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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 50:38

Verse 38 Here the same word is used in a different sense: he had often before used the word חרב, chereb, “sword;” but now by changing only a point, he uses it in the sense of waste, or drought. (74) But as he mentions waters, the Prophet, no doubt, means drought; nor was it without reason that he mentioned this, because the Euphrates, as it is well known, flowed near the city, and it was also divided into many streams, so that there were many islands, as it were, made by the skill and hand of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:1-46

Jeremiah 50:1-46 . AND 51. ON BABYLON . This attitude of reserve is not assumed without substantial grounds, derived from two sources—the epilogue ( Jeremiah 51:59-64 ) and the prophecy itself. First, as to the epilogue. It is clear that the words, "and they shall be weary," are out of place in Jeremiah 51:64 , and that they are wrongly repeated from Jeremiah 51:58 . But how came they to be repeated? Because, originally, the declaration, "Thus far are the words of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:35

A sword is, etc; should rather be, Sword upon the Chaldea, it is an exclamation equivalent to "Let the Sword come upon the Chaldeans"—that sword which never "returns empty." The wise men are, partly the astronomers and astrologers at the various observatories in Babylonia, whose duty it was to send in monthly reports of the appearances in the sky, which were regarded as having an occult political significance (comp. Isaiah 47:13 ). In the next verse they are called liars, or praters. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:35-37

The sword everywhere. I. THE DESTROYING AGENT . Not a deluge, not fire from heaven, but an ordinary human agent, working with energy and thoroughness. The weapon which Babylon in its greed of conquest had used against Jerusalem is turned against itself. First of all, Babylon looks covetously on the land of Israel, and spoils it of its people and their possessions. And then, enriched, Babylon becomes in turn an object of desire. God has only to leave covetousness and grasping alone,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:35-38

No human aid avails against so terrible a foe; therefore Jehovah calls upon his Sword (see on Jeremiah 47:6 ) to avenge the cause of his people. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:36

The liars' sword. I. IT IS ONE WHICH THEY WIELD . It cuts asunder: 1 . The ties which bind man to man . 2 . Those which bind the soul to truth and virtue . 3 . Those which bind the heart to God . 4 . Those which would lead the man to eternal life . II. IT IS ONE WHICH THEY FEEL . It pierces the soul with shame, with anguish, with a deadly wound. III. IT IS ONE BY WHICH THEY WILL SOONER OR LATER BE DESTROYED ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:37

The mingled people; rather, the foreign peoples . Even if in Jeremiah 25:20 the Hebrew ‛erebh is an ethnographical term reminding us of the Assyrian Urbi used of Bedouin tribes, ‹je-6› it is clear that no such explanation will suit here (see on Jeremiah 25:20 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 50:38

A drought. The Maasoretic critics, in their prosaic realism, were unable to see how a "sword" could be "upon the waters;" hence they altered khereb into khoreb. But the sword is merely a symbol of the Divine vengeance, and may be interpreted differently according to the exigencies of the context. Render, Sword upon the waters . They are mad upon their idols; rather, through Terrors they befool themselves . "Terrors" is a synonym for the gods of the heathen, which inspired a feeling... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 50:35

Omit “is.” A summons comes from Yahweh, Israel’s Goel, to the sword to fall upon all the elements of Babylon’s greatness. The princes were her rulers at home and her generals in war. The wise men were those upon whose learning she so prided herself (Daniel 1:4 note). read more

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