Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 50:41
Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
41. a people ] the Persians. See reference in mg.
from the north ] Cp. Jer 50:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
41 43. A repetition, with the necessary changes, of Jer 6:22-24, where Jerusalem is the object of the threat. See notes there.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
An application to Babylon of the doom against Jerusalem Jer 6:22-24.
Jer 50:41
The coasts of the earth – See the Jer 6:22 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 41. Behold, a people shall come from the north] This and the two following verses are nearly the same with Jer 6:22-24. But here, destroyers against Babylon are intended; there, destroyers against Jerusalem.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Medes and Persians with their armies, who shall also have many other kings who, from the several parts of the earth, shall join with them and help them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41-43. (Compare Jer6:22-24). The very language used to describe the calamities whichBabylon inflicted on Zion is that here employed to describe Babylon’sown calamity inflicted by the Medes. Retribution in kind.
kindsthe allies andsatraps of the various provinces of the Medo-Persian empire: Armenia,Hyrcania, Lydia, &c.
coaststhe remoteparts.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation,…. The Modes and Persians, whose country lay north of Babylon: [See comments on Jer 50:9];
and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth; the kings of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz, Jer 51:27; and of the Armenians and other nations that Cyrus had subdued and brought with him in his army against Babylon, as Xenophon s relates. Ten kings shall be raised up against mystical Babylon, and hate her, and burn her with fire, Re 17:12.
s Cyropaedia, l. 5. c. 15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The agents who execute the judgment. – Jer 50:41. “Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the most distant sides of the earth. Jer 50:42. Bow and javelin shall they seize: they are cruel, and will not pity; their voice shall sound like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [each one] arrayed like a man for the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. Jer 50:43. The king of Babylon hath heard the report concerning them, and his hands have fallen down: distress hath seized him, writing pain, like [that of] the woman in childbirth. Jer 50:44. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the glory of Jordan to a habitation of rock; but in a moment will I make them run away from her, and will set over her him who is chosen: for who is like me, and who will appoint me a time [to plead my defence]? and what shepherd [is there] that will stand before me? Jer 50:45. Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jahveh which He hath taken against Babylon, and His purposes which He hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Assuredly they shall drag them away, the smallest of the flock; assuredly [their] habitation shall be astonished at them. Jer 50:46. At the cry, ‘Babylon is taken,’ the earth is shaken, and a cry [for help] is heard among the nations.
“Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, I will stir up against Babylon, and against the inhabitants of [as it were] the heart of mine opponents, the spirit of a destroyer. Jer 51:2. And I will send against Babylon strangers, and they shall winnow her, and empty her land, because they are against her round about in a day of evil. Jer 51:3. Against [him who] bends let the bender bend his bow, and against [him who] lifts up himself in his coat of mail: and do not spare her young men; devote to destruction all her host, Jer 51:4. That slain ones may fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and those that are pierced through in her streets.”
The greater portion of this strophe consists of quotations from former utterances. Jer 51:41-43 are taken from Jer 6:22-24, and Jer 51:44-46 from Jer 49:19-21; here they are applied to Babylon. What is said in Jer 6:22-24 concerning the enemy out of the north who will devastate Judah, is here transferred to the enemy that is to destroy Babylon. For this purpose, after the words “and a great nation,” are added “and many kings,” in order to set forth the hostile army advancing against Babylon as one composed of many nations; and in consequence of this extension of the subject, the verb is used in the plural, and is changed into . Moreover, the mention of the “daughter of Babylon” instead of the “daughter of Zion” is attended by a change from the directly communicative form of address in the first person (“We have heard,” etc., Jer 51:43) into the third person (“The king of Babylon hath heard,” etc.). In applying the expression used in Jer 49:19-21 regarding the instrument chosen for the destruction of Edom, to the instrument selected against Babylon (Jer 51:44-46), the names “Babylon” and “and land of the Chaldeans” are substituted for “Edom” and “the inhabitants of Teman” (Jer 49:20); but beyond this, only the last verse is changed, in accordance with the change of circumstances. The thought that, in consequence of the fall of Edom, the earth trembles, and Edom’s cry of anguish is heard on the Red Sea, is intensified thus: by the sound or cry, “Babylon is taken,” the earth is shaken, and a cry is heard among the nations. The conquest of Babylon, the mistress of the world, puts the whole world in anxiety and fear, while the effects of Edom’s fall extend only to the Red Sea. The Kethib , Jer 51:44, seems to come from the verb , in the sense of pushing, so that it is not a mere error in transcription for . Moreover, such changes made on former utterances, when they are repeated and applied to Babylon, show that these verses are not glosses which a reader has written on the margin, and a later copyist inserted into the text, but that Jeremiah himself has applied these earlier words in his address against Babylon. The two passages are not merely quite appropriately arranged beside one another, but even present in their connection a thought which has not hitherto been met with in the address against Babylon, and which does not recur afterwards. The enemy that is to conquer Babylon is certainly pointed out, so early as v. 9, as an assemblage of great nations out of the north, but not more particularly characterized there; but the nations that are to constitute the hostile army are not further designated till Jer 51:11 and Jer 51:27. The second quotation, Jer 51:44-46, adds the new thought that the appearance of this enemy against Babylon is owing to a decree of the Lord, the execution of which no man can prevent, because there is none like Jahveh. The figurative description of the enemy as a lion coming up out of the thicket of reeds at the Jordan, frightening the herd feeding on their pasture-ground, and carrying off the weakly sheep, is appropriate both to Nebuchadnezzar’s expedition against Edom, and to the invasion of Babylonia by the Medes and their allies, for the purpose of laying waste the country of the Chaldeans, smiting the inhabitants of Babylon, and conquering it. Even the expression permits of being applied to Babylonia, which was protected by its canal system and the strong walls of its capital.
Jer 51:1-2 In Jer 51:1-4, the terrible character of the hostile nation is further described. Against Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea, God stirs up the “spirit of a destroyer,” viz., a savage nation that will massacre the Chaldeans without pity. , lit., “the heart of mine adversaries,” is the word , changed, according to the canon Atbash (see on Jer 25:26), for the purpose of obtaining the important meaning that Chaldea is the centre of God’s enemies. This explanation of the name involves the thought that all enmity against God the Lord culminates in Babylon; on the basis of this representation Babylon is called, Rev 17:5, “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” does not mean (lxx), ventum pestilentem (Vulgate), “a sharp wind” (Luther), nor, as it is usually translated, “a destroying wind;” for is nowhere used of the rousing of a wind, but everywhere means “to rouse the spirit of any one,” to stir him up to an undertaking; cf. Hag 1:14; 1Ch 5:26; 2Ch 21:16, and 2Ch 36:22. Jeremiah also employs it thus in Jer 51:11, and this meaning is quite suitable here also. is a substantive, as in Jer 4:7: “the spirit of a destroyer.” The figure of winnowing, which follows in Jer 51:2, does not by any means necessarily require the meaning “wind,” because the figure contained in the word was first called forth by the employment of , “strangers” = barbarians. The sending of the to Babylon has no connection with the figure of the wind, and it even remains a question whether really means here to winnow, because the word is often used of the scattering of a nation, without any reference to the figure of winnowing; cf. Lev 26:33; Eze 5:10; Eze 12:15, etc., also Jer 49:32, Jer 49:36. However, this thought is suggested by what follows, “they empty her hand,” although the clause which assigns the reason, “because they are against her round about” (cf. Jer 4:17), does not correspond with this figure, but merely declares that the enemies which attack Babylon on every side disperse its inhabitants and empty the land.
Jer 51:3-4 These strangers shall kill, without sparing, every warrior of Babylon, and annihilate its whole military forces. In the first half of the verse the reading is doubtful, since the Masoretes would have the second ( Qeri) expunged, probably because (as Bttcher, N. Aehrenl. ii. S. 166, supposes) they considered it merely a repetition. The meaning is not thereby changed. According to the Qeri, we would require to translate, “against him who bends the bow, may there be, or come, one who bends his bow;” according to the Kethib, “against him who bends the bow, may he who bends his bow bend it.” As to with omitted, cf. 1Ch 15:12; 2Ch 1:4, and Ewald, 333, b. ‘ stands in apposition to ; is the Hithpael from , and means to raise oneself: it is to be taken as the shortened form of the imperfect passive; cf. Gesenius, 128, Rem. 2. Certainly, the Hithpael of occurs nowhere else, but it is quite appropriate here; so that it is unnecessary, with Hitzig, to adduce, for explanation, the Arabic tl’, to stretch the head out of anything, or, with Ewald, to derive the form from the Aramaic , Arabic gl, to thrust in. Neither is there any foundation for the remark, that the abbreviated form of the imperfect would be admissible only if were found instead of . Indeed, the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate have actually read and rendered from , which several codices also present, “Let him not bend his bow, nor stretch himself in his coat of mail.” But by this reading the first half of the verse is put in contradiction to the second; and this contradiction is not removed by the supposition of J. D. Michaelis and Hitzig, who refer these clauses to the Chaldeans, and find the thought expressed in them, that the Chaldeans, through loss of courage, cannot set themselves for defence. For, in that case, we would be obliged, with Hitzig, to explain as spurious the words that follow, “and spare ye not her young men;” but for this there is no valid reason. As to , cf. Jer 50:21, Jer 50:26. On Jer 51:4, cf. Jer 50:30 and Jer 49:26. The suffix in “her streets” refers to Babylon.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 41-46: LOOK! A NORTHERN CONFEDERACY! A LION!
1. Verses 41-43 are repeated. from Jer 6:22-24, except that the language is appropriately adapted to Babylon instead of Judah.
2. Verses 44-46 are repeated from Jer 49:19-21 – – being appropriately adapted to Babylon instead of Edom.
3. When it is voiced abroad that “Babylon is TAKEN I” the earth (involving those who have upheld her) will tremble; their cry will be heard among the nations, (vs. 46). Surely, in this, men will recognize the SOVEREIGN INTERVENTION OF JEHOVAHI
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The Prophet again shows whence destruction was to come on the Babylonians. He does not indeed mention Cyrus, as Isaiah does (Isa 44:28), nor does he mention the Persians; but he evidently points out the Medes, when he says that a people would come from the north He adds, a great nation and many or powerful kings; and lastly, from the sides of the earth. It is indeed certain that the war was carried on under the banner and command of Cyrus and Darius. Cyrus was the chief, but Darius, on account of his age, was deemed the king. To whom then does Jeremiah refer, when he says many kings, if we so render the words? even to the satraps or princes, of whom a great number Darius brought with him; for Cyrus came from remote mountains, and from a barbarous nation; but the kingdom of Darius was very wide. There is then no doubt but that he brought with him many kings, who yet obeyed his authority. But we may take רבים, rebim, in the sense of being strong. However this may be, the Prophet means that the Chaldeans would have to carry on war, not with one nation or one king, but with many nations and with many kings, or certainly with mighty kings. Hence he mentions the sides of the earth, by which phrase he reminds us that the army would come, not from one country but from remote parts; and though the distance might be great, yet the Prophet says, that they would all come together to attack the Chaldeans.
We now see that what afterwards happened is represented as in a picture, in order that the event itself might confirm the Jews, not only in the truth announced by Jeremiah, but also in the whole law and worship of God; for this prophecy was ratified to the faithful when they found that Jeremiah, a faithful interpreter of the law, had thus spoken. And then his doctrine availed also for another purpose, even that the people might know that they rebelled against God when they obstinately resisted the holy Prophet; for we know that they were extremely disobedient. They were then proved, by what happened, to have been guilty of having contended with God in their pertinacious wickedness and contempt. There was afterwards given them a sure ground of hope; for as Jeremiah had spoken of the destruction of Babylon, so, on the other hand, he had promised a return to the Jews. They had then reason to look for restoration, when they saw fulfilled what Jeremiah had spoken.
By the word raised, he expresses something more than by the word come: he says that people would come, and adds, that they would be raised up or roused; he intimates that they would not come of themselves, but by the hidden influence of God, because this war was not carried on merely by men. Cyrus indeed, led by insatiable avarice and ambition, was guided by his own inclination to undertake this war; and he made no end of his cruelty, until he at length miserably died, for he never ceased to shed innocent blood everywhere. But yet the Lord made use of these kings and nations to destroy Babylon: they were in reality the scourges of God, and accordingly he says, that they were roused from the sides of the earth, that is, from the most distant places.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
B. Ruthless Destruction Jer. 50:41 to Jer. 51:5
TRANSLATION
(41) Behold, a people shall come from the north, a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the distant parts of the earth. (42) They grasp bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy; the noise they make sounds like the roaring sea. They ride on horses arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon. (43) The king of Babylon has heard the news and his hands grow feeble, distress takes hold of him, pangs as a woman in childbirth. (44) Behold, like a lion going up from the pride of Jordan unto the perennial pasture, so will I suddenly make them run from it. The one who is chosen I will appoint over it. For who is like Me? And who will challenge Me? And who is the shepherd who can stand before Me? (45) Therefore, Hear the counsel of the LORD which He has made against Babylon and the plans which He has formulated against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely their pasture shall be shocked over what happens to them. (46) At the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles and the cry is heard among the nations. (1) Thus says the LORD: I am about to raise up against Babylon and against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai a destroying wind. (2) I will send strangers to Babylon and they will winnow her and empty her land; for they shall be against her on all sides in the day of calamity. (3) Let the archer bend his bow against the archer, and against the one who rises up in his armor. Have no mercy upon her youths! Utterly destroy all of her hosts! (4) Slain shall they fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets. (5) For Israel and Judah have not been widowed of their God, the LORD of hosts; because their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
COMMENTS
For the third time the prophet announces the approach of the conquerors of Babylon: Behold, a people shall come from the north. No doubt the prophet is presenting here a composite picture of the several conquerors who would attack the city of Babylon beginning with the Medo-Persian armies of Cyrus and concluding with Parthian armies of Mithridates II. The enemy is described as a great nation because of the size of the host. Many kings all over the world are being stirred up to the attack against Babylon (Jer. 50:41). The vast host surges forward towards Babylon armed for war. The sound of their coming is likened to the roar of the sea. They are cruel and ruthless warriors who show no pity to the daughter of Babylon, (i.e., the inhabitants of the city Jer. 50:42). The king of Babylon is petrified at the news of the approaching host. His hands become limp; distress seizes his heart like that of a woman beginning her travail (Jer. 50:43). One cannot read this description of the terror of the king of Babylon without thinking of what is said of Belshazzar in the Book of Daniel when he hears the prophetic interpretation of the handwriting of doom on the walls of his palace: Then the kings countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his knees smote one against another (Dan. 5:6).
Babylons judgment shall be that Edom (cf. Jer. 49:19-21). It matters nothing to the Lord whether the nation be small and insignificant like Edom or a mighty empire like Babylon. Any nation which proudly lifts itself up against the Holy One of Israel will be punished. Babylons conqueror will burst upon the land like a lion from the pride (jungle) of the Jordan leaping upon a helpless and unsuspecting flock. No shepherd or leader of Babylon will be able to withstand the impact of this divinely appointed one (Jer. 50:44). The Lord God has taken counsel against Babylon and has laid plans for the destruction of that land. The invader will make desolate the inhabitants of that land like helpless sheep (Jer. 50:45). The earth trembles in astonishment at the news of Babylons fall. The final gasping cry of Babylon is heard throughout the nations of the earth (Jer. 50:46).
The description of the destroyers of Babylon continues in Jer. 51:1-5. God is raising up against Babylon a destroying wind (Jer. 50:1) and strangers (Jer. 50:2) by means of which He will winnow or sift the inhabitants of Babylonia as a farmer winnows the chaff from the grain. The reference in Jer. 50:1 to Leb-kamai (ASV) is most interesting. This term means literally the heart of those who rise up against me. By this title Babylon is designated as the very heart of opposition to the Lord. But the term Leb-kamai has another meaning too, a meaning that the English reader completely misses. Leb-kamai is another example of the use of the cipher called Atbash (cf. Jer. 25:26) in which the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is replaced by the last letter, the second letter by the next to the last, the third by the third from the last, etc. When Leb-kamai is decoded it spells the word Chaldeans in Hebrew.
In Jer. 50:3 the attacking armies are again addressed. In spite of the fact that the Babylonians stand guard with their weapons and arrayed in their armor, yet the archers are urged to attack them from without. No one is to be spared; every Chaldean soldier is to be slain in the streets of the city (Jer. 50:4). The reason for the slaughter is twofold. First, by means of the destruction of Babylon the Lord will prove that Israel and Judah have not been forsaken (lit., widowed) by their God. Second, the land of Babylon is full of guilt with respect to the Holy One of Israel (Jer. 50:5). The word translated though in the KJV and ASV is best rendered for or because and the guilt is best regarded as that of the Chaldeans and not the Israelites.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
THE AGENTS OF THIS DESTRUCTION, Jer 50:41-46.
41-46. A people shall come from the north, etc. A more particular description of the agents of Babylon’s overthrow, consisting, however, almost exclusively of the materials found in previous passages.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Invaders From The North Before Whom Babylon Will Quail And Who Will Finally Take Babylon ( Jer 50:41-46 ).
We must not judge ancient descriptions in terms of modern geography. They had no atlases to guide them. To the Jews Egypt and North Africa was the South. The Great Sea (the Mediterranean), and the people beyond it, was to the West. The Arabian desert was to the East. All else was to the North. And major trouble always came on them from the North. The ‘people come from the north’ thus indicated peoples ‘north’ of Palestine in their eyes, and to them Persians, Medes, Elamites and the rest were ‘people of the north’, whilst any beyond them were ‘the furthest parts of the earth’.
Jer 50:41-42
“Behold, a people come from the north,
And a great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth.
They lay hold on bow and spear,
They are cruel, and have no mercy,
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Every one set in array,
As a man to the battle, against you, O daughter of Babylon.”
‘The people come from the north’ here represent the Persian and Median empires made up of a great many nations and kings. They will arrive well armed with bow and spear, shouting their battlecries (‘their voice roaring like the sea’), mounted on horses whose thundering hooves would add to the ‘roaring’, prepared for battle, totally merciless, and their one aim will be the taking of Babylon, where Belshazzar (Bel-sar-usur) the crown prince was in control (Daniel 5). All the emphasis is on the terrible nature of the invaders.
Babylon was at this time under the rule of Belshazzar. The ruling king, Nabonidus (Nabu-naid), was campaigning in Arabia, where he remained in a kind of isolation, possibly to pursue his studies, at the oasis of Teima (the details are obscure), having, according to the Nabonidus Chronicles. ‘entrusted the army and the kingship’ to Belshazzar. Belshazzar died at the taking of Babylon, Nabonidus was arrested on his later return
Jer 50:43
“The king of Babylon has heard the reports of them,
And his hands grow feeble,
Anguish has taken hold of him,
Pangs as of a woman in travail.”
Such would be the terrible nature of the enemy that when the king of Babylon (the crown prince) heard of them he would be rendered helpless, and would suffer agonies of fear. Indeed he tried to solace himself by holding a great feast, confident that the great walls of Babylon would keep the invader at bay, little realising that at that very moment they were creeping into the city along the dried up water-course. Note the heightening of the narrative in these verses. There is an apocalyptic feel to it. The emphasis is on the fact that Babylon is doomed, just as all that sets itself against God is doomed. It is on the fact of God’s inevitable final triumph.
Jer 50:44
“Behold, they will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan,
Against the strong habitation,
For I will suddenly make them run away from it,
And whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it,
For who is like me? and who will appoint me a time?
And who is the shepherd who can stand before me?”
Nothing was more feared by shepherds than the season when lions, maddened by hunger, would emerge from the thicketed area by the Jordan (the ‘pride of Jordan’) in order to find food. For these verses compare Jer 49:19 spoken of what would happen to Edom.
The ‘pride of Jordan’ was the description used of the area of thick jungle thickets on the banks of the Jordan in which many wild beasts found refuge. It was notorious for the lions that came from there seeking prey when they were hungry through shortage of prey in the thickets, when they could be a danger to men as they desperately sought for food, even entering towns and villages in their search. Compare Jer 12:5; Jer 25:38; Hos 13:7-8. As soon as lone men saw them they ran away. They knew just how dangerous they could be under those circumstances. The picture is a vivid one as the adversary is pictured as emerging from the thickets, hungry in his quest for prey. He is the chosen of YHWH, YHWH’s shepherd, emerging in YHWH’s time, a time which no one else can appoint and He alone will decide.
‘And whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it.’ This may indicate YHWH’s chosen candidate, who has been chosen by YHWH to take Babylon. Or it may be a challenge to Babylon to choose for themselves a champion so that YHWH may set him over them, indicating at the same time that any such appointment would be useless.
‘Strong habitation.’ This may refer to their invasion of towns and villages. Alternately we may render it as ‘evergreen pasturage’ or ‘secure encampment’, indicating the areas where the shepherds fed their flocks, for the word here rendered ‘habitation’ is used in Jer 6:3 to indicate the places where shepherds encamped.
‘And who is the shepherd who will stand before me?” This could refer to the predator arising as ‘the shepherd who stands before YHWH’, that is, as His true and reliable close servant, the question indicating that his identity is as yet to be seen as unknown. In this case he is YHWH’s shepherd. But more likely it is questioning as to what shepherd could prevent YHWH from carrying out His purpose, the idea being that no shepherd of Babylon could hope to outface or resist Him, any more than they could hope to outface a hungry lion who had seized one of their sheep. Of course there were exceptional shepherds who did outface lions (compare 1Sa 17:34-36). But the point here is that there is no one who can outface YHWH.
Jer 50:45-46
“Therefore hear you the counsel of YHWH,
That he has taken against Babylon,
And his purposes, that he has purposed,
Against the land of the Chaldeans.
Surely they will drag them away,
The little ones of the flock,
Surely he will make their habitation,
Desolate over them.
At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles,
And the cry is heard among the nations.”
The picture of the hungry lion continues as we learn of what YHWH has determined against Babylon, and what He has purposed against Babylonia. Babylon will see her young ones dragged away, in the same way as the remorseless hungry lions drag away the young of the flock, that is the more vulnerable who found it most difficult to escape. Many habitations in Babylonia would have been rendered desolate by the invaders, and even in Babylon itself, though its major buildings were preserved, the rampaging soldiery would think nothing of tearing down or burning the dwellings of the poor as they sought for spoils.
‘At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.’ This is, of course, hyperbole. It is saying that the taking of Babylon was an earth-shaking event which changed the whole course of the history of the time, and caused men to cry out to each other ‘Babylon has been taken’. It probably seemed unbelievable. But the world was transformed almost overnight as a new more benevolent ruling power took over the empire. What represented all that was anti-God had been utterly defeated.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
10. NON TU, SED TIBI
Jer 50:41-46
41Behold, a people cometh from the north,
And a great host and many kings break up from the ends of the earth.
42Bow and lance they bear,
Cruel are they33 and without compassion.
Their sound roareth like the sea,
And on horses they ride equipped like a man for the battle
Against thee, thou daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them,
And his hands are feeble;
Anguish hath seized him, trembling as a parturient.
44Behold, like a lion he ascends
From the pride of Jordan to the evergreen pasturage,
For in a twinkling I drive her34 from thence,
Andwho is chosen? Him I set over her.
For who is like me, and who will order me?
And who is the shepherd who may stand before me?
45Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah that he hath counselled against Babylon,
And his thoughts which he hath thought against the land of the Chaldeans:
Yea, they will be dragged away, the weak little sheep,
Yea, the pasturage will be amazed concerning them.
46With the cry, Babylon is taken, the earth trembles,
And a crying is heard35 among the nations.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
This entire passage consists of quotations, Jer 50:41-43 being taken from Jer 6:22-24, Jer 50:44-46 from Jer 49:19-21. As the prophet has already repeatedly designated the enemy as one coming from the north, it was natural to apply the former prophecy of the enemy threatening Judah from the north to Babylon, and it must also be admitted that the prophet would find it appropriate to transfer the prophecy of the chosen instrument for the destruction of Edom (Jer 49:19-21) to the similarly chosen instrument of the destruction of Babylon. Although thus the quotations here are accumulated to a degree greater than heretofore, I am yet convinced (contrary to my former view in Der proph. Jer. u. Bab., S. 128 ff.) that the passage is genuine and original. The idea of the unity of Gods judgments and of just recompense was to be represented here. This would receive no detriment, even if every single feature of the former prophecies did not seem adapted to be applied to Babylon. This, however, is not the case, for we find in the text such modifications as the application to Babylon required; daughter of Babylon, Jer 50:42; King of Babylon, Jer 50:43; against Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, Jer 50:45; Babylon is taken, Jer 50:46; among the nations, for, in the Red Sea, Jer 50:46. What is not altered is not then opposed, according to the authors judgment, to its application to Babylon. The figure in Jer 50:44 a is therefore not inappropriate. The pride of Jordan and evergreen pasturage belong to the picture. The lion, which, from the reed-thickets on the Jordan, falls upon the flocks feeding near the bank (comp. rems. on Jer 49:19), is a figure which may be applied to any case of overpowering hostile attack. Likewise the description of the northern people (Jer 6:23) is by no means so special that it may not be applied to any people advancing with warlike impetuosity. Moreover, Jeremiah, when he wrote Jer 6:22-24, neither had the Chaldeans specially in view, nor are they so very different from their neighbors, the Medes.
The addition and many kings in Jer 50:41 is thus explained, that in the conception of the prophet the picture was present of a host of enemies, composed of many different elements (comp. Jer 51:27-28).
Footnotes:
[33]Jer 50:42. . Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 105, 4, b, 2.
[34]Jer 50:44. is probably only a mistake, and is therefore to be read with the Keri (comp. Jer 49:19).
[35]Jer 50:46. is occasioned by Jer 49:21, and moreover comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 60, 4.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Jer 50:41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
Ver. 41. Behold, a people shall come from the north. ] As Jer 50:3 ; Jer 50:9 ; Jer 6:22 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 50:41-43
41Behold, a people is coming from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42They seize their bow and javelin;
They are cruel and have no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
Marshalled like a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
Distress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
Jer 50:41-43 As Babylon was a people from the north to judge God’s people (cf. Jer 1:13-15; Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1; Jer 6:22), now a people from the north (i.e., Persia) will come and defeat them! As they did to others now it will be done to them (cf. Jer 50:15; Jer 50:29).
These verses are very similar to Jer 6:22-24, where YHWH’s judgment is directed at Jerusalem, but now Babylon.
Jer 50:41 The Persian army, like the Babylonian army, was made up of many mercenary soldiers.
Jer 50:42 This describes in poetic terms the Persian army.
Jer 50:43 As other nations feared the Babylonians, now they fear.
1. hands hang limp
2. distress like child birth
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
a great nation: i.e. Medo-Persia.
coasts = sides: i.e. remote parts.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 50:41-46
Jer 50:41-46
Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the tidings of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, [the enemy] shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that can stand before me? Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Jer 50:41-43 here are the same as in Jer 49:19-21 and in Isa 6:22-24. See my comments there.
Many kings shall be stirred up (against Babylon)…
(Jer 50:41). At the time Jeremiah wrote this, he could not have known the composition of the invading force against Babylon. Nevertheless the prophecy was literally fulfilled. ‘The many kings’ is a reference to the vassal-kings assisting their overlord, this being the normal part of a suzerain-vassal treaty; and, when Cyrus conquered Babylon, his army contained a number of such vassal contingents.
Harrison pointed out that Jer 50:44-46 here repeat substantially the prediction against Edom (Jer 49:19-21), but apply it to Babylon. The significant difference is that, “Little Edom’s cry would be heard only as far as the Red Sea; but Babylon’s anguished howl would be heard throughout the Near East!
This prophecy against Babylon is continued through the following chapter, which is the longest in Jeremiah. The two chapters are actually a single prophecy.
Ruthless Destruction Jer 50:41 to Jer 51:5
For the third time the prophet announces the approach of the conquerors of Babylon: Behold, a people shall come from the north. No doubt the prophet is presenting here a composite picture of the several conquerors who would attack the city of Babylon beginning with the Medo-Persian armies of Cyrus and concluding with Parthian armies of Mithridates II. The enemy is described as a great nation because of the size of the host. Many kings all over the world are being stirred up to the attack against Babylon (Jer 50:41). The vast host surges forward towards Babylon armed for war. The sound of their coming is likened to the roar of the sea. They are cruel and ruthless warriors who show no pity to the daughter of Babylon, (i.e., the inhabitants of the city Jer 50:42). The king of Babylon is petrified at the news of the approaching host. His hands become limp; distress seizes his heart like that of a woman beginning her travail (Jer 50:43). One cannot read this description of the terror of the king of Babylon without thinking of what is said of Belshazzar in the Book of Daniel when he hears the prophetic interpretation of the handwriting of doom on the walls of his palace: Then the kings countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his knees smote one against another (Dan 5:6).
Babylons judgment shall be that Edom (cf. Jer 49:19-21). It matters nothing to the Lord whether the nation be small and insignificant like Edom or a mighty empire like Babylon. Any nation which proudly lifts itself up against the Holy One of Israel will be punished. Babylons conqueror will burst upon the land like a lion from the pride (jungle) of the Jordan leaping upon a helpless and unsuspecting flock. No shepherd or leader of Babylon will be able to withstand the impact of this divinely appointed one (Jer 50:44). The Lord God has taken counsel against Babylon and has laid plans for the destruction of that land. The invader will make desolate the inhabitants of that land like helpless sheep (Jer 50:45). The earth trembles in astonishment at the news of Babylons fall. The final gasping cry of Babylon is heard throughout the nations of the earth (Jer 50:46).
Prophecies about Foreign Nations – Jer 46:1 to Jer 51:64
Open It
1. What, in your mind, is a good example of a situation in which justice was served?
2. In what strategic defense or weapon would you have the most confidence during a personal attack?
Explore It
3. Why did Jeremiah say that the mighty warriors of Egypt would cower before Nebuchadnezzar? (Jer 46:13-17)
4. Despite the judgment coming on Egypt, what did God promise them eventually? (Jer 46:25-26)
5. What promises did God make to Israel with honesty, justice, and hope? (Jer 46:27-28)
6. To what terrifying natural disaster did God compare the Egyptian conquest of Philistia? (Jer 47:2-5)
7. Where did the people of Moab misplace their trust, sending themselves and their idols into captivity? (Jer 48:6-9)
8. In the context of judging the nations, what curse did Jeremiah pronounce on the lax or merciful? (Jer 48:10)
9. Why would it be particularly appropriate when Moab became an object of scorn and ridicule? (Jer 48:26-27)
10. What brought about Moabs destruction as a nation? (Jer 48:42)
11. What was the source of Ammons false sense of security? (Jer 49:4)
12. What did God promise to the Ammonites when their punishment was complete? (Jer 49:6)
13. How did God say He would treat the helpless, even within the borders of His enemy, Edom? (Jer 49:11)
14. Why did Edom think its location made it invincible? (Jer 49:15-16)
15. How would Damascus along with Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor also fall under Gods judgment? (Jer 49:23-33)
16. What would eventually happen to the nation of Elam after it was defeated and taken into exile? (Jer 49:37-39)
17. With their enemies facing Gods wrath, what did Jeremiah predict Israel and Judah would do? (Jer 50:4-5)
18. What attitude of the Babylonians in relation to Gods people convinced God to leave them desolate? (Jer 50:11-13)
19. Since the Babylonians had exiled many of the peoples they conquered from their own land, what would happen when God punished them? (Jer 50:16)
20. When Babylon was made accountable to God, what would become of Israels guilt? (Jer 50:20)
21. What did Jeremiah tell us about Israels Redeemer? (Jer 50:34)
22. To what historic event did God compare the coming destruction of Babylon? (Jer 50:39-40)
23. What were the Babylonians failing to take into account about Gods relationship to Israel? (Jer 51:5)
24. What nation was to become Gods instrument of justice against Babylon? (Jer 51:11-14)
25. How did Jeremiah contrast the God of Israel with the idols of the other nations? (Jer 51:17-19)
26. What religious disgrace of the people of Israel would be remedied by God Himself? (Jer 51:51-53)
27. What message about Babylon was Seraiah to deliver to the exiles in Babylon? (Jer 51:59-64)
Get It
28. Why was it important for the Jews exiled in Babylon to know that Babylons great power would soon fall?
29. Why was it important that each instrument of Gods wrath not be lax?
30. In what ways does modern society practice some of the same evil and rebellious attitudes that brought on Gods punishments for these nations?
31. What will become of those who rejoice when one of Gods servants stumbles morally?
32. How does our worship become acceptable to God?
Apply It
33. In what situation can you demonstrate a new attitude toward a Christian who has stumbled?
34. Through what difficult circumstance will you ask God to give you perspective, patience, and (eventually) freedom?
Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Fifty
By Brent Kercheville
1 What is the initial message to Babylon (Jer 50:1-3)?
2 What will happen in those days (Jer 50:4-5)? Explain how this was fulfilled.
3 What is the reason for Babylons judgment (Jer 50:11-13)? Explain the imagery.
4 Describe what God is going to do (Jer 50:19-20).
5 What else is described as the reason for Babylons judgment (Jer 50:29-32)?
6 What hope does God give in Jer 50:33-34? What lessons do we learn about us and about God?
TRANSFORMATION:
How does this relationship change your relationship with God?
What did you learn about him?
What will you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jer 50:2, Jer 50:3, Jer 50:9, Jer 6:22, Jer 6:23, Jer 25:14, Jer 51:1, Jer 51:2, Jer 51:11, Jer 51:27, Jer 51:28, Isa 13:2-5, Isa 13:17, Isa 13:18, Rev 17:16
Reciprocal: Jer 1:14 – Out of Jer 50:26 – against Jer 51:3 – let the Jer 51:26 – desolate for ever Jer 51:48 – the spoilers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 50:41. This verse predicts the attack from the Medo-Persian Empire whose territory lay north and east of Babylon. This twofold empire was to continue many years and be ruled by a succession of kings, many of whom were powerful.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 50:41-46. Behold, a people shall come from the north Namely, the Medes; and a great nation That is, who are a great nation; for this is no more than an explicative of the foregoing sentence. And many kings Namely, the kings of the Persians, Armenians, Hyrcanians, Cadusians, and others who fought under Cyruss banner, as allies or friends to him. Their voice shall roar like the sea The noise of an army is fitly compared to the roaring of the sea when it rages and is tempestuous. Every one put in array In exact and firm order, as if the whole host were but one man. The king of Babylon hath heard, &c. Belshazzar was of himself a weak and dissolute prince, and was soon routed in the field; and so dismayed that he shut himself up in Babylon. Behold, he shall come up like a lion See notes on Jer 49:19-21, where we have applied unto Edom what is here spoken against Babylon. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard, &c. These words are intended to express the greatness of the destruction of Babylon, which should be such as should make all that part of the world to shake and tremble; and the nations, whether near or far remote, should be astonished at the downfall of so great a city and potent an empire.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
50:41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from {c} the ends of the earth.
(c) Meaning, that the Persians would gather their army from many nations.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
7. Babylon’s agony 50:41-46
The next section of prophecies stresses the agony of Babylon (cf. Jer 6:22-24; Jer 49:18-21).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Babylon’s invader would be an innumerable, vast, mighty army that would descend on her from the remote parts of the north. The Persians and their allies did not come from remote regions; they were the neighbors of the Babylonians. This invader would come with bows and javelins and would fight cruelly and unmercifully. The sound of its approach would be like the roaring sea. The soldiers would ride horses and proceed against the Babylonians with discipline. Babylon would be like a young girl in comparison. Whereas Cyrus’ army contained a variety of vassal contingents (cf. Jer 51:27-28), he took the city by stealth. Thus the destruction envisioned here is probably a future one.