Yirmeyah 50

1 0 The Davar that Hashem spoke against Bavel and against Eretz Kasdim (Chaldeans) by Yirmeyah HaNavi.

2 Declare ye among the Goyim, and publish, and lift up a nes (banner); publish, and conceal not; say, Bavel is captured, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her atzabim (images) are shamed, her gilulim (idols) are dismayed.

3 For out of the tzafon (north) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land a horror, and none shall dwell therein; they shall wander, they shall depart, both adam and behemah.

4 In those yamim, and in that time, saith Hashem, the Bnei Yisroel shall go, they and the Bnei Yehudah together, in tears weeping; they shall go, and seek Hashem Eloheihem.

5 They shall ask the derech to Tziyon with their faces turned toward it, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to Hashem in a Brit Olam that shall not be forgotten.

6 My people hath been tzon ovedot (lost sheep); their ro’im (shepherds) have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the harim; they have wandered from har to givah (hill), they have forgotten their resting place.

7 All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against Hashem, the naveh tzedek, even Hashem, the mikveh Avoteihem.

8 Flee out of the midst of Bavel, and go forth out of the Eretz Kasdim (Chaldeans), and leave as the male goats before the tzon.

9 For, hinei, I will stir up and cause to come up against Bavel a Kahal Goyim Gedolim from eretz tzafon (land of the north); and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be captured; their khitzim (arrows) shall be as of a gibbor maskil, one that does not return empty-handed.

10 And Kasdim (Chaldea) shall be a plunder: all that plunder her shall have their fill, saith Hashem.

11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye pillagers of Mine nachalah, because ye frisk about as the eglah (heifer) threshing grain, and neigh like stallions;

12 Your em shall be deeply ashamed; she that bore you shall be disgraced; hinei, the least of the Goyim shall be a midbar, a dry land, and an aravah.

13 Because of the wrath of Hashem it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that passeth by Bavel shall be horrified, and hiss at all her makkot.

14 Put yourselves in array against Bavel all around; all ye that bend the keshet, shoot at her, spare no khetz (arrow); for she hath sinned against Hashem.

15 Shout against her all around; she hath surrendered her yad; her bulwarks are fallen, her chomot (walls) are torn down; for it is the vengeance of Hashem; take vengeance upon her; just as she hath done, do unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Bavel, and him that reapeth with the magal (sickle) in the time of katzir; for fear of the oppressing cherev they shall turn every ish to his people, and they shall flee every ish to his own land.

17 Yisroel is a seh pezurah (scattered sheep); the aryot (lions) have driven him away; first Melech Ashur (King of Assyria) hath devoured him; and last this Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel hath broken his atzmot.

18 Therefore thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: Hineni, I will punish Melech Bavel and his land, as I have punished Melech Ashur.

19 And I will bring Yisroel back to his naveh (habitation), and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his nefesh shall be satisfied upon Har Ephrayim and Gil‘ad.

20 In those yamim, and at that time, saith Hashem, the avon Yisroel shall be searched for, and there shall be none; and the chattot Yehudah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I preserve as remnant.

21 Go up against Eretz Meratayim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod; lay waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Hashem, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

22 A sound of milchamah is in ha’aretz, and of shever gadol (great destruction).

23 How is the patish (hammer) of kol ha’aretz (the whole earth) shattered and broken! How is Bavel become a desolation among the Goyim!

24 I have laid a trap for thee, and thou art indeed caught, O Bavel, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against Hashem.

25 Hashem hath opened His armory, and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation; for this is the work of Adonoi Hashem Tzva’os in Eretz Kasdim.

26 Come against her from afar, open her storehouses; pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be she’erit (remnant).

27 Slay all her bulls; let them go down latevach (to the slaughter; see Isaiah 53:7); woe unto them! For their day is come, the time of their visitation [for punishment].

28 The voice of them that flee and escape as fugitives out of Eretz Bavel, to declare in Tziyon the vengeance of Hashem Eloheinu, the vengeance of His Heikhal.

29 Call together the archers against Bavel; all ye that bend the keshet, encamp against it all around; let none thereof escape; repay her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her; for she hath arrogantly defied Hashem Kadosh Yisroel.

30 Therefore shall her bochurim fall in the streets, and all her anshei milchamah shall be destroyed in that day, saith Hashem.

31 Hineni, I am against thee, O thou zadon (proud one), saith Adonoi Hashem Tzva’os; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee [for punishment].

32 And the zadon shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle an eish in his towns, and it shall devour all around him.

33 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os; The Bnei Yisroel and the Bnei Yehudah were oppressed together; and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.

34 Their Go’el is chazak (strong), Hashem Tzva’os Shmo: He shall thoroughly defend their cause, so that He may bring rest to ha’aretz, and disquiet the inhabitants of Bavel.

35 A cherev is upon the Kasdim (Chaldeans), saith Hashem, and upon the inhabitants of Bavel, and upon her sarim, and upon her chachamim.

36 A cherev is upon the diviners [false prophets who practice divination]; and they shall become fools; a cherev is upon her gibborim; and they shall be dismayed.

37 A cherev is upon their susim, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mixed rabble that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as nashim; a cherev is upon her otzarot; and they shall be plundered.

38 A chorev (drought) is upon her mayim; and they shall be dried up; for it is the eretz pesalim (land of idols), and they go mad over idols.

39 Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the hyenas shall dwell in her [Babylon], and the ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited lanetzach (forever); neither shall it be dwelt in from dor vador.

40 As Elohim overthrew Sodom and Amora (Gomorrah) and the neighboring towns thereof, saith Hashem; so shall no ish abide there, neither shall any ben adam dwell therein.

41 Hinei, an am (people, army) shall come from the tzafon (north), and a Goy Gadol, and melachim rabbim shall be stirred up from the ends of the earth.

42 They shall wield keshet and spear; they are cruel, and shall show no rachamim; their voice shall roar like the yam, and they shall ride upon susim, every one put in array, like an ish for the milchamah, against thee, O Bat Bavel.

43 Melech Bavel hath heard the report of them, and his hands fell feeble; anguish took hold of him, and labor pangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Hinei, like an aryeh (lion) coming up from the thicket of the Yarden unto perennial pastures, I will make them suddenly run away from her; and who is the Bachur (Chosen One) that over her I will appoint? For who is like Me? And who can arraign Me? And who is that Ro’eh that will stand before Me?

45 Therefore hear ye the etzah of Hashem, that He hath planned against Bavel; and His purposes, that He hath purposed against the Eretz Kasdim; Surely the little ones of the tzon shall be dragged away; surely He shall make their naveh (pasture) desolate because of them.

46 At the noise of the capture of Bavel ha’aretz (the earth) is shaken, and the outcry is heard among the Goyim.

Yirmeyah 50 Commentary

Chapter 50

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.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 50

This and the following chapter contain a long prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon; and which is expressed in such language, that it may be, and is to be, accommodated to the destruction of mystical Babylon; and several passages in the book of the Revelation are borrowed from hence; and it is intermixed with promises and prophecies of the deliverance of God's people from thence, and of the conversion of the Jews, and the restoration of them to their own which will be at that time; see Jer 50:4,5,8,19,20,33,34. The destruction of Babylon in general is proclaimed and declared, and the manner and cause of it, Jer 50:1-13; then the enemies of Babylon are stirred up and animated to proceed against her, and execute the judgments of God upon her, Jer 50:14-30. Next follows the Lord's controversy with her, because of her pride and oppression of his people; and threatens her with the sword, drought, and utter destruction, Jer 50:31-40; and then a description is given of her enemies, that should be the instruments of her destruction, Jer 50:41-44; and the chapter is closed with observing, that this is all according to the counsel and purpose of God, Jer 50:45,46.