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The Humiliation of the Daughter of Babylon
v. 1. Come down and sit in the dust, degraded to the lowest depth, O virgin daughter of Babylon, the city and country being regarded as a virgin queen; sit on the ground, there is no throne, the seat of empire being lost to the former proud ruler, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate, the reference being to the luxury and debauchery and prostitution practiced in connection with the religious rites of the Babylonians and at other times.
v. 2. Take the millstones, those of the hand-mill, as turned by female slaves, and grind meal, the grain being fed in through the center opening above and ground to flour by the revolving of the upper stone; uncover thy locks, taking off the veil, probably together with the plaite(l hair, as worn by Oriental women, its removal being considered a mark of the deepest degradation, make bare the leg, removing the long outer garment worn especially by women of rank, uncover the thigh, gathering up even the inner garment, pass over the rivers, like a slave girl being taken into captivity.
v. 3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen, a figurative expression for exposing the hidden wickedness of Babylonia. I will take vengeance, for all the evil shown to His people Israel, and I will not meet thee as a man, not pardon or spare any man, but overthrow all the enemies. At this point the prophet causes the congregation of believers to insert a glad hallelujah.
v. 4. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, whose power is unlimited in carrying out His purposes, the Holy One of Israel, zealous for the welfare of his people. The prophet, in beginning the second strophe of the chapter, once more addresses Babylon directly.
v. 5. Sit thou silent, namely, in captivity, and get thee into darkness, into the darkness of the dungeon, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called The Lady of Kingdoms, the queen and mistress of the world, a position which Babylon enjoyed for less than a century.
v. 6. I was wroth with My people, so the Lord explains the Babylonian captivity, which is hereby also prophesied, I have polluted Mine inheritance, taking away the consecration which Israel possessed as His people, and given them into thine hand, it was an act of the Lord's punishment, not a matter of Babylonia's strength. Thou didst show them no mercy, treating the exiled Jews with the utmost cruelty; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke, not sparing even the aged, but submitting them to indignities with the rest.
v. 7. And thou saidst, flattering herself in her own mind, I shall be a lady forever, haughtily considering her position beyond attack from every side, in an insolence which was an insult to God, so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, she did not consider the extent of her own cruelty, neither didst remember the latter end of it, namely, the consequences of such actions. The pride of the average sinner causes him to disregard or to discount the punishment which follows; it is a species of blindness which leads to destruction.