Jeremiah 50:3

3 "For a nation has come up against her out of the ¹north; it will make her land ²an object of horror, and there will be ³no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!

Jeremiah 50:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:3

For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her
The Medes and Persians, which under Cyrus were one nation; and which not only lay north of Judea, where this prophecy came, but of Babylon, against which they were to come; and might lay more north to it, before the enlargement of their dominions; and besides, Cyrus came through Assyria to Babylon, which lay north of it; see ( Isaiah 41:25 ) . Thus, as Rome Pagan was sacked and taken by the Goths and Vandals, that came out of the north; so Rome Papal, and the antichristian states, will be destroyed by the Christian princes of the north, or those who have embraced what the Papists call the northern heresy; tidings out of the north shall trouble antichrist, ( Daniel 11:44 ) ; which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein;
that is, in process of time; for this desolation was not made at once; it was begun by Cyrus, made greater by Darius, and completed by Seleucus Nicator; they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast;
or, "from man to beast" ^F4; such as were not slain should either flee away or be carried captive; so that in time none should remain, either of man or beast; see ( Isaiah 13:19-22 ) ; and for the accomplishment of it on mystical Babylon see ( Revelation 18:2 Revelation 18:21-23 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (hmhb dew Mdam) "ab homine et usque ad animal", Pagninus, Montanus; "ad bestiam", Schmidt.

Jeremiah 50:3 In-Context

1 The word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

2 "Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and lift up a standard. Do not conceal it but say, 'Babylon has been captured, Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered; Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.'

3 "For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!

4 "In those days and at that time," declares the LORD , "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek.

5 "They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 13:17; Jeremiah 50:9; Jeremiah 51:11, 27
• 2. Isaiah 14:22, 23; Jeremiah 50:13
• 3. Jeremiah 9:10, 11; Zephaniah 1:3