And btheir adversaries said, c‘We have not offended,
Because they have sinned against the Lord, dthe habitation of justice,
The Lord, ethe hope of their fathers.’
Go out of the land of the Chaldeans;
And be like the1 rams before the flocks.
An assembly of great nations from the north country,
And they shall array themselves against her;
From there she shall be captured.
Their arrows shall be like those of1 an expert warrior;
bNone shall return in vain.
You destroyers of My heritage,
Because you have grown fat blike a heifer threshing grain,
And you1 bellow like bulls,
She who bore you shall be ashamed.
Behold, the least of the nations shall be a awilderness,
A dry land and a desert.
She shall not be inhabited,
aBut she shall be wholly desolate.
bEveryone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified
And hiss at all her plagues.
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, spare no arrows,
For she has sinned against the Lord.
She has agiven her hand,
Her foundations have fallen,
bHer walls are thrown down;
For cit is the vengeance of the Lord.
Take vengeance on her.
As she has done, so do to her.
And him who handles the sickle at harvest time.
For fear of the oppressing sword
aEveryone shall turn to his own people,
And everyone shall flee to his own land.
bThe lions have driven him away.
First cthe king of Assyria devoured him;
Now at last this dNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
“Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
As I have punished the king of aAssyria.
And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan;
His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.
| << Jeremiah 50:8 | Jeremiah 50:10 >> |
Jeremiah 50:1-34
The ruin of Babylon. (1-3,8-16,21-32,35-46;) The redemption of God's people. (4-7,17-20,33,34)
Verses 1-7 The king of Babylon was kind to Jeremiah, yet the prophet must foretell the ruin of that kingdom. If our friends are God's enemies, we dare not speak peace to them. The destruction of Babylon is spoken of as done thoroughly. Here is a word for the comfort of the Jews. They shall return to their God first, then to their own land; the promise of their conversion and reformation makes way for the other promises. Their tears flow not from the sorrow of the world, as when they went into captivity, but from godly sorrow. They shall seek after the Lord as their God, and have no more to do with idols. They shall think of returning to their own country. This represents the return of poor souls to God. In true converts there are sincere desires to attain the end, and constant cares to keep in the way. Their present case is lamented as very sad. The sins of professing Christians never will excuse those who rejoice in destroying them.
Verses 8-20 The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put again into good pasture. All who return to God and their duty, shall find satisfaction of soul in so doing. Deliverances out of trouble are comforts indeed, when fruits of the forgiveness of sin.
Verses 21-32 The forces are mustered and empowered to destroy Babylon. Let them do what God demands, and they shall bring to pass what he threatens. The pride of men's hearts sets God against them, and ripens them apace for ruin. Babylon's pride must be her ruin; she has been proud against the Holy One of Israel; who can keep those up whom God will throw down?
Verses 33-46 It is Israel's comfort in distress, that, though they are weak, their Redeemer is strong. This may be applied to believers, who complain of the dominion of sin and corruption, and of their own weakness and manifold infirmities. Their Redeemer is able to keep what they commit to him; and sin shall not have dominion over them. He will give them that rest which remains for the people of God. Also here is Babylon's sin, and their punishment. The sins are, idolatry and persecution. He that will not save his people in their sins, never will countenance the wickedness of his open enemies. The judgments of God for these sins will lay them waste. In the judgments denounced against prosperous Babylon, and the mercies promised to afflicted Israel, we learn to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
| << Jeremiah 50:8 | Jeremiah 50:10 >> |
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