,
ii. 9; Curtius, Ezr_1:4. 27). According to the statements of Jerome and Theodoret, there
were still living at Babylon, centuries afterwards, a pretty considerable number of Jews;
but Jerome (ad Jerem. 51) was informed by a Persian monk that these ruins stood in the
midst of a hunting district of the Persian kings. The notices of later writers, especially of
modern travellers, have been collected by Ritter, Erdkunde, xi. S. 865f.; and the latest
investigations among the ruins are described in his Expédition scient. en Mésopotamie,
i. pp. 135-254 (Paris, 1863).
(Note: Fresh interest in Babylonian archaeology has of late been awakened,
especially in this country, by Mr. George Smith, of the British Museum, who has
collected and deciphered about eighty fragments of some tablets that had been
brought from Assyria, and that give an account of the deluge different in some
respects from the Mosaic one. The proprietors of the Daily Telegraph have also
shown much public spirit in sending out, at their own cost, an expedition to Assyria,
for further investigation of the ruins there. - Tr.)
John the evangelist has taken the ideal elements of this prophecy into his apocalyptic
description of the great city of Babylon (Rev. 16ff.), whose fall is not to begin till the
kingdom of God is completed in glory through the return of our Lord.
CALVIN, "This is a remarkable sealing of the whole of what we have hitherto
found said respecting the destruction of Babylon; for the Prophet not only spoke
and promulgated what the Spirit of God had dictated, but also put it down in a
book; and not contented with this, he delivered the book to Seraiah the son of
Neriah, when he went to Babylon by the command of Zedekiah the king, that he
might read it there, east it into the Euphrates, and strengthen himself in the hope of
all those things which had been divinely predicted.
He says first that he commanded Seraiah what he was to do, even to read the volume
and to throw it into the Euphrates, as we shall hereafter see. But he points out the
time and mentions the disposition of Seraiah, that we might not think it strange that
the Prophet dared to give an authoritative command to the king’s messenger, which
a man of another character would have refused. As to the time, it was the fourth
year of the reign of Zedekiah; seven years before the city was taken, being besieged
the ninth year and taken the eleventh. Then seven years before the destruction and
ruin of the city, Seraiah was sent by the king to Babylon. There is no doubt but that
the message was sent to pacify the king of Babylon, who had been offended with the
fickleness and perfidy of King Zedekiah; an ambassador was then sent to seek
pardon. But what the Jews say, that Zedekiah went to Babylon, is wholly
groundless; and we know that Sederola, whence they have taken this, is full of all
207

208. kinds of fables and trifles; and on such a point as this, sacred history would not have
been silent, for it was a thing of great moment; and then the particle ‫,את‬ at,
expresses no such thing, but may be rendered in this sense, that the messenger was
sent for, or by, or in the place of Zedekiah. Let us then be satisfied with this simple
and obvious explanation, that Seraiah was the king’s messenger sent to remove the
offenses taken by the Babylonians. (110) And this happened in the fourth year of
Zedekiah.
Now, by calling Seraiah a prince of quietness, I doubt not but that a reference is
made to his gentleness and meekness; and I wonder that in so plain a thing
interpreters have toiled so much. One renders it, even the Chaldean paraphrase,
“the prince of the oblations,” as though he was set over to examine the presents
offered to the king. Others imagine that he was a facetious man who amused the
king in his fears; and others think that he was called “prince of quietness,” because
he preserved the city in a quiet state. But all these things are groundless. (111) No
other view, then, seems to me right, but that he was a prince of a quiet disposition.
Therefore the word “quietness” ought not to be referred to any office, but a noun in
the genitive case used instead of an adjective. He was, then, a quiet prince, or one of
a placid disposition. And this commendation was not without reason added, because
we know how haughtily the princes rejected everything commanded them by the
servants of God. Seraiah might have objected, and said that he was sent to Babylon,
not by a private person, and one of the common people, but by the king himself. He
might then have haughtily reproved the Prophet for taking too much liberty with
him, “Who art thou, that thou darest to command me, when I sustain the person of
the king? and when I am going in his name to the king of Babylon? and then thou
seekest to create disturbances by ordering me to read this volume. What if it be
found on me? what if some were to suspect that I carry such a thing to Babylon?
would I not, in the first place, carry death in my bosom? and would I not, in the
second place, be perfidious to my king? for thus my message would be extremely
disliked.”
As then Seraiah might have stated all these things, and have rejected the command
which Jeremiah gave him, his gentleness is expressly mentioned, even that he was a
meek man, and who withheld not his service — who, in short, was ready to obey
God and his servant. What, in a word, is here commended, is the meekness of
Seraiah, that he received the Prophet with so much readiness, — that he suffered
himself to be commanded by him, and that he also hesitated not to execute what he
had commanded, when yet it might have been a capital offense, and it might
especially have been adverse to his mission, which was to reconcile the king of
Babylon. And surely it is an example worthy of being noticed, that Seraiah was not
deterred by danger from rendering immediate obedience to the Prophet’s command,
nor did he regard himself nor the omee committed to him, so as to reject the
Prophet, according to the usual conduct of princes, under the pretext of their own
dignity; but laying aside his own honor and forgetting all his greatness, he became a
disciple to Jeremiah, who yet, as it is well known, had been long despised by the
people, and had sometimes been nearly brought to death. It was, then, a remarkable
208

209. instance of virtue in Seraiah, that he received with so much modesty and readiness
what had been said to him by the Prophet, and that he obeyed his command, to the
evident danger of his own life. It now follows, —
COFFMAN, “"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.
209

210. "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 Jeremiah 51:64 effectively disproves
it.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded
Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the
king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And [this] Seraiah [was]
a quiet prince.
Ver. 59. The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah.] This is now
the last part, viz., a type used for confirmation of this long time preceding prophecy,
uttered at Jerusalem haply in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was the first of
Nebuchadnezzar, and now to be read at Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah,
which was seven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and above sixty years
before the destruction of Babylon. God loveth to foresignify, but Babylon would not
be warned, which was a just both desert and presage of her ruin.
When he went with Zedekiah.] In company with him, say some, out of the Jews’
chronicle. At which time Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him king, took an oath of
him to be true to him, which he afterward brake, and was punished accordingly. [2
Chronicles 36:13] Others think that Seraiah went not with Zedekiah, but for him,
and from him, with a present to Nebuchadnezzar, that he might keep his favour, or
that he might he reconciled unto him after his revolt from him. [2 Kings 24:20]
And this Seraiah was a great prince.] One that opposed the rebellion against
Nebuchadnezzar, or a peace maker at court, or the great chamberlain. Heb., A
210

211. prince of rest; or, Prince of Menucha, a place so called, [ 20:43] or a quiet, honest,
and humble prince; otherwise he would not have been thus commanded by a poor
prophet, especially in a matter of so great danger, as it might have proved if publicly
noticed.
PETT, “Verses 59-64
Jeremiah Hands To One Of The Godly Leaders Who Is Going With King Zedekiah
On A Journey To Babylon A Scroll Containing His Prophecies About Babylon. This
Was To Be Used Symbolically To Denote The Certain Judgment Coming On
Babylon By Being Thrown Into The Euphrates (Jeremiah 51:59-64).
In what may be seen as a postscript to the section on the judgment coming on
Babylon, Jeremiah hands to Seriah, the quarter-master general (‘prince of the
resting place’) who was going on a journey to Babylon with King Zedekiah,
(presumably in order to swear fealty and pay tribute), a scroll which contained his
prophecies declaring all the evil that was coming on Babylon. This serves to confirm
that these prophecies were given prior to this date (the fourth year of Zedekiah).
The scroll was then to be read aloud in Babylon, no doubt to a select group,
declaring God’s judgment on Babylon, prior to its being thrown into the Euphrates
as a symbol of what was coming on Babylon. This would be seen by those who knew
of it as making certain the fulfilment of the prophecies.
Jeremiah 51:59
‘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 the quarter-master general (‘prince of the
resting place’).’
This incident arises out of a journey made to Babylon by King Zedekiah of Judah,
in the fourth year of his reign (594/3 BC), presumably required in order to swear
fealty and pay tribute. He may also have been subject to questioning about the
gathering of ambassadors from neighbouring countries at the beginning of his reign
(Jeremiah 27:3), which may well have been seen as having in it a hint of rebellion,
for although it would be quite normal for neighbouring countries to send
ambassadors at the commencement of a new reign there is a hint in chapter 27 of
possible rebellion brewing.
Accompanying King Zedekiah was Seraiah, a man who came from an important
family in Judah, and whose responsibility would be to see to all the preparations for
the journey, and the best place for ‘resting’ each night on the journey. He is called
‘the prince of the resting places’. He was brother to Baruch, Jeremiah’s friend and
secretary (see Jeremiah 32:12; Jeremiah 36:8-32; Jeremiah 45:1), which may well
explain why Jeremiah chose him for the assignment that he had for him. The
211

212. importance of Seraiah comes out in that not only his father’s name is given, but also
his grandfather’s. A stamp seal has been discovered bearing the name of ‘Seraiah
the son of Neriah’.
The date given, the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah (594-3 BC), suggests that all
the above prophecies to the nations were given prior to that date.
PULPIT, “Jeremiah 51:59-64
Epilogue. The word, etc. (see Jeremiah 51:61). Seraiah. Apparently the brother of
Baruch. With Zedekiah. The Septuagint has "from Zedekiah," which is referred by
Bleek and Gratz. It would thus be an embassy, of which Seraiah was the head.
According to the ordinary reading, Zedekiah went himself. A quiet prince. Not so.
The Hebrew means probably, "in command over the resting place," i.e. he took
charge of the royal caravan, and arranged the halting places. But the Targum and
the Septuagint have a more probable reading (not, however, one involving a change
in the consonants of the text, "in command over the gifts," i.e. the functionary who
took charge of the presents made to the king. M. Lenormant speaks of an official
called "magister largitionum" (bel tabti) in the Assyrian court.
60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the
disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that
had been recorded concerning Babylon.
BARNES, "Jer_51:60
In a book - literally, in one book, on one scroll of parchment.
CLARKE, "Wrote in a book - Whether this book contained any more than is
recorded in this place we do not know; probably it contained no more than what is found
in Jer_51:62-64. A book, ‫ספר‬ sepher, signifies, in Hebrew, any writing, great or small.
GILL, "So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon
Babylon,.... The evil of punishment predicted and threatened: this he delivered, not by
word of mouth to Seraiah to relate when he came to Babylon; but he wrote it in a book
212

213. for him reread; and he wrote it himself; Baruch, his amanuensis, not being now with
him:
even all these words that are written against Babylon; in this and the preceding
chapter: this book written by Jeremiah was a copy of them.
CALVIN, "Here we see, on one hand, what courage the Prophet had, who dared to
command the king’s messenger; for though Seraiah was a meek man, so as to render
himself submissive, yet Jeremiah exposed himself to danger; for he might have been
timid, though he was neither proud nor arrogant; and thus, as men are wont to do
when terrified, he might have referred to the king what he had heard from the
Prophet. Then Jeremiah did what we here read, not without danger; and hence
appears his firmness. We then see that he was endued with the spirit of invincible
courage, so as to discharge his office freely and intrepidly.
On the other hand, we have to observe not only the meekness of Seraiah, but also his
piety, together with his modesty; for except he had in him a strong principle of
religion, he might have adduced plausible reasons for refusing. As, then, he was so
submissive, and dreaded no danger, it is evident that the real fear of God was
vigorous in his soul.
And these things ought to be carefully noticed; for who of our cornfly princes can be
found at this day who will close his eyes to all dangers, and resolutely disregard all
adverse events, when God and his servants are to be obeyed? And then we see how
pusillanimous are those who profess to be God’s ambassadors, and claim to
themselves the name of Pastors. As, then, teachers dare not faithfully to perform
their office, so on the other hand courtly princes are so devoted to themselves and to
their own prudence, that they are unwilling to undertake duties which are
unpopular. On this account, then, this passage, with all its circumstances, ought to
be carefully noticed.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:60
‘And Jeremiah wrote in a scroll all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all
these words which are written concerning Babylon.’
We are clearly intended to see from ‘all these words which are written concerning
Babylon’ that the above prophecies against Babylon were included in the scroll,
which was an accumulation of prophecies against Babylon. The purpose of taking
them to Babylon would be in order to ensure that the prophecies were declared in
the place in which they would be fulfilled, giving added impact to their
proclamation. This would probably be seen by the people as ensuring that the
prophecies would be fulfilled. The word of YHWH was being released in Babylon.
We can compare with this act Jeremiah’s own prophetic action in Babylon
(Jeremiah 13:1-11), which in that case affected Israel/Judah.
213

214. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon,
see that you read all these words aloud.
BARNES, "Jer_51:61
And shalt see, and shalt read - Or, then see that thou read etc.
GILL, "And Jeremiah said to Seraiah,.... At the time he delivered the copy to him:
when thou comest to Babylon; or art come to Babylon, to the city of Babylon, and to
the captive Jews there:
and shalt see them; the captives; or rather the great and populous city of Babylon, its
high walls, gates, and towers, whose destruction is foretold in this book, and which
might seem incredible. Abarbinel interprets it of his looking into the book given him;
which he thinks was not to be opened and looked into till he came to Babylon:
and shalt read all these words; not before the king of Babylon and his princes, and
yet not privately to himself; but in some proper place, in the presence of the captive
Jews, or the chief of them, convened for that purpose.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah, then, wrote in a book all the evil which was to come on
Babylon, even all those words, (he refers to the prophecies which we have seen;) and
Jeremiah said to Seraiah, (112) etc. Here the boldness of Jeremiah comes to view,
that he hesitated not to command Seraiah to read this book when he came to
Babylon and had seen it. To see it, is not mentioned here without reason, for the
splendor of that city might have astonished Seraiah. Then the Prophet here
seasonably meets the difficulty, and bids him to disregard the height of the walls
and towers; and that however Babylon might dazzle the eyes of others, yet he was to
look down, as from on high, on all that pomp and pride: When thou enterest the
city, and hast seen it, then read this book The verb ‫קרא‬ , kora, means to call, to
proclaim, and also to read. Then Seraiah must have read this book by himself; nor
do I doubt but that the words ought to be so understood, as we shall see. It was not
then necessary for Seraiah to have a pulpit, or in a public way to read the book to an
assembled people; but it was sufficient to read it privately by himself, without any
witnesses; and this may be gathered from the context.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to
Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
214

215. Ver. 61. When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see,] sc., The sinfulness as well as
the stateliness of that city.
And shalt read all these words.] Or, Then shalt thou read all these words. They who
hold he did it publicly, extol the authority of the prophet, the boldness of Seraiah,
and the mildness of the King of Babylon, somewhat like that of the King of Nineveh;
[Jonah 3:6-9] but the most think he read it privately, yet not in some closet apart by
himself, but in some private house to his countrymen who came unto him.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:61-62
‘And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, then see that you read
all these words, and say,
‘O YHWH,
You have spoken concerning this place,
To cut it off,
That none shall dwell in it,
Neither man nor beast,
But that it shall be desolate for ever.’
The words were seemingly to be read aloud in Babylon, presumably to a select
company of reliable people who would act as witnesses. It is very unlikely that it was
to be read to the Babylonians, who anyway would hardly be likely to take any notice
of the prophecies of an obscure Judean prophet. It could, however, have been
construed as treason if heard in the wrong quarters.
Having read the words he was then to lift them before YHWH, calling on YHWH to
heed what He had promised, namely the cutting off of Babylon; and the removal of
its inhabitants and its permanent desolation.
62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy
this place, so that neither people nor animals will
live in it; it will be desolate forever.’
215

216. BARNES, "Jer_51:62-64
The sinking of the scroll was not for the purpose of destroying it, but was a symbolic
act (compare the marginal reference); and the binding of a stone to it signified the
certainty of the hasty ruin of the city.
GILL, "Then shall thou say, O Lord,.... Acknowledging this prophecy to be of God;
believing the accomplishment of it; and praying over it, and for it, like a good man, as
doubtless he was:
thou hast spoken against this place; the city of Babylon, where Seraiah is now
supposed to be:
to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it
shall be desolate for ever; this is the substance of the whole prophecy, that the
destruction of Babylon should be an utter and a perpetual one; and which is expressed in
the same words that are here used, Jer_50:3.
CALVIN, "And thou shalt say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken against this place It
hence appears that Seraiah was commanded to read the book, not for the benefit of
hearers, for they would have been doubly deaf to the words of Seraiah. And it is not
probable that the Hebrew language was then familiar to the Chaldeans. There is a
great affinity, as it is well known, in the languages, but there is also some difference.
But we conclude, from this passage, that the reading was in a chamber, or in some
secret place; for Seraiah is bidden to fix all his thoughts on God, and to address his
words to him. He did not then undertake the work or office of a preacher, so as
openly to proclaim all these things to the Babylonians. But having inspected the city,
he was to read the book by himself, that is, what had been written.
And this also deserves to be noticed; for however courageous we may be, yet our
constancy and boldness are more apparent when we have to do with men than when
we are alone, and God is the only witness; for when no one sees us, we tremble; and
though we may have previously appeared to have manly courage, yet when alone,
fear lays hold on us. There is hardly one in a hundred who is so bold as he ought to
be when God alone is witness. But shame renders us courageous and constrains us
to be firm, and the vigor which is almost extinct in private is roused in public. As,
then, ambition almost always rules in men, this passage ought to be carefully
noticed, where the Prophet commands Seraiah to deal alone with God, and, though
no mortal was present, to strengthen himself, by relying on the certain and infallible
fidelity of God; Thou shalt then say, Jehovah, etc. And it is doubtless a real
experiment of faith, when we consider within ourselves the promises of God, and go
216

217. not forth before the public to avow our firmness; for when any one in silence
acknowledges God to be true, and strengthens himself in his promises, and so
disregards the false judgments of all, that were he alone in the world, he would not
yet despond, — this is a true and real trial of faith.
Thou shalt then say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken against this place The design of the
words was, that Seraiah might feel assured that God was true, and embrace in his
presence what he read, and not doubt but that the word, which came from God,
would, in due time, be accomplished: how so? because God is true. The word
Jehovah, then, ought to be regarded as emphatical; and thou shalt say, Thou,
Jehovah, hast spoken against this place; that is, neither Jeremiah, nor any other
mortal, is the author of this prophecy; but thou, O Lord, has dictated to thy servant
whatever is contained in this volume.
To destroy it, so that there should not be an inhabitant in it, neither man nor beast:
how so? because it shall be reduced to desolations, or the particle ‫כי‬ , ki, may be
taken adversatively, but it shall be reduced to perpetual desolations (113)
For desolations of perpetuity shall it (or she) be.
Babylon is sometimes referred to as masculine, and sometimes as feminine. — Ed.
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against
this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it
shall be desolate for ever.
Ver. 62. Then shalt thou say, O Lord, &c.] The promises are to be prayed over, and
then we may expect their accomplishment. Prayer also added to the outward sign,
according to God’s holy Word, maketh it a sacramental sign.
63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone
to it and throw it into the Euphrates.
GILL, "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book,....
To the captive Jews; and having also said the above words by way of prayer and
approbation:
217

218. that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; a
river by which Babylon was situated. The book, being read, was to be rolled up again,
and then a stone tied to it, and cast into the middle of the river, where the waters were
deepest, and from whence it could not be taken up; and this was a sign confirming the
above prophecy; compare with this what was done by a mighty angel concerning
mystical Babylon, in which there is an allusion to this, Rev_18:21.
CALVIN, "He afterwards adds, And when thou hast made an end of reading, thou
shalt tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates, and shalt say, Thus sink shall
Babylon Here is added an external symbol to confirm the faith of Seraiah. We must
yet bear in mind, that this was not said to Seraiah for his own sake alone, but that
the people might also know, that the king’s messenger, who had been sent for the
sake of conciliating, was also the messenger of God and of the Prophet, who might
have otherwise been despised by the people. When, therefore, the faithful knew this,
they were in no ordinary way confirmed in the truth of the prophecy. Jeremiah,
then, not only consulted the benefit of Seraiah alone, but that of all the godly; for
though this was unknown for a long time, yet the messenger afterwards
acknowledged that this command had been given him by Jeremiah, and that he took
the book and cast it into the Euphrates. This, then, was given as a confirmation to
all the godly.
As to the symbols by which God sealed the prophecies in former times, we have
spoken elsewhere; I therefore pass them by slightly now: only we ought to bear in
mind this one thing, that these signs were only temporary sacraments; for ordinary
sacraments are permanent, as the holy supper and baptism. But the sign mentioned
here was temporary, and referred, as they say, to a special action: it yet had the
force and character of a sacrament, as to its use, the confirmation of this prophecy.
Seraiah was then bidden to tie a stone to the book, and then to cast it into the
Euphrates: why so? that the volume might not swim on the surface of the water, but
be sunk down to the bottom; and the application follows, Thou shalt say, etc. We see
that words ought ever to be connected with signs. We hence conclude how fatuous
the Papists are, who practice many ceremonies, but without knowledge. They are,
indeed, dead and empty things, whatever signs men may devise for themselves,
except God’s word be added. Thou shalt then say, Thus sink shall Babylon, and
shall not rise from the evil which I shall bring upon her In short, Seraiah was
commanded, as the Prophet’s messenger, to predict by himself concerning the fall of
Babylon; but it was for the sake of all the godly, who were afterwards taught what
had been done. (114)
The emendator, Houbigant, proposes to read the word, ‫,ויספו‬ “and they shall come
to an end.” This agrees nearly with the Targ. , “and they shall fail.” — Ed
TRAPP, “Jeremiah 51:63 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 Euphrates:
Ver. 63. Thou shalt bind a stone to it.] See the like symbol or chria, Revelation
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219. 18:21, where, by the mighty angel, Alcazar understandeth the prophet Jeremiah.
COKE, “Jeremiah 51:63. Thou shalt bind a stone to it, &c.— The prophets, as we
have seen, frequently gave sensible representations of judgments which they
foretold. The present was a sufficient and striking emblem of Babylon's sinking
irrecoverably under the judgments here denounced against her. This threatening
was in a literal sense fulfilled by Cyrus's breaking down the head or dam of the
great lake, which was on the west side of the city, in order to turn the current of the
river that way; for no care being afterwards taken to repair the breach, the whole
country round it was overflowed. See Isaiah 14:23. Houbigant ends the 64th verse
with the words I will bring upon her; and reads the last clause thus, Here the words
of Jeremiah are ended, which plainly shews that the next chapter was added by the
person who collected this prophecy into a volume, who most probably was Ezra. See
the note on the first verse of that chapter.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, For the comfort of God's people, and the confusion of his
enemies, the destruction of Babylon is at large insisted on.
1. God sends forth and commissions the Medes and Persians to destroy that proud
city: like a whirlwind they shall sweep the earth, and scatter the Chaldeans as chaff,
killing all who dared resist them, without mercy or pity. The Persian standard is
erected, and multitudes flock to it, thick as the caterpillars or locusts cover the
ground; for when God hath work to do, instruments shall never be wanting.
2. Notwithstanding all the former might of this famed city, it shall now be weak, and
unable to resist. Once God had clothed her with strength, and, as his battle-ax, sent
her to break in pieces the nations, their forces, and all their inhabitants small and
great; but now in vain they prepare their weapons of war, and furbish their armour,
rusty with long peace: in vain they erect their standard, and summon their soldiers
to attend, to guard the walls, or prepare an ambush for their enemies. Their courage
is utterly gone, they are become as timorous as women, and fall without resistance;
so easily can God, when he sends his terrors forth, make cowards of the bravest.
3. The provocation that Babylon had given was great: her sins cried to heaven for
vengeance. [1.] They have risen up against me, in daring rebellion against God, and
defiance of his power. [2.] Babylon is a golden cup, that made all the earth drunken
with her wrath; or, she hath been the head seat of idolatry, and the great temptress
to all the nations over whom her power extended; by force or fraud engaging them
to partake of her abominations, and, like her, become mad upon idols. [3.] Her
incorrigibleness: We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. The faithful
among the Jews that dwelt there would have turned them from their idolatries, but
they were hardened in them. Though this may also be understood of her auxiliary
forces, who in vain attempted to rescue her from ruin, her time to fall being come.
[4.] Her covetousness was insatiable, grasping still at farther conquests and spoils.
[5.] Her tyranny over God's people: as a dragon, Nebuchadrezzar had swallowed
and devoured them; broke all their bones as a lion; and emptied them of all that was
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220. valuable; for which violence and bloodshed, the inhabitants of Zion imprecate just
vengeance upon their ravagers; and these appeals of God's oppressed people shall
not be long unanswered.
4. God in just judgment brings on Babylon the terrible ruin that she has provoked
by her sin against the Holy One of Israel. He will plead the cause of his distressed
people, who seemed to be deserted and forsaken, and will take vengeance for them.
The time is fixed, when the wrongs of Zion shall be requited; and God's people shall
see the day when Babylon shall fall as the slain of Israel, who fell by her sword. And
this is the work of the Lord, and to be declared in Zion to his praise, vindicating his
people's cause, and with a mighty and out-stretched arm punishing their foes. He
hath sworn their destruction and is fully able to execute his threatenings, being the
almighty Lord, the maker and governor of all, whom heaven and earth obey, and
against whom the Babylonish idols can avail nothing; as he had before declared,
chap. Jeremiah 10:12-16 where the very same expressions are used. When this Lord
of Hosts arises, sure desolation marks his way: Babylon is fallen, though now in all
her pride: since God hath pronounced her doom, it is as sure as if already executed.
The waters on which she dwelt shall afford her no defence, their course being
diverted, and her rivers dried up by the besiegers; nor her treasures protect her,
when her time is come. Though strong as a mountain, and late the destroyer of the
nations, she is now made a threshing-floor, where all her inhabitants should be
beaten in pieces. From year to year the rumour comes of the vast preparations made
by the Persians; at last they approach; a battle ensues; the Babylonians are routed,
and driven within their walls, nor can these protect them; while there secure they
revel, sudden their enemies enter through the bed of the river, and surprise them in
their drunken feast. Swift flies the dreadful news; messenger upon messenger
informs the affrighted king that his city is taken, the passages seized, and resistance
vain. The houses are on fire, the bars of the gates broken: roaring at their impious
carousal, and drunken, they are slain, and lie down to wake no more, slaughtered as
easily as sheep. Deluged by the army of the Persians breaking in like the waves of
the sea, and utterly desolate, the land becomes a wilderness, the cities uninhabited,
their gods falling in the common ruin, and, so far from helping their votaries, that
they are unable to defend themselves. Yea, so entirely demolished shall these proud
walls be, the wonder of the world, on which several chariots might strive abreast,
that there should not be a stone left fit for any use; her gates burnt with fire, the
very foundations razed; and every attempt to repair these desolations for ever
fruitless.
5. The people of God are warned to flee when they see the ruin approaching, that
they may not be involved in it, nor overwhelmed with the terror of the destroying
enemy, and gladly to accept the offer of liberty which Cyrus shall proclaim to them.
They who had escaped the sword of the Chaldeans, reserved in mercy for such a
time, must haste away to their own land. They are called to remember the Lord afar
off, in the land of their captivity, and to think of Jerusalem, the city of their
solemnities, with eager longing to return thither, notwithstanding its present
desolate state; at which they had been confounded, ashamed to think of their
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221. abominations, which had provoked God to give up his sanctuary to the profanation
of the heathen. But God now hath avenged their quarrel and his own, and condignly
punished the Chaldeans and their gods, over whom Israel now may triumph. Note;
(1.) When we know that the wrath of God is revealed against a world lying in
wickedness, it is our wisdom to come out from among them, and be separate. (2.) In
whatever state of affliction or distress we are, it is our duty, and will be our comfort,
to think upon God, and remember his faithfulness, mercy, and truth.
6. According to their several interests, those who hear of Babylon's fall will be
greatly affected. Some with astonishment and deep concern behold her sudden fall,
and with an exceeding great and bitter cry bewail her desolations; others shall
rejoice in it, yea, the very heaven and the earth shall sing, giving praise to God for
avenging the blood of his saints, and for the recovery of his people from captivity.
Throughout the whole description, if we compare Revelation 18 with this chapter,
we shall see the strongest resemblance in the expressions; and as now this proud
city, here devoted to ruin, has been for many ages desolate, according to the
prophetic word; so surely shall Babylon mystical, the city of Rome, and the tyranny
of popery, be destroyed, when God's time of vengeance comes.
2nd, The prophesy concerning Babylon was long and terrible. We have,
1. A copy of it written and sent to the captive Jews in Babylon, by Seraiah, a quiet
prince in those turbulent times, who was for peace; and it is spoken of to his honour.
He went with Zedekiah, as our version renders the words, or was sent from
Zedekiah, as his ambassador to Nebuchadrezzar, in the fourth year of his reign, and
sixty years before the destruction of Babylon.
2. He is enjoined to read the words of the roll when he came to Babylon, in the
presence of the captive Jews, for their encouragement; for, however improbable the
event, when they considered that vast city, so populous, and strongly fortified, the
accomplishment of God's word was sure. Note; The eye of faith staggers at no
difficulties; if God hath promised, that is enough.
3. He must make a solemn profession of his own faith in the truth of what he had
read, that it would surely be fulfilled; and then in the presence of the people must tie
a stone to the roll, and cast it into the river Euphrates, explaining the sign, that thus
should Babylon sink, and not rise up again; wearied out with her plagues,
exhausted, and unable to repair her desolations. Thus far are the words of
Jeremiah; not that this was the last of his prophesies, but that here the burden of
Babylon ends. With still greater magnificence is the fall of Babylon mystical
represented, Revelation 18:21.; and when God's final wrath is poured out upon the
ungodly, their ruin will be irrecoverable and eternal.
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:63-64
“And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this scroll, that you shall
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222. bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and you will say,
‘Thus will Babylon sink,
And will not rise again,
Because of the evil that I will bring on her,
And they will be weary.’
Having carried through the ceremony in due form he was to take the scroll to the
Euphrates, bind it to a stone (so that it would sink), and hurl it in, and as he did so
he was to proclaim that Babylon would sink in like measure, never to rise again.
And this was because of the evil that YHWH Himself would bring on her. Note the
words ‘and they will be weary’ repeated from Jeremiah 51:58, the final words of the
judgment section on Babylon. The indication is that all that association with
Babylon finally produces is permanent weariness.
So ends the two chapters of judgments on Babylon, the city which summed up all
that was anti-God in the world. Apocalyptically Babylon represented all that was
bad in the world (compare Isaiah 14; Revelation 17). These chapters were a
guarantee that one day God would bring it all into judgment.
64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more
because of the disaster I will bring on her. And
her people will fall.’”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
BARNES, "Jer_51:64
Thus far ... - Whoever added Jer. 52, evidently felt it his duty to point out that it was
not written by Jeremiah.
CLARKE, "Thus shall Babylon sink, etc. - This is the emblem of its overthrow
and irretrievable ruin. See Rev_18:21, where we find that this is an emblem of the total
ruin of mystical Babylon.
Herodotus relates a similar action of the Phocaeans, who, having resolved to leave
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223. their country, and never return to it again, μυδρον σιδηρεον κατεπονωσαν, και ωμοσαν
μη πριν ες Φωκαιην ἡξειν, πριν η τον μυδρον τουτον αναφηναι· “threw a mass of iron
into the sea, and swore that they would never return to Phocaea till that iron mass
should rise and swim on the top.” The story is this: The Phocaeans, being besieged by
Harpagus, general of the Persians, demanded one day’s truce to deliberate on the
propositions he had made to them relative to their surrendering their city; and begged
that in the mean while he would take off his army from the walls. Harpagus having
consented, they carried their wives, children, and their most valuable effects, aboard
their ships; then, throwing a mass of iron into the sea, bound themselves by an oath
never to return till that iron should rise to the top and swim. See Herodotus, lib. 1 c. 165.
Horace refers to this in his epode Ad Populum Romanum, Epode 16 ver. 25: -
Sed juremus in haec: simul imis saxa renarint
Vadis levata, ne redire sit nefas.
“As the Phocaeans oft for freedom bled,
At length with imprecated curses fled.”
Francis.
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah - It appears that the following chapter is not
the work of this prophet: it is not his style. The author of it writes Jehoiachin; Jeremiah
writes him always Jeconiah, or Coniah. It is merely historical, and is very similar to 2
Kings 24:18-25:30. The author, whoever he was, relates the capture of Jerusalem, the
fate of Zedekiah, the pillage and burning of the city and the temple. He mentions also
certain persons of distinction who were slain by the Chaldeans. He mentions the number
of the captives that were carried to Babylon at three different times; and concludes with
the deliverance of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon, in which he had been for
thirty-seven years. It is very likely that the whole chapter has been compiled from some
chronicle of that time, or it was designed as a preface to the Book of the Lamentations;
and would stand with great propriety before it, as it contains the facts on which that
inimitable poem is built. Were it allowable, I would remove it to that place.
GILL, "And thou shall say,.... Not only use the above sign and ceremony, but explain
the meaning of it to those of his friends who might accompany him; and what he said
was in the name of the Lord, as the form and manner in which the following words are
delivered show:
thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring
upon her; as this book, with the stone bound to it, does, and shall no more rise than
that can; the evil of punishment brought on Babylon will sink her to such a degree, that
she will never be able to bear up under it; but be so depressed by it as never to rise to her
former state and grandeur any more:
and they shall be weary; the inhabitants of it, and have no strength to resist their
enemies; or, rather, shall be so weak as not to be able to stand up under the weight and
pressure upon them, but shall sink under it; or shall weary themselves in vain to
preserve their city from ruin, or restore it when ruined; see Jer_51:58;
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224. thus far are the words of Jeremiah; that is, concerning the destruction of Babylon,
as is said concerning Moab, Jer_48:47; for what Maimonides (m) says, that though
Jeremiah lived some time after, yet ceased to prophesy; or that, when he had finished his
prophecy concerning Babylon, he prophesied no more, is not true; for it is certain that
many of his prophecies were delivered out after the date of this, though this is recorded
last: or the sense may be, thus far are the prophetic words of Jeremiah; and so the
Targum,
"hitherto is the prophecy of the words of Jeremiah;''
what follows in the next chapter being historical; for there is no necessity to conclude
from hence that that was wrote by any other hand; either, as many have thought, by
Ezra; or by the men of the great synagogue, as Abarbinel.
CALVIN, "The Conclusion follows, Thus far the words of Jeremiah We have said
that the prophets, after having spoken in the Temple, or to the people, afterwards
collected brief summaries, and that these contained the principal things: from these
the prophetic books were made up. For Jeremiah did not write the volume as we
have it at this day, except the chapters; and it appears evident that it was not
written in the order in which he spoke. The order of time is not, then, everywhere
observed; but the scribes were careful in this respect, that they collected the
summaries affixed to the doors of the Temple; and so they added this conclusion,
Thus far the words of Jeremiah But this, in my view, is not to be confined to the
prophecies respecting the fall of Babylon; for I doubt not but that the scribe who
had collected all his prophecies, added these words, that he had thus far transcribed
the words of Jeremiah.
We hence conclude that the last chapter is not included in the prophetic book of
Jeremiah, but that it contains history only as far as was necessary to understand
what is here taught: for it appears evident that many parts of the prophecy could
not be understood without the knowledge of this history. As to the book of
Lamentations, we know that it was a work distinct from the prophecies of Jeremiah:
there is, then, no wonder that it has been added, Thus far the words of Jeremiah
TRAPP, “Verse 64
Jeremiah 51:64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from
the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far [are] the words
of Jeremiah.
Ver. 64. Thus shall Babylon sink.] Ceremonies are to little purpose unless they have
divine expositions annexed unto them.
And they shall be weary.] That seek either to save it or to restore it.
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225. Thus far the words of Jeremiah,] sc., Concerning Babylon. See the like concerning
Moab. [Jeremiah 48:47]
PETT, “Jeremiah 51:64
‘Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.’
This statement seals off Jeremiah’s prophecies. It may well have been penned by
Baruch as he accumulated Jeremiah’s prophecies together. It is also preparation for
the historical narrative that follows, separating it off from the prophecies of
Jeremiah. There is no real reason for doubting that it covers all that has gone before
of his words in chapters 1-51, and it has been pointed out that ‘the words of
Jeremiah’ echoes the opening words of the book (Jeremiah 1:1 a) forming an
inclusio.
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