2 `Declare ye among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say ye: Captured hath been Babylon, Put to shame hath been Bel, Broken hath been Merodach, Put to shame have been her grievous things, Broken have been her idols.
Bowed down hath Bel, stooping is Nebo, Their idols have been for the beast and for cattle, Your burdens are loaded, a burden to the weary.
And lo, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.' And he answereth and saith: `Fallen, fallen hath Babylon, And all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the earth.
And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed -- from his mouth, And flow no more unto him do nations, Also the wall of Babylon hath fallen.
`Declare ye in Egypt, and sound in Migdol, Yea, sound in Noph, and in Tahpanhes say: Station thyself, yea, prepare for thee, For a sword hath devoured around thee,
And I saw another messenger flying in mid-heaven, having good news age-during to proclaim to those dwelling upon the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people, saying in a great voice, `Fear ye God, and give to Him glory, because come did the hour of His judgment, and bow ye before Him who did make the heaven, and the land, and sea, and fountains of waters.' And another messenger did follow, saying, `Fall, fall, did Babylon, the great city, because of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom she hath given to all nations to drink.'
Fearful `is' Jehovah against them, For He made bare all gods of the land, And bow themselves to Him, each from his place, Do all islanders of the nations.
And it cometh to pass, in the thirty and seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and fifth of the month, hath Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up, in the year of his reign, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and bringeth him out from the house of restraint,
Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have seen after its graven images, And in all its land groan doth the wounded.
Runner to meet runner doth run, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For, captured hath been his city -- at the extremity.
From the voice: Captured was Babylon, Hath the earth been shaken, And a cry among nations hath been heard!
And all men fear, and declare the work of God, And His deed they have considered wisely.
And I have kindled a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and it hath burned them, and he hath taken them captive, and covered himself with the land of Egypt, as cover himself doth the shepherd with his garment, and he hath gone forth thence in peace; and he hath broken the standing pillars of the house of the sun, that `is' in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt he doth burn with fire.'
Hear a word of Jehovah, O nations, And declare ye among isles afar off, and say: He who is scattering Israel doth gather him, And hath kept him as a shepherd `doth' his flock,
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O company, That which `is' upon them.
And I -- their works and their thoughts, I come to gather all the nations and tongues, And they have come and seen My honour. And I have set among them a sign, And have sent out of them those escaping unto the nations, (Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, drawing bow, Tubal and Javan, the isles that are far off,) Who have not heard My fame, nor seen Mine honour, And they have declared Mine honour among nations.
Thou hast heard, see the whole of it, And ye, do ye not declare? I have caused thee to hear new things from this time, And things reserved that ye knew not.
so as to put their gods into fire -- for they `are' no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone -- and they destroy them.
`On a high mountain lift ye up an ensign, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go in to the openings of nobles.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 50
Commentary on Jeremiah 50 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 50
In this chapter, and that which follows, we have the judgment of Babylon, which is put last of Jeremiah's prophecies against the Gentiles because it was last accomplished; and when the cup of God's fury went round (ch. 25:17) the king of Sheshach, Babylon, drank last. Babylon was employed as the rod in God's hand for the chastising of all the other nations, and now at length that rod shall be thrown into the fire. The destruction of Babylon by Cyrus was foretold, long before it came to its height, by Isaiah, and now again, when it has come to its height, by Jeremiah; for, though at this time he saw that kingdom flourishing "like a green bay-tree,' yet at the same time he foresaw it withered and cut down. And as Isaiah's prophecies of the destruction of Babylon and the deliverance of Israel out of it seem designed to typify the evangelical triumphs of all believers over the powers of darkness, and the great salvation wrought out by our Lord Jesus Christ, so Jeremiah's prophecies of the same events seem designed to point at the apocalyptic triumphs of the gospel church in the latter days over the New-Testament Babylon, many passages in the Revelation being borrowed hence. The kingdom of Babylon being much larger and stronger than any of the kingdoms here prophesied against, its fall was the more considerable in itself; and, it having been more oppressive to the people of God than any of the other, the prophet is very copious upon this subject, for the comfort of the captives; and what was foretold in general often before (ch. 25:12 and 27:7) is here more particularly described, and with a great deal of prophetic heat as well as light. The terrible judgments God had in store for Babylon, and the glorious blessings he had in store for his people that were captives there, are intermixed and counterchanged in the prophecy of this chapter; for Babylon was destroyed to make way for the turning again of the captivity of God's people. Here is,
And these being set the one against the other, it is easy to say which one would choose to take one's lot with, the persecuting Babylonians, who, though now in pomp, are reserved for so great a ruin, or the persecuted Israelites, who, though now in thraldom, are reserved for so great a glory.
Jer 50:1-8
Jer 50:9-20
God is here by his prophet, as afterwards in his providence, proceeding in his controversy with Babylon. Observe,
Jer 50:21-32
Here,
Jer 50:33-46
We have in these verses,