8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
Go up to Gilead, and fetch balm, O virgin-daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou multiply remedies: there is no healing for thee.
-- And behold, there cometh a chariot of men; horsemen by pairs. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
And he cried with a strong voice, saying, Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and has become the habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hated bird;
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a banner; publish, conceal not! Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed: her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, [being] about sixty-two years old.
for in one hour so great riches has been made desolate. And every steersman, and every one who sailed to any place, and sailors, and all who exercise their calling on the sea, stood afar off, and cried, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city] is like to the great city? and cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and grieving, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were enriched through her costliness! for in one hour she has been made desolate.
for this reason in one day shall her plagues come, death and grief and famine, and she shall be burnt with fire; for strong [is the] Lord God who has judged her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived luxuriously with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off, through fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour thy judgment is come. And the merchants of the earth weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their lading any more;
There is no healing of thy breach; thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Howl, for the day of Jehovah is at hand; it cometh as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt,
Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Howl ye, Alas for the day!
and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly; and they shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in ashes. And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird themselves with sackcloth; and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, [saying,] Who is like Tyre, like her that is destroyed in the midst of the sea?
Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning.
For thus saith Jehovah: Thy bruise is incurable, thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, to bind up [thy wound]; thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not. For I have smitten thee with the stroke of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the greatness of thine iniquity: thy sins are manifold. Why criest thou because of thy bruise? thy sorrow is incurable; for the greatness of thine iniquity, [because] thy sins are manifold, I have done these things unto thee.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 51
Commentary on Jeremiah 51 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 51
The prophet, in this chapter, goes on with the prediction of Babylon's fall, to which other prophets also bore witness. He is very copious and lively in describing the foresight God had given him of it, for the encouragement of the pious captives, whose deliverance depended upon it and was to be the result of it. Here is,
Jer 51:1-58
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,
Jer 51:59-64
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.