*H Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof, who have lifted up their heart against me.
Ver. 1. Thereof. Heb. leb kamai, "of the heart, rising up against me." H. — Many take Leb-kamai to be the enigmatical name of the Chaldees, by a secret combination of letters, (Kimchi. Grot.) as if they were not clearly designated in the sequel. C. — The prophet expresses more pointedly what he had declared in the preceding chapter. W.
*H And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the day of her affliction.
Ver. 2. Fan her. After the corn was trodden out, it was heaved into the wind. This custom would insinuate the distress and captivity of the Chaldees. Sept. "I will send...scoffers, and they shall treat her with scorn, καθυβριουσιν. H. emdash ~ They have read (C.) zedim for zarim.
*H Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not him go up that is armed with a coat of mail: spare not her young men, destroy all her army.
Ver. 3. Mail. There will be little or no resistance made. C. l. 3. H. — The Persians denounce destruction to all taken in arms; or, according to Sept. and Syr. they exhort each other to fight. C. — "Let him," &c. H. — Heb. of the Masor. "you who bend...spare not." C. — Prot. "against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow," &c. H. — Heb. is printed ne tendat tendat tendans. The second word is properly omitted in some MSS. Thus (1 Chron. xxiv. 6.) we read taken taken, achuz having been put erroneously for achad, one. Kennicott.
*H For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord of hosts: but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
Ver. 5. Forsaken, as a widow, viduatus. H. — God still considers the nation as his spouse. — Their land. That of the Chaldees, (C.) or of the Jews. Theodoret. — Sin, or punishment.
*H Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved.
Ver. 6. Silent. Jews proclaim that Babylon is justly punished, (C.) lest you partake in her crimes. Apoc. xviii. 4. Prot. "be not cut off in her," &c. H.
*H Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore they have staggered.
Ver. 7. Cup. She has exercised the vengeance of the Lord on Juda, Egypt, &c.
*H Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.
Ver. 8. Suddenly. She has not lost many battles; but is fallen at once from being the greatest city of the East.
* Footnote * Apocalypse 14 : 8
And another angel followed, saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.*H We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed: let us forsake her, and let us go every man to his own land: because her judgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the clouds.
Ver. 9. We. The guardian angels, or Jews reply. Miracles are lost on her. — Heavens. Her crimes call for punishment. Gen. xviii. 21. and Jon. i. 2.
*H The Lord hath brought forth our justices: Come, and let us declare in Sion the work of the Lord our God.
Ver. 10. Justices. We had not injured the Chaldees, though we had offended God.
*H Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: and his mind is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
Ver. 11. Sharpen. He addresses ironically the citizens of Babylon. — Medes. Thus the subjects of the Persian monarchs are commonly styled. C.
*H Upon the walls of Babylon set up the standard, strengthen the watch: set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
Ver. 12. Standard. Call together thy subjects and allies. H. — This must be explained of Babylon. M. — Yet all will be in vain. v. 11. H. — Ambushes. Herein the valour and genius of heroes was most displayed. Jos. viii. 2. Homer.
*H O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy end is come for thy entire destruction.
Ver. 13. Waters. Not far from the Tigris, and divided into two parts by the Euphrates. C. — Entire, being cut up by the roots, pedalis, (Lyran.) or according to the measure of thy crimes. Delrio. C. — Sept. "thy end is truly come into thy bowels." H.
*H The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying: I will fill thee with men as with locusts, and they shall lift up a joyful shout against thee.
Ver. 14. Himself. Sept. "his hand" lifted up, or by his power. — Locusts. Their ravages were equally dreaded. Joel ii. 4. Judg. vi. 5.
* Footnote * Amos 6 : 8
The Lord God hath sworn by his own soul, saith the Lord the God of hosts: I detest the pride of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will deliver up the city with the inhabitants thereof.* Footnote * Genesis 1 : 1
In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.*H When he uttereth his voice the waters are multiplied in heaven: he lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth, he hath turned lightning into rain: and hath brought forth the wind out of his treasures.
Ver. 16. Rain. Thunder and lightning are usually followed by showers. C.
*H Every man is become foolish by his knowledge: every founder is confounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
Ver. 17. Every man, &c. That is, every maker of idols, however he boasts of his knowledge and skill, does but shew himself a fool in pretending to make a god. Ch. Wisd. xiv. 18. — By his, or "by default of knowledge;" (a scientia. H.) as the Heb. may also mean. The Babylonians were so confounded, they knew not what to do. C. — Prot. "Every man is brutish by his knowledge." Marg. or "is more brutish than to know." C. x. 14. H.
*H Thou dashest together for me the weapons of war, and with thee I will dash nations together, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms:
Ver. 20. Thou, Cyrus, (Grot.) or more commonly the Chaldees are understood.
*H Behold I come against thee, thou destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which corruptest the whole earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
Ver. 25. Mountain. So Babylon is styled in derision. See C. xxi. 13. Is. i. 10. and xx. 6. and xxii. 1. The city stood on a plain. Some think that its palace and walls are designated. — Burnt; unfruitful. This happened long after Cyrus, though it then ceased to be the capital, and became only a shadow of its former greatness.
*H And they shall not take of thee a stone for the corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for ever, saith the Lord.
Ver. 26. Corner. No king or conqueror shall spring thence. Alexander thought of making it the seat of his empire, but was prevented by death. Strabo xv.
*H Set ye up a standard in the land: sound with the trumpet among the nations: prepare the nations against her: call together against her the kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez: number Taphsar against her, bring the horse as the stinging locust.
Ver. 27. Prepare. Lit. "sanctify." H. — Call together all nations to fight against Babylon. W. — Many religious ceremonies were used. — Ararat, where the ark rested, (Gen. viii. 4.) near the Araxes, (S. Jer. in Is. xxxvii.) or in the Gordyean mountains, in Armenia, where the Menni dwelt. — Ascenez, or Ascantes, (C.) near the Tanais. Pliny vi. 7. — Taphsar, "the prince." Nah. iii. 17. Pagn. "Warriors." Chal. "Machines" Sept. — Caterpillar, or "locust," (bruchum. H.) which resembles more a body of cavalry. C. — Sept. "Push forward the cavalry against her, as a multitude of locusts." H.
*H Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their captains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.
Ver. 28. Prepare; "sanctify." H. — Media. Cyrus. v. 11. — Captains: generals. C. — Rulers. Lit. "magistrates." H. — Heb. Seganim, a title used once by Isaias, and frequently by those who wrote after the Assyrians (C.) commenced their invasion. H.
*H The valiant men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have dwelt in holds: their strength hath failed, and they are become as women: her dwelling places are burnt, her bars are broken.
Ver. 30. Bars, fastening the gates. C. — Those who entered by the channel of the river, would seize the gates to let their companions enter. H.
*H One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet messenger: to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one end to the other:
Ver. 31. King, feasting in his palace, (Herod. i. 191.) or at Borsippe. Berosus. He sent to make inquiries, (C.) or his subjects hastened to convey the doleful tidings, and thus met each other. H.
*H And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
Ver. 32. Fords. Thus the enemy entered. — Marches. Heb. "sedges," which grew to the size of trees, and were burnt when the waters of the river and lakes were drained. Herodotus (i. 185. and 178.) specifies a lake four hundred and twenty stadia square, and says the ditches round the city were full of water.
*H For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a thrashingfloor, this is the time of her thrashing: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
Ver. 33. Threshing, performed by oxen treading, and by rollers, &c. Judg. viii. 16. and 2 K. xii. 31. — Little; about fifty-six years.
*H Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath eaten me up, he hath devoured me: he hath made me as an empty vessel: he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicate meats, and he hath cast me out.
Ver. 34. Dragon, or huge fish, which swallows without chewing. Sion is here venting her complaint. Ps. cxxxvi. 8. C. — She shews that Babylon is justly punished for her cruelty towards God's people. W.
*H Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will judge thy cause, and will take vengeance for thee, and I will make her sea desolate, I and will dry up her spring.
Ver. 36. Spring; commerce, the source of her riches; or rather the waters shall be brought out of their usual channels. For many ages (C.) the Euphrates has been lost in sands, and reaches not the Persian Gulph. Pliny vii. 27. Cellar. iii. 16.
*H And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.
Ver. 37. Dragons. This has been the case for above sixteen centuries. C. l. 31. Is. xiii. 21.
*H They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
Ver. 38. Roar. They shall retain their haughty air and threaten others, when they themselves shall fall (C.) in the midst of their feasting. Dan. v. 30. Xen. vii.
*H How is Sesach taken, and the renowned one of all the earth surprised? How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?
Ver. 41. Sesach, the city which worshipped the moon, (C. xxv. 26.) Bel, (C. l. 2.) &c.
*H The sea is come up over Babylon : she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
Ver. 42. Sea: numerous armies of Cyrus, or the waters of the Euphrates let loose. C. — In the days of Alexander, many tombs of the kings were inundated. Strabo xv.
*H And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he had swallowed down: and the nations shall no more flow together to him, for the wall also of Babylon shall fall.
Ver. 44. Down. His priests pretended that he eat, (Dan. xiv. 11.) and a woman of their choice slept in the most retired part of the temple. Herod. i. 181. — The prophet derides this notion. The idol, or rather his votaries, (H.) shall be forced to let go the Israelites. C. — Fall, by means of Cyrus and of Darius. C. l. 3. H.
*H And lest your hearts faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land: and a rumour shall come in one year, and after this year another rumour: and iniquity in the land, and ruler upon ruler.
Ver. 46. Faint. You may apprehend that your miseries will increase in the midst of such confusion; but no, Baltassar, the last of your oppressor's race, shall be assassinated by Neriglissor, who will be succeeded by Laborosoarchod and Nabonides. This last shall yield to Cyrus, who will grant you liberty. Baltassar reigned two years, Neriglissor four, his ill-tempered infant son nine months, when his followers murdered him, and gave the crown to a Babylonian called Nabonides, who kept it seventeen years, till Cyrus took him prisoner. This we learn from Berosus, quoted by Josephus, c. Ap. i. On the other hand Daniel makes Darius, the Mede, succeed Baltassar, and after him Cyrus reigned. To these changes and continual alarms the prophet alludes.
*H Therefore behold the days come, and I will visit the idols of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Ver. 47. Idols; Bel, &c. v. 41. — Slain. Heb. "dancers." The people were feasting. C. — It means also "slain," (Prot.) or "soldiers."
*H And the heavens and the earth, and all things that are in them shall give praise for Babylon: for spoilers shall come to her from the north, saith the Lord.
Ver. 48. Praise, for the just punishment. H. — The crimes were public. C.
*H You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Ver. 50. Mind. Offer sacrifices of thanks on Sion, (H.) both Jews and other nations. C.
*H We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: because strangers are come upon the sanctuaries of the house of the Lord.
Ver. 51. We. The Jews answer: we are ashamed when we think of these places. M.
*H If Babylon should mount up to heaven, and establish her strength on high: from me there should come spoilers upon her, saith the Lord.
Ver. 53. High. Her fortifications and ditches will prove fruitless. C. xlviii. 7. 18.
*H Because the Lord hath laid Babylon waste, and destroyed out of her the great voice: and their wave shall roar like many waters: their voice hath made a noise:
Ver. 55. Great voice, or boasting and songs of joy, usual at public meetings. — Noise. They groan under affliction.
*H And I will make her princes drunk, and her wise men, and her captains, and her rulers, and her valiant men: and they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the king whose name is Lord of hosts.
Ver. 57. Drunk, with the wine of fury. v. 39. C. xxv. 26.
*H Thus saith the Lord of hosts: That broad wall of Babylon shall be utterly broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire, and the labours of the people shall come to nothing, and of the nations shall go to the fire, and shall perish.
Ver. 58. Broad wall. The pagan historians agree not in the dimensions, but allow it was excessively broad and lofty. C. — Six chariots might go abreast. It was 360 stadia long, (Ctesias); or 480 (Herod. i. 178.) that is above 23 leagues, allowing 2,500 paces for each. This author says the breadth was fifty cubits of the king, three inches larger than the common one, or about twenty-one inches. Pliny (vi. 26.) improperly applies this to Roman feet, and says the walls were two hundred feet high; while Herodotus assigns so many cubits. C. — There were three different walls. Curt. v. — Cyrus demolished the outer one, Beros. — What remained, (C.) with the hundred brazen gates, Darius treated in like manner. Herod. i. 179. and iii. 159. — Thus was the prediction fulfilled, and the works of so many captive nations brought to nothing. It is asserted that 200,000 (C.) daily finished a stadium, (Curt. v.) or 125 paces. C.
*H The word that Jeremias the prophet commanded Saraias the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, when he went with king Sedecias to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign: now Saraias was chief over the prophecy.
Ver. 59. With. Heb. also, (C.) "on behalf of." Prot. marg. H. — It is no where else asserted that Sedecias went in person, and Sept. Chal. &c. explain it in this manner. Baruch accompanied his brother Saraias, and probably took the letter. Bar. i. 2. Saraias went to petition for the sacred vessels. — Prophecy, or of the embassy to speak (C.) in the king's name. Heb. menucha, was a caution of Benjamin. It means, "rest;" whence some have inferred that he was chamberlain, (Cant. iii. 8.) or a favourite. Most translate, "chief of the presents," Sept. and Chal. as if they they had read mincha, which he carried as a tribute to Babylon. Jeremias gave him charge of the parcel, perhaps before Baruch had determined to go.
*H And thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and she shall not rise up from the affliction that I will bring upon her, and she shall be utterly destroyed. Thus far are the words of Jeremias.
Ver. 64. Sink. The angel did the like; (Apoc. xviii. 21. C.) and the Phoceans, leaving their country, swore that they would return no more till a piece of red hot iron, which they threw into the sea, should swim. Herod. i. 165. — Thus, &c. was added by the compiler. Sept. omit the sentence, as what relates to Babylon is placed C. xxviii. in their copies. C. — Yet Grabe puts it in a different character. H. — Jeremias wrote a great deal, after the 4th year of Sedecias, v. 59. C. — He here finished his predictions against Babylon. W. — This does not mean that he did not write the next chapter, (M.) as Cappel allows, (Houbig.) though this may still be doubted. H.