Verse 21
The Lord commanded Babylon’s destroyers to go up against the land of double rebellion, the meaning of "Merathaim." Babylon was doubly rebellious (i.e., more rebellious) than other cities and nations-through its idolatry and pride. Assyria and Babylon both came from the same general area, Mesopotamia, and both nations had rebelled against Him. He gave their land the name Pekod, meaning "punishment." Divine punishment would single out Mesopotamia. The destroyer should carry out the Lord’s directions exactly by slaying and completely destroying the Babylonians. The Persians did not do this.
Merathaim (Mat Marratim) was a region at the head of the Persian Gulf where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers met. Pekod was a region, named after a tribe, in southeastern Babylonia (cf. Ezekiel 23:23). Jeremiah made a wordplay on these names to affirm the rebelliousness and certain judgment coming on Babylon.
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