Jeremiah 51:11

"Make sharp the arrows, hold forth the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple. Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness. Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee."

"O thou that dwellest upon many waters ..." (Jeremiah 51:13). "The great wealth of Babylon was caused not merely by the Euphrates, but by a vast system of canals, which served for defense as well as for irrigation."[7] Harrison thought that there might be, "A sarcastic reference here to the mythological tale of the Babylonians concerning a great subterranean ocean";[8] but we believe that the obvious reference to the canals of the Euphrates is a far better interpretation.

"The measure of thy covetousness ..." (Jeremiah 51:13). "This is a metaphor taken from weaving; it compares Babylon to a measure of cloth cut out of the loom, which is a figure for death."[9]; Isaiah 38:12 has the same metaphor.

"As with the canker-worm" (Jeremiah 51:14). The canker-worm was a very destructive insect. "It was the locust in the chrysalis stage, the most destructive phase of the locust's life."[10] This creature was the source of many of the worst plagues that ever came upon the people of the Near East. The promise here was that God would fill Babylon with men who would do the same thing to Babylon that the horrible locust plague would do to a field of grain.