Jeremiah 50:13

13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

Jeremiah 50:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:13

Because of the wrath of the Lord, it shall not be inhabited,
&c.] That is, Babylon; which the Targum expresses,

``because thou, Babylon, hast provoked the Lord;''

by their idolatry, luxury, ill usage of his people, and profanation of the vessels of the sanctuary; therefore it should be destroyed, and left without an inhabitant in it: but it shall be wholly desolate;
as it now is. Pausanias says ^F15, in his time there was nothing but a wall remaining; and Jerom ^F16 says, he had it from a brother Elamite, or Persian, that Babylon was then a park or place for royal hunting, and that beasts of every kind were kept within its walls: of mystical Babylon, see ( Revelation 16:19 ) ( 18:2 ) ; everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all
her plagues;
any traveller that had seen it in its glory would now be astonished to see the desolation of it; and, by way of scorn and derision, hiss at the judgments of God upon it, and rejoice at them, and shake their head, as the Targum.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Arcadica, sive l. 8. p. 509.
F16 Comment. in Isaiam, fol. 23. C.

Jeremiah 50:13 In-Context

11 Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder my heritage, because ye are wanton as a heifer that treadeth out [the grain], and neigh as strong horses;

12 your mother shall be utterly put to shame; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah.

15 Shout against her round about: she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.