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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 51:1 - 51:26
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The Threat of Jehovah in its Various Forms
v. 1. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against Babylon and against them that dwell in the midst, literally, "in the heart," of them that rise up against Me, the inhabitants of the insurgent country, a destroying wind, or "the spirit of destruction,"
v. 2. and will send unto Babylon fanners, whose work it was to separate the wheat from the chaff by casting up and scattering the threshed grain, that shall fan her and shall empty her land, sweeping away the guilty like chaff before the wind; for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about, attacking from all sides.
v. 3. Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, sure to put to death every one who attempts resistance, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine, having put on his armor for battle; and spare ye not her young men, the ablest warriors, destroy ye utterly all her host.
v. 4. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through, pierced by arrow or lance, in her streets. All this would happen on account of Israel's just cause against the Chaldeans.
v. 5. For Israel hath not been forsaken nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts, the chosen people of Jehovah being still in His care, under His gracious protection; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel, rather, "but the land of the Chaldeans is filled with guilt," because they refused to accept the true God in spite of the many manifestations of His power and glory in their midst as brought to their attention, for instance, through Daniel and his friends. Therefore the Lord addresses Himself to the members of His chosen people living in Babylon, urging the proper behavior at the time of Babylon's downfall.
v. 6. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul, not only his physical life, but his spiritual life as well; be not cut off in her iniquity, by taking part in the idolatry which brought destruction upon her; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; He will render unto her a recompense. Note the contrast between human transgression, on the one hand, and the righteous punishment of the Lord, on the other. This is brought out most strongly by the picture of the golden cup.
v. 7. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, a nation noted for power and glory, all this due to the Lord's blessing, that made all the earth drunken, namely, in pouring out the wine of His wrath upon all whom He desired to punish; the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad, intoxicated, bereft of reason, bound for destruction.
v. 8. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed, no longer a golden cup, but a fragile glass; howl for her, make a lamentation for her; take balm for her pain, a balsam to heal her bruises, if so be she may be healed, if there is still a possibility of effecting a cure. But the representatives of the various nations assembled in Babylon state that their attempts are vain.
v. 9. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed, it is impossible to mend her hurt. Forsake her, so they now admonish one another, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, her guilt crying to the Lord to be avenged, and is lifted up even to the skies, it towers up to the clouds.
v. 10. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness, the just cause of the captives, so the Israelites in their midst declare. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord, our God. Cf Psa_102:13-21. The Lord now calls upon the northern nations to make their attack upon Babylon.
v. 11. Make bright the arrows, polishing and sharpening them; gather the shields, literally, "fill the shields," slipping their straps over their arms for immediate use. The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, the conquerors of Babylon; for His device is against Babylon to destroy it, He has definitely made up His mind to that effect; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of His Temple, whose profanation at the hands of the Chaldeans must be punished.
v. 12. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, raising a flag or emblem to indicate a particular point of attack, make the watch strong, so that the siege would be equally effective along the whole line, set up the watchmen, against the city, so that there would be no loophole of escape for the besieged, prepare the ambushes, in order to take the first opportunity of entering into the city; for the Lord hath both devised and done that which He spake against the inhabitants of Babylon, that is, what He had determined upon He would most certainly carry out against the wicked city.
v. 13. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, the Euphrates with all its tributary canals, irrigation ditches, and swamps being included here, abundant in treasures, both on account of its natural resources and on account of the plunder which had been amassed in the city, thine end is come and the measure of thy covetousness, for there would be no more unjust enrichment through robbery and plunder after the fall of the city.
v. 14. The Lord of hosts hath sworn by Himself, by His own soul or life, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men as with caterpillars, rather, "Have I filled thee with men as with locusts?" and they shall lift up a shout against thee, that is, numerous as the people of Babylon were, the invaders would be more numerous and would sing a "Hedad," the shout of the vine-dressers, the song of slaughter, upon the city.
v. 15. 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.
v. 16. When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.
v. 17. 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.
v. 18. They are vanity, the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
v. 19. 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. This paragraph is repeated from chapter 10:12-16, where the prophet described the almighty power of the living God and pointed to the destruction of the idols at the time of the great judgment. In chapter 10 he intended to combat the fear of the idolatrous people concerning the power of the heathen gods; here he wants to overthrow the confidence of the Chaldeans in their idols, telling them that their gods are powerless before the omnipotence of Jehovah, and that Israel would realize this fact when the judgment would be brought about. By the overthrow of Babylon, Jehovah proved Himself to be the Creator of Israel, the Former of the universe, the one true God. The next paragraph is addressed to Babylon, as the "hammer of nations," 50:23, and the narrative ought to be given in the present or in the past tense, as a prophetic statement.
v. 20. Thou art My battle-ax, a hammer, a club used for total destruction, and weapons of war, all instruments of warfare being comprehended in this term; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms, Jehovah had, in fact, used Babylon to overthrow nations;
v. 21. and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider, and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider, the armies of the enemies with all their divisions;
v. 22. with thee also will I break in pieces man and woman, and with thee will I break in pieces old and young, and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid, every age and every station;
v. 23. I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen, all the laboring classes; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers, the highest dignitaries of the realm. But at the same time the hammer would itself be overthrown, both actions taking place at the same time in the sight of the eternal God.
v. 24. 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, before the eyes of the Jews, when they defiled the Lord's Sanctuary, saith the Lord.
v. 25. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, Babylon called thus on account of the physical and moral destruction which it brought upon the nations by a false use of its great power, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out Mine hand upon thee and roll thee down from the rocks, which it occupied, as it were, in its position on the summit of the mountains above all nations, and will make thee a burnt mountain, a volcano extinct on account of having its substance devoured by fire, so that it could no more serve as a rock-foundation for further, kingdoms of destruction.
v. 26. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord, perpetual ruins. The great mass of materials of which Babylon was built to this day are lying more or less decomposed in the mountains of rubbish which mark the site of the once magnificent city. Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled with its usual exactness.