Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 51:41
How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
41. Sheshach ] i.e. Babylon. See on Jer 25:26.
a desolation ] mg. an astonishment. Cp. Jer 51:43.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Sheshach – Babylon: see the Jer 51:1 note.
Surprised – i. e., seized, captured.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 41. How is Sheshach taken!] Perhaps the city is here called by the name of its idol.
The praise of the whole earth] One of the seven wonders of the world; superexcellent for the height, breadth, and compass of its walls, its hanging gardens, the temple of Belus, &c., &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We meet with this term
Sheshach only here, and Jer 25:26; both places leave it doubtful whether it be to be taken for an idol, which they called by the name of Shach, or a name given to the city of Babylon, which worshipped that idol, to the honour of which the Babylonians kept a yearly festival for several days; in the time of which festival they say it was that Cyrus took the city of Babylon.
The praise of the whole earth; Babylon, that was so famous over all the world for her splendour. And so it is interpreted in the next words, wherein Babylon, for the punishment brought upon it, is said to be an astonishment to all nations; which makes it probable that Babylon is what was called Sheshach, by the doubling of a letter, because she worshipped Shach.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. SheshachBabylon (compareNote, see Jer 25:26);called so from the goddess Shach, to whom a five days’ festival waskept, during which, as in the Roman Saturnalia, the most unbridledlicentiousness was permitted; slaves ruled their masters, and inevery house one called Zogan, arrayed in a royal garment, was chosento rule all the rest. He calls Babylon “Sheshach,” to implythat it was during this feast the city was taken [SCALIGER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How is Sheshach taken!…. Not the city Shushan, as Sir John Marsham thinks e; but Babylon, as is plain from a following clause; and so the Targum,
“how is Babylon subdued!”
called Sheshach, by a position and commutation of letters the Jews call “athbash”; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel account for it; or else from their idol Shach, the same with Bel, which was worshipped here, and had a temple erected for it; and where an annual feast was kept in honour of it, called the Sacchean feast; and which was observing the very time the city was taken; and may be the true reason of its having this name given it now; [See comments on Jer 25:26]; the taking of which was very wonderful; and therefore this question is put by way of admiration; it being so well fortified and provided to hold out a long siege:
and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised? for it was taken by stratagem and surprise, before the king and his guards, the army, and the inhabitants of it, were aware; that city, which was matter and occasion of praise to all the world, and went through it; for the compass of it, and height and strength of its walls; the river Euphrates that ran through it, and flowed about it; the temple, palaces, and gardens in it:
how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! or, “a desolation”; and indeed its being a desolation was the reason of its being an astonishment among the nations; who were amazed to see so strong, rich, and splendid a city brought to ruin in a very short time.
e Canon. Chron. p. 607.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The fearful destruction of Babylon will astonish the world. – Jer 51:41 is an exclamation of astonishment regarding the conquest of the city which was praised throughout the world. As to , see on Jer 51:1 and Jer 25:26. , “praise,” is here used for “a subject of praise and fame;” cf. Jer 49:25.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 41-44: THE END DRAWS NEARER
1. Babylon, the praise of the whole earth, is taken, seized and become a desolation among the nations! (vs. 41; Jer 25:26).
2. The enemy has come upon her like a rising tide; wave after wave has crashed against her walls, until she is crushed, (vs. 42, 55; comp. Isa 8:7-8).
3. Her cities are become like a desert wherein no one will dwell, or pass through, (vs. 43, 29, 62; Jer 50:12; Isa 13:19-20).
4. The land and its patron deity (Bel) are so closely identified that the defeat of one necessarily involves the destruction of the other, (vs. 44; Jer 50:2).
a. Then, from the mouth of Bel, will be taken the plunder of subjugated nations, (vs. 34; Ezr 1:7-8).
b. No more will pilgrims stream to his shrine, for the wall of Babylon has fallen! (vs. 58; contrast Isa 2:2).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Here the wonder expressed by the Prophet tended to confirm what he had said, for he thus dissipated those things which usually disturbed the minds of the godly, so as not to give full credit to his predictions. There is indeed no doubt but that the godly thought of many things when they heard Jeremiah thus speaking of the destruction of Babylon. It ever occurred to them, “How can this be?” Hence Jeremiah anticipated such thoughts, and assumed himself the character of one filled with wonder — How is Shesbach taken? as though he had said, “Though the whole world should be astonished at the destruction of Babylon, yet what I predict is certain; and thus shall they find who now admit not the truth of what I say, as well as posterity.”
But he calls Babylon here Sheshach, as in Jer 25:0. Some think it to be there the proper name of a man, and others regard it as the name of a celebrated city in Chaldea. But we see that what they assert is groundless; for this passage puts an end to all controversy, for in the first clause he mentions Sheshach, and in the second, Babylon. That passage also in Jer 25:0 cannot refer to anything else except to Babylon; for the Prophet said,
“
Drink shall all nations of God’s cup of fury, and after them the king of Sheshach,”
that is, when God has chastised all nations, at length the king of Babylon shall have his turn. But in this place the Prophet clearly shows that Sheshach can be nothing else than Babylon. The name is indeed formed by inverting the alphabet. Nor is this a new notion; for they had this retrograding alphabet in the time of Jerome. They put ת, tau, the last letter, in the place of א, aleph, the first; then ש, shin, for ב, beth, thus we see how they formed Shesbach. The ש, shin, is found twice in the word, the last letter but one being put for ב , beth, the first, letter but one; and then כ, caph, is put in the place of ל, lamed, according to the order of the retrograde alphabet. There is no good reason for what some say, that the Prophet spoke thus obscurely for the sake of the Jews, because the prophecy was disliked, and might have created dangers to them; for why did he mention Sheshach and then Babylon in the same verse?
Many understand this passage enigmatically; but there is no doubt but that that alphabet was then, as we have stated, in common use, as we have Ziphras, as they call it, at this day. In the meantime, though the Prophet was not timid, and encouraged his own people to confidence, it yet pleased God that this prophecy should in a manner be hidden, but not that it should be without evidence of its certainty, for we shall see in the last verse but one of this chapter that he commanded the volume to be thrown into the Euphrates, until the event itself manifested the power of God, which for a long time remained as it were buried, until the time of visitation which of which he had spoken.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
C. Babylons Demolition and Israels Liberation Jer. 51:41-46
TRANSLATION
(41) How sad that Sheshak is captured, the praise of all the earth is taken! How sad that Babylon has become an astonishment among the nations! (42) The sea has gone up against Babylon; she is covered with the tumult of its waves. (43) Her cities have become an astonishment, a dry land, a wilder. ness, a land where no man dwells and no human being passes by. (44) I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him disgorge that which he has consumed. No more shall nations flow unto him. Also the wall of Babylon shall fall. (45) Go out from her midst, O My people! Let every man flee for his life from the fierce anger of the LORD. (46) Let not your heart faint nor fear because of the report in the land; for a report shall come in one year, and after that in another year a report shall come: Violence is in the land and ruler opposes ruler.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah begins this section of his oracle with a sarcastic lamentation over the fall of Babylon. The how of Jer. 51:41 is not the how of amazement. The Hebrew word belongs to the vocabulary of lamentation and perhaps can best be rendered in English by how sad it is! No doubt the word is used here sarcastically. How sad it is that Sheshach, the praise of the whole earth, is captured. Sheshach is a cryptic name for Babylon (see comments on Jer. 25:26). How sad it is that Babylon the mighty metropolis has become a desolation and an astonishment among the nations (Jer. 51:41). A sea[419] of foreign invaders sweeps over the land of Babylonia (Jer. 51:42) leaving in its wake a desolation, a desert, a land where no man dwells (Jer. 51:43). The fall of Babylon will be as much a judgment upon the gods of Babylon as upon the city itself. Bel, the chief god of Babylon, will be forced to disgorge all that he has devoured of the riches of subjugated nations. No more would Babylonian conquests bring a stream of captives to the prison house of Babylon. Indeed those massive walls themselves would fall and all prisoners within would be free to return to their native lands (Jer. 51:44). The gods of Babylon had had their moment of glory and seeming triumph when they destroyed Jerusalem and brought the people of God into captivity. But with the fall of Babylon from a position of world power the once famous gods of Babylon dwindled into insignificance and finally oblivion.
[419] Some prefer to interpret the word sea as referring to the annual inundations of the Euphrates which even to this day render many parts of the ruins of Babylon inaccessible.
The fall of Babylon means liberation for the people of God and the prophet returns in Jer. 51:45-46 to this minor theme which runs throughout the Babylon oracle. He repeats what he earlier has urged (Jer. 50:8) that when the captives see the fierce anger of the Lord beginning to be poured out upon Babylon they should flee from the city (Jer. 51:45). Meanwhile they should not be disturbed by rumors of war and internal conflict for these but foreshadow that final day of doom for Babylon. Numerous upheavals and throne changes plagued Babylon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 B.C. The prophet warns his brethren lest these commotions disturb them and arouse premature hopes of release. One is reminded of the similar admonition of Christ concerning the wars and rumors of war which prelude the day of the Lord (Mat. 24:6; Luk. 21:28).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(41) How is Sheshach taken!Sheshach, it will be remembered, is the cypher which, as explained in the Note on Jer. 25:26, stands for Babylon. Here, in the parallelism of Hebrew poetry, it balances the actual name of the city in the second clause of the verse. The word surprised is the same as that rendered stopped in Jer. 51:32.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
An Exultation Over The City of Babylon’s Demise ( Jer 51:41-44 ).
We note in this exultation the emphasis on what is to happen to Bel (Marduk), the chief god of Babylon. Babylon had boasted that it was Marduk who had given them the nations. Now Marduk would be caused by YHWH to spew them out (although some see it as referring to the return of the Temple vessels), and no more nations would flow to him any more. Marduk would be revealed as just what he was, the work of man’s hands.
Jer 51:41-43
“How is Sheshach taken!
And the praise of the whole earth seized!
How is Babylon become a desolation,
Among the nations!
The sea is come up on Babylon
She is covered with the multitude of its waves,
Her cities are become a desolation,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which no man dwells,
Nor does any son of man pass by it.”
Sheshach was originally probably a cryptogram for Babylon on the athbash principle, shin replacing beth and chaph replacing lamed (similar to z replacing a, y replacing b, x replacing c, and so on). Used as a cryptogram in letters passing between Jerusalem and Babylon so as to disguise the fact that Babylon was being spoken of it may well have gradually been incorporated into Hebrew thought as a parallel name for Babylon. Indeed it may well be that its use here was intended to indicate that the cryptogram was no longer needed because Babylon’s power was broken.
Some, however, argue for Sheshach as being a genuine alternative name for Babylon, citing the possible name of a moon god, Shishaki, or seeing it as meaning ‘warlike city’. Whichever way it is taken, however, it undoubtedly refers here to Babylon. Only Babylon could have been described as ‘the praise of the whole earth’ (compare ‘Babylon the glory of the kingdoms’ – Isa 13:19, and this especially so when the name is given in parallel with that of Babylon in typically Hebrew fashion.
So that magnificent city, so powerful and seemingly impregnable with its vast walls, praised by the whole earth, will be seized. It will become a desolation among the nations. As Isaiah puts it, it will be ‘as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah’ (Isa 13:19). Once praised by all it will become a heap, a ruin. And this will be caused by ‘a sea’ coming up on it, covering it with the multitude of its waves. This picture is a regular one in Scripture to describe an invading army, a ‘sea of nations’. See, for example, Jer 46:7; Isa 8:7-8; Isa 17:12-13.
And this ‘sea’, instead of refreshing the land like the Nile did Egypt, will turn it into a desert. Her cities will become a desolation, a dry land and a desert. It will become a land which is totally uninhabited, which no man passes through.
Jer 51:44
“And I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon,
And I will bring forth out of his mouth what he has swallowed up,
And the nations will not flow any more to him,
Yes, the wall of Babylon will fall.”
But above all would be the defeat of Bel (Marduk), the chief god of Babylon, of whom Nebuchadrezzar and the Babylonians had claimed that it was he who had defeated the nations and brought them in thrall to Babylon. It was he who in their eyes had swallowed up the wealth of the nations, including the golden vessels of the Jerusalem Temple. YHWH would execute judgment on him, and extract from his mouth all that he had swallowed up. The golden vessels would be returned to Jerusalem (Ezr 1:7-11). Nations would no longer flow to Babylon with their tribute, nor would they honour it and seek its glory. For even the mighty double wall of Babylon will fall, that double wall which bore the names of Imgur-Bel (Bel protects) and Nimetti-Bel (dwelling of Bel). The outer wall was four metres (12 feet) thick, and the inner wall six and a half metres (21 feet) thick. They were separated by a gap of seven metres (23 feet). It was a formidable defence. Thus would YHWH, having used Babylon as a means of chastening His people, bring Babylon into the dust, and Marduk would be unable to do anything about it. The dwelling of Bel would become a ruin, the protection of Bel would prove worthless. To the world of that day, which fervently believed in its gods, this would have been significant indeed.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 51:41. How is Sheshach taken! That is, Babylon; called Sheshach from the goddess of that name, which the Babylonians worshipped, and which is supposed by Calmet to have been the same with the moon. See ch. Jer 25:26. The prophet calls Babylon the praise of the whole earth, as it was esteemed one of the wonders of the world, for the height, breadth, and compass of its wall, the palace and hanging-gardens belonging to it, the temple of Belus, &c. See chap. Jer 49:25. Dan 4:30 and Isa 13:19.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
18. THE DEMOLITION OF THE PRISON, THE LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES
Jer 51:41-46
41How is Sheshach taken,
And the praise of the whole earth captured!
How is Babylon become a horrid waste23 among the nations!
42The sea is come up over Babylon,
With the multitude of its waves is she covered.
43Her cities are become a desolation,
A land of aridity and steppe,
A land wherein no man will dwell,
Which no son of man will pass through.
44And I visit Bel in Babylon,
And take from his mouth what he hath devoured,
And no more shall the nations flow to him:
The wall also of Babylon is fallen.
45Go out from the midst of her, my people,
And let every one save his soul from the fury of Jehovahs anger.
46And let not your heart faint,24
Nor fear on account of the rumor which is heard in the land,
For in that year the rumor comes25 and the year after26 another,
And feud in the land, ruler against ruler.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
A double picture! As in Jer 50:1-5, on the background of Babylon destroyed the prophet sees Jerusalem delivered. He thus first shows us Babylon taken and desolated (Jer 51:41-43), the gods robbed of all ability to retain plunder or attract worshippers, and even the strong, proud walls thrown down (Jer 51:44). He then summons Israel to flee from the abomination of desolation (Jer 51:45), and not to be afraid at the alarm of war (Jer 51:46).
Jer 51:41-44. How is Sheshach is fallen. Comp. Jer 50:2.Sheshach. Comp. rems. on Jer 25:26. If it is to be derived from to stoop down, and taken in the sense of humiliation, submission, the idea does not accord with the following praise of the whole earth. It must wait further illumination.Praise, etc. Comp. Jer 48:2; Jer 49:25. Herodotus says of Babylon, (I., 178).The sea, etc. We might think here of the sea of nations (comp. Isa 8:7-8; Isa 17:12; Jer 46:7-8), especially since in Jer 51:36 and Jer 51:43, the contrary is expressed. It is, however, possible that the prophet would really say both, viz., that Babylon will be exposed to horrible aridity and fearful inundations. The Euphrates, when left to itself, has at some times too much, and at others too little water. Nebuchadnezzars great water-works were to regulate the supply, and when these are destroyed (comp. Jer 51:32) Babylon incurs the double danger.Her cities, etc. Comp. Jer 9:10.Land of aridity, etc. Comp. Jer 2:6; Jer 50:12.No man, etc. Comp. Jer 9:9-11; Jer 49:18; Jer 49:33; Jer 50:40.Bel (comp. rems. on Jer 50:2) is here mentioned as Babylons highest deity, and accordingly as the shield of its power and glory. Whoever conquers and plunders Babylon, conquers and plunders Bel, and whatever Babylon retains of plundered property in its hand, that has Bel. He has, as it were, swallowed all (comp. Jer 51:34; Jer 50:17). Israel then with all the plunder of Jerusalem (comp. Dan 1:2) may be represented as devoured by Bel, and this he is to restore. He is also no longer to have the renown of being a powerful protector. Foreigners shall no longer stream thither to commend themselves to his protection and be amazed at his glory. On the expression, comp. Isa 2:2.The mention of the wall of Babylon (comp. Jer 51:58; Jer 50:15) again as by way of supplement, may seem surprising. The walls of Babylon, however, seem here to be regarded as a sanctuary of Bel. This is intimated in their names; Imgur-Bel, i.e., Bel protect, was the name of the outer wall comprising 480 stadia, Nivitti-Bel, i.e., residence of Bel, was the name of the inner wall, 360 stadia long. Comp. Oppert, I., S. 227. [The name of the king also was Belshazzar.S. R. A.]
Jer 51:45-46. Go out ruler. That which, according to Jer 51:41-44 is to come upon Babylon, is the effect of Jehovahs wrath. In order that this may not fall upon the Israelites also, they are to flee. Comp. Jer 51:6; Jer 50:8.From the fury, etc. Comp. Jer 4:8; Jer 4:26; Jer 12:13; Jer 25:37-38; Jer 30:24.Feud, etc. Comp. Jer 30:21; Jer 33:26.The prophet evidently presupposes a great war. Comp. rems. on Jer 51:28. This passage reminds us of Mat 24:6; Luk 21:28. [Comp. Rawlinson, Anc. Mon., III., p. 515, as quoted in Wordsworth.S. R. A.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Daniels Babylonian empire resumes, as it were, the thread which was broken off with the tower-erection and kingdom of Nimrod. In the Babylonian tower-building the whole of the then existing humanity was united against God; with the Babylonian kingdom began the period of the universal monarchies, which again aspired after an atheistical union of entire humanity. Babylon has since and even to the Revelation (Jeremiah 18) remained the standing type of this world. Auberlen, Der proph. Daniel, S. 230.
2. For what reason does Babylon appear as a type of the world? Why not Nineveh, or Persepolis, or Tyre, or Memphis, or Rome? Certainly not because Babylon was greater, more glorious, more powerful or prouder and more ungodly than those cities and kingdoms. Nineveh especially was still greater than Babylon (comp. Duncker, Gesch. d. Alterth. I. S. 474, 5), and Assyria was not less hostile to the theocracy, having carried away into captivity the northern and larger half of the people of Israel. Babylon is qualified for this representation in two ways: 1. because it is the home of worldly princedom and titanic arrogance (Gen 10:8; Gen 11:1-4); 2. because Babylon destroyed the centre of the theocracy, Jerusalem, the temple and the theocratic kingdom, and first assumed to be the single supreme power of the globe.
3. When God has used a superstitious, wicked and tyrannical nation long enough as His rod, He breaks it in pieces and finally throws it into the fire. For even those whom He formerly used as His chosen anointed instruments He then regards as but the dust in the streets or as chaff before the wind. Cramer.
4. No monarch is too rich, too wicked, too strong for God the Lord. And He can soon enlist and engage soldiers whom He can use against His declared enemies. Cramer.
5. Israel was founded on everlasting foundations, even Gods word and promise. The sins of the people brought about that it was laid low in the dust, but not without hope of a better resurrection. Babylon, on the other hand, must perish forever, for in it is the empire of evil come to its highest bloom. Jeremiah owns the nothingness of all worldly kingdoms, since they are all under this national order to serve only for a time. We are to be subject to them and seek their welfare for the sake of the souls of men, whom God is educating therein; a Christian however cannot be enthusiastic for them after the manner of the ancient heathen nor of ancient Israel, for here we have no abiding city, our citizenship is in heaven. The kingdoms of this world are no sanctuaries for us and we supplicate their continuance only with the daily bread of the fourth petition. Jeremiah applies many words and figures to Babylon which he has already used in the judgments on other nations, thus to intimate that in Babylon all the heathenism of the world culminates, and that here also must be the greatest anguish. What, however, is here declared of Babylon must be fulfilled again on all earthly powers in so far as, treading in its footprints, they take flesh for their arm and regard the material of this world as power, whether they be called states or churches. Diedrich.
6. On Jer 50:2. In putting into the mouth of Israel, returning from Babylon, the call to an everlasting covenant with Jehovah, the prophet causes them 1. to confess that they have forgotten the first covenant; 2. he shows us that the time of the new covenant begins with the redemption from the Babylonish captivity. He was far, however, from supposing that this redemption would be only a weak beginning, that the appearance of the Saviour would be deferred for centuries, that Israel would sink still deeper as an external , and that finally the Israel of the new covenant would itself appear as a , (1Pe 1:9-12).
7. From what Jeremiah has already said in Jer 31:31-34 of the new covenant we see that its nature and its difference from the old is not unknown to him. Yet he knows the new covenant only in general. He knows that it will be deeply spiritual and eternal, but how and why it will be so is still to him part of the .
8. On Jer 50:6. Jeremiah here points back to Jeremiah 23. Priests, kings and prophets, who should discharge the office of shepherds, prove to be wolves. Yea, they are the worst of wolves, who go about in official clothing. There is therefore no more dangerous doctrine than that of an infallible office. Jer 14:14; Mat 7:15; Mat 23:2-12.
9. On Jer 50:7. It is the worst condition into which a church of God can come, when the enemies who desolate it can maintain that they are in the right in doing so. It is, however, a just nemesis when those who will not hear the regular messengers of God must be told by the extraordinary messengers of God what they should have done. Comp. Jer 40:2-3.
10. On Jer 50:8. Babylon is opened, and it must be abandoned not clung to, for the captivity is a temporary chastisement, not the divine arrangement for the children of God. Gods people must in the general redemption go like rams before the herd of the nations, that these may also attach themselves to Israel, as this was fulfilled at the time of Christ in the first churches and the apostles, who now draw the whole heathen world after them to eternal life. Here the prophet recognizes the new humanity, which proceeds from the ruins of the old, in which also ancient Israel leads the way; thus all, who follow it, become Israel. Diedrich.The heathen felt somewhat of the divine punishment when they overcame so easily the usually so strongly protected nation. But Jeremiah shows them still how they deceived themselves in thinking that God had wholly rejected His people, for of the eternal covenant of grace they certainly understood nothing. Heim and Hoffmann on the Major Prophets.
11. On Jer 50:18. The great powers of the world form indeed the history of the world, but they have no future. Israel, however, always returns home to the dear and glorious land. The Jews might as a token of this return under Cyrus; the case is however this, that the true Holy One in Israel, Christ, guides us back to Paradise, when we flee to His hand from the Babylon of this world and let it be crucified for us. Diedrich.
12. On Jer 50:23. Although the Chaldeans were called of God for the purpose of making war on the Jewish nation on account of their multitudinous sins, yet they are punished because they did it not as God with a pure intention, namely, to punish the wrong in them and keep them for reformation; for they were themselves greater sinners than the Jews and continued with impenitence in their sins. Therefore they could not go scot-free and remain unpunished. Moreover, they acted too roughly and dealt with the Jews more harshly than God had commanded, for which He therefore fairly punished them. As God the Lord Himself says (Isa 47:6): When I was angry with My people I gave them into thine hands; but thou shewedst them no mercy. Therefore it is not enough that Gods will be accomplished, but there must be the good intention in it, which God had, otherwise such a work may be a sin and call down the divine punishment upon it. Wrtemb. Summ.
13. On Jer 50:31-34. God calls Babylon Thou Pride, for pride was their inward force and impulse in all their actions. But worldly pride makes a Babylon and brings on a Babylons fate . Pride must fall, for it is in itself a lie against God, and all its might must perish in the fire; thus will the humble and meek remain in possession of the earth: this has a wide application through all times, even to eternity. Diedrich.
14. On Jer 51:33. Israel is indeed weak and must suffer in a time of tyranny; it cannot help itself, nor needs it to do so, for its Redeemer is strong, His name The Lord Zebaothand He is, now, having assumed our flesh, among us and conducts our cause so that the world trembles. Diedrich.
15. On Jer 50:45. An emblem of the destruction of anti-christian Babylon, which was also the true hammer of the whole world. This has God also broken and must and will do it still more. And this will the shepherd-boys do, as is said here in Jer 51:45 (according to Luthers translation), that is, all true teachers and preachers. Cramer.
16. On Jeremiah 51. The doctrines accord in all points with the previous chapter. And the prophet Jeremiah both in this and the previous chapter does nothing else but make out for the Babylonians their final discharge and passport, because they behaved so valiantly and well against the people of Judah, that they might know they would not go unrecompensed. For payment is according to service. And had they done better it would have gone better with them. It is well that when tyrants succeed in their evil undertakings they should not suppose they are Gods dearest children and lean on His bosom, since they will yet receive the recompense on their crown, whatever they have earned. Cramer.
17. [Though in the hand of Babylon is a golden cup; she chooses such a cup, in order that mens eyes may be dazzled with the glitter of the gold, and may not inquire what it contains. But mark well, in the golden cup of Babylon is the poison of idolatry, the poison of false doctrines, which destroy the souls of men. I have often seen such a golden cup, in fair speeches of seductive eloquence: and when I have examined the venomous ingredients of the golden chalice, I have recognized the cup of Babylon. Origen in Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
The seat and throne of Anti-christ is expressly named Babylon, namely, the city of Rome, built on the seven hills (Rev 17:9). Just as Babylon brought so many lands and kingdoms under its sway and ruled them with great pomp and pride (the golden cup, which made all the world drunk, was Babylon in the hand of the Lord (Jer 51:7), and all the heathen drank of the wine and became mad)so has the spiritual Babylon a cup in its hand, full of the abomination and uncleanness of its whoredom, of which the kings of the earth and all who dwell on the earth have been made drunk. As it is said of Babylon that she dwells by great waters and has great treasures, so writes John of the Romish Babylon, that it is clothed in silk and purple and scarlet and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls (Rev 18:12). Of Babylon it is said that the slain in Israel were smitten by her; so also the spiritual Babylon is become drunk with the blood of the saints (Rev 17:6). Just, however, as the Chaldean Babylon is a type of the spiritual in its pride and despotism, so also is it a type of the destruction which will come upon it. Many wished to heal Babylon but she would not be healed; so many endeavor to support the ruinous anti-christian Babylon, but all in vain. For as Babylon was at last so destroyed as to be a heap of stones and abode of dragons, so will it be with anti-christian Babylon. Of this it is written in Rev 14:8 : She is fallen, fallen, that great city, for she has made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication. And again, Babylon the great is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils and a hold of all foul and hateful birds (Rev 18:2). As the inhabitants of Babylon were admonished to flee from her, that every man might deliver his soul (Jer 51:6)and again, My people, go ye out from the midst of her and deliver every man his soul, etc. (Jer 51:45)so the Holy Spirit admonishes Christians almost in the same words to go out from the spiritual Babylon, that they be not polluted by her sins and at the same time share in her punishment. For thus it is written in Rev 18:4, I heard, says John, a voice from heaven saying, Go ye out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins reach unto heaven and God remembers her iniquities. Wurtemb. Summarien.
18. On Jer 51:5. A monarch can sooner make an end of half a continent than draw a nail from a hut which the Lord protects.And if it is true that Kaiser Rudolph, when he revoked the toleration of the Picards and the same day lost one of his principal forts, said, I thought it would be so, for I grasped at Gods sceptre (Weismanni, Hist. Eccl. Tom. II. p. 320)this was a sage remark, a supplement to the words of the wise. Zinzendorf.
19. On Jer 51:9. We heal Babylon, but she will not be healed. Babylon is an outwardly beautiful but inwardly worm-eaten apple. Hence sooner or later the foulness must become noticeable. So is it with all whose heart and centre is not God. All is inwardly hollow and vain. When this internal vacuity begins to render itself externally palpable, when here and there a rent or foul spot becomes visible, then certainly come the friends and admirers of the unholy form and would improve, cover up, sew up, heal. But it does not avail. When once there is death in the body no physician can effect a cure.
20. On Jer 51:17; Jer 51:19-20. The children of God have three causes why they may venture on Him. 1. All men are fools, their treasure is it not; 2. The Lord is their hammer; He breaks through everything, and 3, they are an instrument in His hand, a heritage; in this there is happiness. Zinzendorf.
21. On Jer 51:41-44. How was Sheshach thus won, the city renowned in all the world thus taken? No one would have thought it possible, but God does it. He rules with wonders and with wonders He makes His church free. Babylon is a wonder no longer for its power, but for its weakness. We are to know the worlds weakness even where it still appears strong. A sea of hostile nations has covered Babylon. Her land is now a desolation. God takes Bel, the principal idol of Babylon, symbolizing its whole civil powers in hand, and snatches his prey from his teeth. Our God is stronger than all worldly forces, and never leaves us to them. Diedrich.
22. On Jer 51:58. Yea, so it is with all walls and towers, in which Gods word is not the vital force, even though they be entitled churches and cathedrals Gods church alone possesses permanence through His pure word. Diedrich.
23. On Jer 51:60-64. When we wish to preserve an archive safely, we deposit it in a record-office where it is kept in a dry place that no moisture may get to it. Seraiah throws his book-roll into the waters of the Euphrates, which must wash it away, dissolve and destroy it. But this was of no account. The main point was that he, Seraiah, as representative of the holy nation had taken solemn stock of the word of God against Babylon, and as it were taken God at His word, and reminded Him of it. In this manner the matter was laid up in the most enduring and safest archive that could be imagined; it was made a case of honor with the omniscient and omnipotent God. Such matters can, however, neither be forgotten, nor remain in dead silence, nor be neglected. They must be brought to such an end as the honor of God requires.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 50:2. This text may be used on the feast of the Reformation, or any other occasion with reference to a rem bene gestam. The Triumph of the Good Cause, 1. over what enemies it is gained; 2. to what it should impel us; (a) to the avoidance of that over which we new triumph; (b) to the grateful proclamation of what the Lord has done for us, by word and by deed.
2. On Jer 50:4-8. The deliverance of Israel from the Babylonian captivity a type of the deliverance of the Church. 1. The Church must humbly acknowledge the captivity suffered as a judgment of God. 2. She must turn like Israel inwardly with an upright heart unto the Lord; 3. She must become like Israel to all men a pattern and leader to freedom.
3. On Jer 50:5. A confirmation sermon. What is the hour of confirmation? 1. An hour which calls to separation; 2. an hour which leads to new connections; 3. an hour which fixes forever the old covenant with the souls friend. Florey, 1853.
4. On Jer 50:18-20. Assyria and Babylon the types of all the spiritual enemies of the church as of individual Christians. Every one has his Assyria and his Babylon. Sin is the destruction of men. Forgiveness of sins is the condition of life, for only where forgiveness of sins is, is there life and blessedness. In Christ we find the forgiveness of sins. He destroys the handwriting. He washes us clean. He is also the good shepherd who leads our souls into green pastures, to the spiritual Carmel.
5. On Jer 50:31-32. Warning against pride. Babylon was very strong and powerful, rich and splendid. It seemed invincible by nature and by art. Had it not then a certain justification in being proud, at least towards men? No; for no one has to contend only with men. Every one who contends has the Lord either for his friend or his enemy. It is the Lord from whom cometh victory (Pro 21:31). He it is who teacheth our hands to fight (Psa 18:35; Psa 144:1). His strength is made perfect in weakness (2Co 12:9). He can make the lame (Isa 33:23; Mic 4:7) and mortally wounded (Jer 37:10) so strong that they overmaster the sound (comp. Jer 51:45). He can make one man put to flight a thousand (Deu 32:30; Isa 30:17). With him can one dash in pieces a troop and leap over a wall (Psa 18:29). No one accordingly should be proud. The word of the Lord, I am against thee, thou proud one! is a terrible word which no one should conjure up against himself.
6. On Jer 50:33-34. The consolation of the Church in persecution. 1. It suffers violence and injustice. 2. Its redeemer is strong.
7. On Jer 51:5. God the Lord manifests such favor to Israel as to declare Himself her husband (Jer 2:2; Jer 3:1). But now that Israel and Judah are in exile, it seems as if they were rejected or widowed women. This, however, is only appearance. Israels husband does not die. He may well bring a period of chastisement, of purification and trial on His people, but when this period is over, the Lord turns the handle, and smites those through whom He chastised Israel, when they had forgotten that they were not to satisfy their own desire, but only to accomplish the Lords will on Israel.
8. On Jer 51:6. A time may come when it is well to separate ones self. For although it is said in Pro 18:1; he who separateth himself, seeketh that which pleaseth him and opposeth all that is goodand therefore separation, as the antipodes of churchliness, i.e., of churchly communion and humble subjection to the law of the co-operation of members (1Co 12:25 sqq.) is to be repudiated, yet there may come moments in the life of the church, when it will be a duty to leave the community and separate ones self. Such a moment is come when the community has become a Babylon. It should, however, be noted that one should not be too ready with such a decision. For even the life of the church is subject to many vacillations. There are periods of decay, obscurations, as it were, comparable to eclipses of the stars, but to these, so long as the foundations only subsist, must always follow a restoration and return to the original brightness. No one is to consider the church a Babylon on account of such a passing state of disease. It is this only when it has withheld the objective divine foundations, the means of grace, the word and sacrament, altogether and permanently in their saving efficacy. Then, when the soul can no longer find in the church the pure and divine bread of life; it is well to deliver the soul that it perish not in the iniquity of the church. From this separation from the church is, however, to be carefully distinguished the separation within the church, from all that which is opposed to the healthy life of the church, and is therefore to be regarded as a diseased part of the ecclesiastical body. Such separation is the daily duty of the Christian. He has to perform it with respect to his private life in all the manifold relations, indicated to us in Mat 18:17; Rom 16:17; 1Co 5:9 sqq.; 2Th 3:6; Tit 3:10; 2Jn 1:10-11.Comp. the article on Sects, by Palmer in Herzog, R.-Enc., XXI., S. 21, 22.
9. On Jer 51:10. The righteousness which avails before God. 1. Its origin (not our work or merit, but Gods grace in Christ); 2. Its fruit, praise of that which the Lord has wrought in us (a) by words, (b) by works.
10. On Jer 51:50. This text may be used at the sending out of missionaries or the departure of emigrants. Occasion may be taken to speak 1, of the gracious help and deliverance, which the Lord has hitherto shown to the departing; 2, they may be admonished to remain united in their distant land with their brethren at home by (a) remembering the Lord, i.e., ever remaining sincerely devoted to the Lord as the common shield of salvation; (b) faithfuly serving Jerusalem, i.e., the common mother of us all (Gal 4:26), the church, with all our powers in the proper place and measure, and ever keeping her in our hearts.
Footnotes:
[23]Jer 51:41. is stupor in Jer 5:30; Jer 8:21. As in the verbal root, so also in the noun, the idea of being rigid and confused is connected with that of horrible desolation. Comp. Jer 2:15; Jer 4:7; Jer 50:3; Jer 50:23, etc.
[24]Jer 51:46. . Comp. Deu 20:4; Isa 7:4.= as frequently. Ewald, 337, b.
[25]Jer 51:46. The construction is as, e.g., in Jer 27:10. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 99, 3.
[26]Jer 51:46. is to be regarded as neuter. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 60, 4.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Jer 51:41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
Ver. 41. How is Sheshach taken? ] i.e., How is Babylon destroyed beyond all expectation? See Jer 25:26 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 51:41-44
41How Sheshak has been captured,
And the praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42The sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.
43Her cities have become an object of horror,
A parched land and a desert,
A land in which no man lives
And through which no son of man passes.
44I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer stream to him.
Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!
Jer 51:41-44 Another poem of YHWH’s judgment on Babylon (there are several separate poems in this chapter brought together by topic). Most of the verbs are prophetic perfects, describing future events as completed actions.
Jer 51:41 Sheshak See note at Jer 25:26. This is another atbash cipher.
Jer 51:42 Babylon was a country of rivers, canals, and marshes (cf. Jer 51:13 a); her waterways are disrupted as an idiom of divine judgment (cf. Jer 51:36). YHWH, the creator God, controls the waters (cf. Jer 5:22; Jer 31:35). The nation of waters will be dry (Jer 51:43 b).
Jer 51:44 Bel See note at Jer 50:2.
what he has swallowed This is the imagery of eating used to describe conquest. As Babylon ate Jerusalem in Jer 51:34, then spit her out, so too, now Babylon. Her deities must regurgitate!
even the wall of Babylon has fallen down This prophecy of complete destruction of the city of Babylon (cf. Jer 50:15; Jer 51:58) is a hyperbolic description of Persia’s defeat, but literal for future events. See note on the genre of prophecy at Jer 51:24-26.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Sheshach. See note on Jer 25:26.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 51:41-49
Jer 51:41-44
How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
How is Sheshak taken…
(Jer 51:41). This is an ashbash for Babylon. See under Jer 51:1, above, and under Jer 25:26.
The sea is come up upon Babylon…
(Jer 51:42). This is a metaphor for the destroying army, composed of many nations under the lordship of Cyrus.
I will bring forth out of his mouth…
(Jer 51:44). This reveals the true identity of the one who swallowed up Jerusalem. It was not a sea-monster at all, but Babylon, because Babylon was the one that God forced to disgorge himself of that which he had swallowed.
Jer 51:41-43 here are the same as Jer 6:22-24. See my comments there.
Jer 51:45-49
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah. And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year [shall come] tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah. As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.
All her slain shall fall in the midst of her…
(Jer 51:47). Harrison noted that this passage will bear the translation: Just as the whole earth’s slain have fallen for Babylon, so at Babylon the whole earth’s slain shall fall. Certainly this idea must be in the passage, because of what God said through the apostle John.
“And in her (Mystery Babylon, the Great Harlot) was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth” (Rev 18:24).
Jer 51:44-46 are taken from Jer 49:19-21. See comments there.
Babylons Demolition and Israels Liberation Jer 51:41-46
Jeremiah begins this section of his oracle with a sarcastic lamentation over the fall of Babylon. The how of Jer 51:41 is not the how of amazement. The Hebrew word belongs to the vocabulary of lamentation and perhaps can best be rendered in English by how sad it is! No doubt the word is used here sarcastically. How sad it is that Sheshach, the praise of the whole earth, is captured. Sheshach is a cryptic name for Babylon (see comments on Jer 25:26). How sad it is that Babylon the mighty metropolis has become a desolation and an astonishment among the nations (Jer 51:41). A sea of foreign invaders sweeps over the land of Babylonia (Jer 51:42) leaving in its wake a desolation, a desert, a land where no man dwells (Jer 51:43). Some prefer to interpret the word sea as referring to the annual inundations of the Euphrates which even to this day render many parts of the ruins of Babylon inaccessible. The fall of Babylon will be as much a judgment upon the gods of Babylon as upon the city itself. Bel, the chief god of Babylon, will be forced to disgorge all that he has devoured of the riches of subjugated nations. No more would Babylonian conquests bring a stream of captives to the prison house of Babylon. Indeed those massive walls themselves would fall and all prisoners within would be free to return to their native lands (Jer 51:44). The gods of Babylon had had their moment of glory and seeming triumph when they destroyed Jerusalem and brought the people of God into captivity. But with the fall of Babylon from a position of world power the once famous gods of Babylon dwindled into insignificance and finally oblivion.
The fall of Babylon means liberation for the people of God and the prophet returns in Jer 51:45-46 to this minor theme which runs throughout the Babylon oracle. He repeats what he earlier has urged (Jer 50:8) that when the captives see the fierce anger of the Lord beginning to be poured out upon Babylon they should flee from the city (Jer 51:45). Meanwhile they should not be disturbed by rumors of war and internal conflict for these but foreshadow that final day of doom for Babylon. Numerous upheavals and throne changes plagued Babylon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 B.C. The prophet warns his brethren lest these commotions disturb them and arouse premature hopes of release. One is reminded of the similar admonition of Christ concerning the wars and rumors of war which prelude the day of the Lord (Mat 24:6; Luk 21:28).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Sheshach: Sheshach was probably an idol worshipped at Babylon, from which the city derived this name; and the festival which was held when the city was taken, when they were heated with wine, was perhaps observed in honour of it. Jer 25:26, Dan 5:1-3
the praise: Jer 49:25, Jer 50:23, Isa 13:19, Isa 14:4, Dan 2:38, Dan 4:22, Dan 4:30, Dan 5:4, Dan 5:5, Rev 18:10-19
an astonishment: Jer 51:37, Jer 50:46, Deu 28:37, 2Ch 7:21, Eze 27:35
Reciprocal: Jer 51:8 – suddenly Nah 3:7 – Nineveh
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 51:41, Strongs lexicon says She- shach is a symbolic name of Babylon. The taking of such a great city was so unusual an event that It caused universal surprise. Braise . . . surprised. Those who had direct information on the noted event gave forth such great praise or laudation that the nations were astonished.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 51:41-43. How is Sheshach taken! That Babylon is meant by Sheshach is certain; but why it is so called is yet matter of doubt: see note on Jer 25:26. Some indeed have supposed that it is called so from a goddess of that name, which the Babylonians worshipped, and which is supposed by Calmet to have been the same with the moon; but of these things there does not appear to be satisfactory proof. How is the praise of the whole earth surprised Babylon was esteemed the wonder of the world, for the height, breadth, and compass of its walls, the palaces and hanging gardens belonging to it, for the temple of Belus, for the banks and facing of the river, and the artificial lakes and canals made for the draining of it, and for its riches and greatness. The sea is come up upon Babylon, &c. A numerous army, or a vast multitude of people, carrying all before them like an inundation. Her cities are a desolation All the lesser cities, within the territories of Babylon, are become an uninhabited, uncultivated desert: see note on Isa 13:20.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
51:41 How is {y} Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an horror among the nations!
(y) Meaning Babel as in Jer 25:26 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
13. Babylon’s fate 51:41-48
Again Jeremiah revealed the fate of Babylon.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
In the future, people from all over the world would marvel that Babylon, the city praised by the whole earth, had been captured. "Sheshak" was another code name (atbash) for Babylon, evidently used here for poetic variation (cf. Jer 25:26).