Jeremiah 50:3

3 For out of the north a nation has come up against her; it shall make her land a desolation, and no one shall live in it; both human beings and animals shall flee 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 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

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

Jeremiah 50:3 In-Context

1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the prophet Jeremiah:
2 Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, do not conceal it, say: Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
3 For out of the north a nation has come up against her; it shall make her land a desolation, and no one shall live in it; both human beings and animals shall flee away.
4 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the people of Israel shall come, they and the people of Judah together; they shall come weeping as they seek the Lord their God.
5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.