Jeremiah 51:44

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth {what he has swallowed}. And [the] nations will not stream towards him [any] longer {what's worse}, the wall of Babylon has fallen.

Jeremiah 51:44 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:44

And I will punish Bel in Babylon
The idol of the Babylonians, who had a temple in Babylon, where he was worshipped: the same is called Belus by Aelianus ^F7, Curtius ^F8, and Pausanias ^F9; perhaps the same Herodian ^F11 calls Belis, and says some take him to be Apollo; for more of him, (See Gill on Isaiah 46:1); and (See Gill on Jeremiah 50:2); who was punished when his temple was demolished, and plundered of its wealth; this golden image of Belus was broke to pieces, and the gold of it carried away. The Targum is,

``I will visit or punish them that worship Bel in Babylon:''

and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed
up;
the rich offerings made to him when victories were obtained; all success being ascribed to him; and the spoils of conquered enemies, which were brought and laid up in his temple, particularly the vessels of the sanctuary at Jerusalem, which were deposited there; see ( 2 Chronicles 36:7 2 Chronicles 36:18 ) ( Daniel 1:2 ) ; and which were restored by Cyrus, ( Ezra 1:7 Ezra 1:8 ) ; which restoration of them greatly fulfilled this prophecy; and was a refunding of what was lodged with him, or a vomiting what he had swallowed up; compare with this the story of "Bel and the dragon": and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him;
either to worship him, or bring their presents to him, to ingratiate themselves with the king of Babylon: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall;
which Bel was not able to defend; and therefore should be deserted by his worshippers. The Targum renders it in the plural, the walls of Babylon; of which, (See Gill on Jeremiah 51:58). Some think that not the wall of the city is here meant: but the temple of Bel, which was as a wall or fortress to the city; but now should fall, and be so no more; since it is not easy to give a reason why mention here should be made of the fall of the walls of the city; and seeing express mention is made of this afterwards.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Var. Hist. l. 13. c. 3.
F8 Hist. l. 5. c. 1.
F9 L. 1. sive Attica, p. 29.
F11 Hist. l. 8. c. 7.

Jeremiah 51:44 In-Context

42 The sea has risen over Babylon, she has been covered by the roar of its waves.

43 Her cities have become as an [object of] horror, a dry land and a wilderness, a land in which no person lives, nor does a son of humankind pass through it.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth {what he has swallowed}. And [the] nations will not stream towards him [any] longer {what's worse}, the wall of Babylon has fallen.

45 Come out from her midst, my people, and save each one his life from {the burning anger of} Yahweh.

46 Now {so that you are not fainthearted}, and you are afraid at the rumors that are heard in the land-- and in the year the rumor comes, and in the year after it the rumor, and violence [is] in the land, with ruler against ruler--

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "what has been swallowed by him"
• [b] Literally "also"