A sound of battle is in the land ,.... In the land of the Chaldeans, as it is expressed in the Septuagint and Arabic versions; the noise of warriors, the clashing of arms, and sound of trumpets, both of the enemy entered into the land, and of the Chaldeans arming themselves in their own defence: and of great destruction ; in the same land; or in Babylon, as Abarbinel supplies it; this is the consequent of the former. read more
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken !.... The Targum is, "how is the king cut down and broken that moved the whole earth!' The king of Babylon, or the kingdom of Babylon, which was like a hammer for its hardness and strength; and being an instrument, in the hand of God, of beating to pieces and destroying the kingdoms and nations around it; but is now destroyed itself. These are the words either of the prophet, or rather of the people of other nations, wondering... read more
I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon ,.... Retorting to the stratagem that Cyrus used, in draining the river Euphrates, and marching his army up through it into the midst of the city of Babylon, and took it by surprise, while the inhabitants at night were feasting and revelling: this is said to be a snare laid by the Lord, because it was according to the counsel of his will, and through his directing and overruling providence: and thou wast not aware ; of what... read more
The hammer of the whole earth - Nebuchadnezzar dashed to pieces the nations against whom he warred. He was the scourge of the Lord. read more
I have laid a snare for thee - It was not by storm that Cyrus took the city. The Euphrates ran through it; he dug a channel for the river in another direction, to divert its stream; he waited for that time in which the inhabitants had delivered themselves up to debauchery: in the dead of the night he turned off the stream, and he and his army entered by the old channel, now void of its waters. This was the snare of which the prophet here speaks. See Nerodotus, lib. i., c. 191. read more
Verse 22 The Prophet continues the same style of speaking, for he says that there would be the voice or the sound of battle Could he rouse up the Medes and the Persians? not indeed by his own power, but here he exalts the efficacy of his doctrine; as though he had said, that the vengeance he denounced on the Babylonians would be in readiness when the time came, as Paul says that the ministers of the gospel had vengeance ready at hand for all those who despised it. We now then see why the... read more
Verse 23 Here, in the first place, Jeremiah asks in astonishment how it happened that the hammer of the whole earth was broken, when it had before broken all nations. God afterwards gives an answer, even because “I am he who have taken Babylon.” The question availed to rouse the people to a greater attention. We neglect God’s judgments or are blind to them, even because we do not carefully consider them; for little things often excite us, when that which God works in an unusual manner is deemed... read more
Verse 24 He then immediately answers in the person of God, I have ensnared thee, and therefore thou Babylon art taken Here God declares, that though it could not be possible that Babylon and its empire should fall through human means, yet its destruction was in his hand. Thou, he says, art taken, even because I ensnared thee; as though he had said, that the Chaldeans would not have to do with men, because he himself would carry on the war and guide and direct the Persians and the Medes, and... read more
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
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 50:21-32
Here, 1. The forces are mustered and commissioned to destroy Babylon, and every thing is got ready for a descent upon that potent kingdom: Go up against that land by Merathaim, the country of the Mardi, that lay part in Assyria and part in Armenia; and go among the inhabitants of Pekod, another country (mentioned Ezek. 23:23) which Cyrus took in his way to Babylon. The forces of Cyrus are called to go up against Babylon (Jer. 50:21), to come against her from the utmost border. Let all come... read more