Jeremiah 50:16 - Exposition

Cut off the sower, etc. "Babylon" here probably means Babylonia, for it is clear from Jeremiah 50:12 that the curse belongs to the country as well as the city of Babylon; indeed, "Babylon" in Jeremiah 50:13 seems to be used in the wider sense. Others think of the open spaces within the walls of Babylon, in which it is said that crops were raised to provision the city in case of a siege (see Rawlinson, 'Ancient Monarchies,' 2:518); but this is less natural. They shall turn, etc. The subject is, not the husbandmen, but the strangers in Babylonia; comp. the parallel passage, Isaiah 13:14 , on which this passage is based. AE sehylus ('Pers.,' 53) speaks of the πάμμικτος ὄχλος in Babylon. Whether brought by force from their homes, like the Jews, or voluntary residents for the sake of commerce, all should hurry from the doomed city.