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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
50:1-51:64 God Will Judge Babylon. Babylon was the great world power during the second half of Jeremiah's ministry (). Jeremiah predicts that this great kingdom will fall, an event that occurred in Jeremiah asserts that Babylon and its gods will be destroyed (50:1-10) because the people have sinned against God (50:11-16). He claims that God will gather and pardon Israel (50:17-20) but will make Babylon like Sodom and Gomorrah (50:21-40), for God's plans must be fulfilled (50:41-46). He promises that God has not forsaken Israel (51:1-10). God is the Creator (51:11-23) who will destroy Babylon for Israel's sake (51:24-64).
50:1-2 Babylon is taken. Persia conquered Babylon in (Isa. 13:1-14:23; 21:9). Bel (corresponds to Hb. Ba‘al) was the title ("Lord") of the chief god of Babylon, depicted as a storm god and source of life (Isa. 46:1). Merodach (Babylonian "Marduk") was the personal name of this god.
50:3 In Jeremiah, trouble always comes from the north (1:14). Like Judah's cities (4:27; 10:22; 25:18; etc.), Babylon shall become a desolation (Isa. 13:9).
50:4-5 When Babylon falls, Israel and Judah shall join together (3:6-18) to seek the Lord their God (31:9). Zion was both the mountain in Jerusalem and the eternal home of God and his people (31:6, 12; Isa. 4:2-6). everlasting covenant. The new covenant (Jer. 32:40; cf. 31:31-40).
50:6 shepherds. Judah's and Israel's religious, political, and social leaders have led them astray. See 2:8; 3:15; 6:3; 10:21; 12:10; 23:1-4. From mountain to hill they have gone. Probably for fertility cult worship (2:20).
50:7 Because their leaders have led them astray and then forsaken them, Israel and Judah have been plundered by their foes, all of whom God has sent (27:1-15). their habitation of righteousness. God is his people's only security (31:23) and only righteousness (23:6). the hope of their fathers. He is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and their offspring (33:26).
50:8 male goats before the flock. Just as male goats rushed out first when gates were opened, so Israel will be among the first to leave Babylon.
50:9 gathering of great nations. See 51:27-28; Isa. 13:1-5.
50:11-13 Babylon once rejoiced over its plundering of Judah, God's heritage, like a calf frolicking or a stallion snorting. Soon Babylon will be ashamed and become an utter desolation (cf. v. 2). everyone who passes by. Just as Judah became a cautionary tale for others, so Babylon will become one as well.
50:14-15 Just as Judah and Israel faced defeat because they sinned against the Lord, so the same will happen to Babylon for the same reason. Babylon's defeat is the vengeance of the Lord for all her oppressive ways.
50:16 Just as Babylon's army has ruined other lands, so its land will now be ruined by foreign forces.
50:17 a hunted sheep. See vv. 6-7. Assyria devoured him. In (Isa. 7:1-9), (2 Kings 17:1-6), and (2 Kings 18:13-18; Isa. 36:1). Nebuchadnezzar . . . has gnawed his bones. In (2 Kings 24:1; Dan. 1:1), (2 Kings 24:1-7), and (Jer. 39:1-10; 2 Kings 25:1-21).
50:18 Just as God used Babylon to punish Assyria (), so God uses Persia to punish Babylon ().
50:19 God's sheep (23:1-8) will feed in lush pastures. Carmel. See 46:18. Bashan. See 22:20. Ephraim. See 4:15. Gilead. See 46:11.
50:20 When God restores his people, no sin will be found in them, not because they have never sinned, but because he will pardon them (31:34) and completely purify their hearts (see note on 31:38-40; cf. Rev. 21:27).
50:21 Merathaim. Region where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge. Pekod. Region in eastern Babylonia. devote them to destruction. Set apart as the goods given to God as the spoils of holy war (cf. Josh. 7:10-26).
50:23 hammer of the whole earth. Babylon hammered all other nations into submission (27:6). a horror. See 15:4; 18:16; 19:8; 34:17; 48:39; 49:13, 16, 17.
50:24 God set a trap for and snared Babylon. He willed that it face defeat. you did not know it. The defeat completely surprised Babylon. opposed the Lord. In part, through prideful attributing of its success to its own prowess and its own gods (Isa. 10:5-19), but more significantly by not worshiping and serving the one true God.
50:25 The armies that defeat Babylon carry the weapons of God's wrath (50:9; Isa. 13:1-5). a work to do. See Jer. 48:10.
50:26 Babylon's dead will be piled up like heaps of grain pouring out of granaries. devote her to destruction. See note on v. 21.
50:27 bulls. A technical term (Hb. par) for choice young bulls, probably referring to Babylon's soldiers (Isa. 34:6-7). go down to the slaughter. A metaphor for defeat in battle (Jer. 48:15).
50:28 Fugitives (most likely Israelites) will declare God's retribution for Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem's temple.
50:29 The scene is of siege warfare. Archers peppered the city walls with arrows to provide cover for the men building and using ramps and battering rams. Encamp. Invading armies camped outside the besieged city's walls. let no one escape. Fugitives from besieged cities were chased, captured, and killed (39:5-6; Lam. 4:19). proudly defied the Lord. See Jer. 50:24. Holy One of Israel. One of Isaiah's favorite names for God (Isa. 1:4; 5:19; 10:20; 12:6; 60:14).
50:30 See 49:26. on that day. God's day of judging Babylon (Isa. 13:1-6).
50:31 O proud one. As was true of Assyria (Isa. 10:5-34), Babylon's pride was the cause of its downfall.
50:32 none to raise him up. No ally will be able to deliver Babylon on the day of punishment. kindle a fire. See 21:14; Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5.
50:33 held them fast. Part of Babylon's sin against God is its oppression of Israelite and Judean captives. Once held, they were never released. Babylon has become like the pharaoh of the exodus (Ex. 5:2).
50:34 Redeemer. A kinsman who avenged, protected, secured release, and retained property for a relative (Lev. 25:23-34, 47-55). plead their cause. Act as Israel's advocate in a legal case. rest to the earth. From Babylon's oppressive ways. unrest to . . . Babylon. Lit., "shake" Babylon with war and destruction.
50:35-36 officials. Probably court functionaries. wise men. Persons who attempt to interpret dreams, omens, and other means of determining the future (Dan. 4:6-7). diviners. Individuals who read omens to discern the future, especially future battles and their results (Jer. 27:9; 29:8).
50:37 foreign troops. Mercenaries. that they may become women! That is, weak in terms of physical strength in combat. It was shameful for a nation to allow women to fight in war. See note on Nah. 3:12-13.
50:38 Babylon's idols will not be able to help when God dries up the nation's waters.
50:39-40 See Isa. 13:19-22. These verses present common metaphors of defeat and desolation. She shall never again have people. Ancient Babylon is still an uninhabited ruin today, though it is surrounded by the city of Al Hillah, Iraq (about
50:41-43 These verses are close in content to 6:22-24. What happened to Judah will happen to Babylon. Invasion will come from the north. See 50:3. mighty nation and many kings. See v. 3 and Isa. 13:1-5.
50:44-46 These verses are very close in content to 49:19-21. Thus, what happened to Edom will happen to Babylon.
51:1 Leb-kamai (lit., "heart of my adversaries") is a code name for Chaldea (i.e., Babylon; see ESV footnote), and it may simply refer to Babylon as God's enemy because she opposed God (50:24).
51:2 Just as God winnowed Judah (15:7), so he will winnow Babylon . . . on the day of trouble (see 2:28; on the process of winnowing, see note on Ps. 1:4).
51:3 The meaning of this verse is uncertain. It refers either to the futility of Babylon resisting the invasion or the ease with which the invader will succeed.
51:5 Despite all the judgments that God has sent on Judah and Israel, he has not . . . forsaken them, for he will unite them (3:6-18) and give them a new covenant (31:31-40). full of guilt. See 50:24 and 51:1. Holy One of Israel. See note on 50:29.
51:6 Flee probably refers to Israelites who are counseled to avoid the coming devastation. vengeance. See 50:15, 28.
51:7 golden cup. A metaphor for Babylon's wealth (v. 13) and role as God's instrument of judgment (25:15-26). making all the earth drunken. A metaphor for the nations' helplessness before Babylon's invasions (25:27).
51:9 We. Perhaps Babylon's allies. would have healed Babylon. Would have come to her aid, but such attempts would be pointless because her sins have reached up to heaven, where God sees and judges.
51:10 our vindication. God has vindicated Judah and Israel by judging Babylon (v. 5). This action merits God's praise in Zion, his city.
51:11 Medes. See Isa. 13:17-18. The Medes were incorporated into the Persian Empire by Cyrus in The Medes and Persians are connected as one kingdom in Dan. 5:28; 6:8, 12, 15. vengeance for his temple. See Jer. 50:28.
51:12 standard. Signal. See 4:6 and Isa. 13:2. watchmen. Persons charged with making certain Babylon has not grown wise to the invader's plan. ambushes. Intended to catch Babylon unaware as soldiers leave the city.
51:13 many waters. A metaphor for Babylon's fertility.
51:14 sworn by himself. The highest name and authority (22:5; 49:13; Gen. 22:16; Isa. 45:23; 62:8; Amos 4:2; 6:8; Heb. 6:13). as many as locusts. The invaders will swarm over Babylon (Joel 1:4; 2:25).
51:15-19 Stated also in 10:12-16. God alone created and rules the earth. Israel forgot this and was judged; Babylon ignored this and will be judged (Dan. 5:13-30).
51:20-23 In the past Babylon was God's hammer, or instrument of judgment (50:23), but now a new nation will play that role as Babylon becomes like the nations it defeated.
51:25 As in Dan. 2:35, 44-45, Babylon is compared to a great mountain that once destroyed others but will now be destroyed. A volcano may be the basis for the metaphor, but the exact meaning is uncertain.
51:26 Once destroyed, Babylon will never be rebuilt. No one will even begin the process by starting to set up a corner or lay a foundation.
51:27 Set up a standard. See v. 12. Ararat. Assyrian "Urartu," in eastern Turkey (see note on Gen. 8:2-4). Minni. Assyrian "Mannay," located in northwest Iran. Ashkenaz. Also known as the Scythians, located in the Caucasus region. These groups were all ruled by the Medes until the Persians defeated the Medes
51:31-32 Several messengers tell Babylon's king the same news: the city is surrounded, the water escape routes cut off, and the places of hiding (marshes) have been torched. No wonder the soldiers are in panic.
51:33 Babylon has been prepared for judgment like a threshing floor awaiting harvest. Her time is coming soon.
51:34-35 like a monster. Though Nebuchadnezzar was sent by God against Jerusalem (27:1-15), he was unnecessarily violent and brutal in how he treated the Jews (50:17-18; 51:11, 24).
51:37 heap of ruins. See 50:23 and Isa. 13:17-22.
51:38-40 Babylon roars like a hungry lion. God gives it intoxication instead of food (25:15-29), and it will become food for other power-hungry nations. See 5:6 for the image.
51:41 praise of the whole earth. The most powerful, richest, and most glorious kingdom on earth (Isa. 13:19).
51:42 Babylon's foes are compared to floodwaters that overwhelm the city.
51:44 Bel. See note on 50:1-2. what he has swallowed. Babylon believed that its god gave its victories, but he has no power to help in its time of need. wall. The tops of Babylon's walls were wide enough for several chariots to travel side-by-side.
51:46 Israel's exiles should not worry about all the intrigue in Babylon. There will be violence, political unrest, and rulers vying for power.
51:48 All of creation will sing for joy when Babylon, the great destroyer, falls. Its destroyers shall come . . . out of the north (50:3, 9, 41).
51:49 Babylon made other nations drink the cup of God's wrath (25:15-25), and soon Babylon will drink the same cup (25:26).
51:50 Remember the Lord. Israel must recall and renew its covenant with God (2:2-3; 31:31-40). The Israelites should let Jerusalem enter their thoughts and draw them home.
51:51 foreigners have come into the holy places. Babylon destroyed the temple (52:12-13) and in doing so profaned God's dwelling place (Ps. 74:4-8; Lam. 1:10).
51:53 No amount of preparation or military buildup can save Babylon from destruction.
51:55-56 her mighty voice. A metaphor for Babylon's power. noise of their voice is raised. The invader's power will become greater than Babylon's. he will surely repay. See 46:10; 50:15, 28; 51:6, 11, 36.
51:57 make drunk. See 25:15-29; 51:38-40. the King. God, not human monarchs like Nebuchadnezzar, rules the universe (46:18).
51:58 broad wall of Babylon. See v. 44. high gates. Babylon's walls and gates were for defensive purposes, but they could not protect her in the end (v. 53). peoples labor for nothing. Humans weary themselves to build great cities to make names for themselves, but God rules history and makes reputations (45:1-5; Hab. 2:12-14).
51:59 Seraiah the son of Neriah. Probably Baruch's brother (32:12). went with Zedekiah. Apparently Zedekiah was summoned to Babylon to explain his questionable behavior recounted in 27:1-15. fourth year. quartermaster. Responsible for the king's travel arrangements.
51:60-62 Jeremiah wrote in a book all these words concerning Babylon (most likely 50:2-51:58). read all these words. Apparently Seraiah was sent to deliver this message, as Baruch was sent in 36:1-8.
