Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 50:17
Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
17. The people of God are like a stray sheep, driven hither and thither and preyed upon by savage beasts.
first the king of Assyria, etc.] in deporting the Northern tribes.
and last bones ] The people, weakened by the captivity of the Ten Tribes, have afterwards had the feeble remnant of their strength crushed at the hands of Babylon.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Israel is a scattered sheep – i. e., is like a flock which has been scared and driven in all directions, for lions have chased him.
First the king … – Rather, the first lion ate him, even the king of Assyria; and this one, the last, heath picked his bones, even Nebuchadrezzar etc. The constant wasting of the land by the Assyrians had so lessened the number of Israel, that Nebuchadnezzar had but the bones to pick.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 50:17-20
Israel is a scattered sheep.
I. View Gods people, the spiritual Israel, as scattered sheep (Jer 50:17).
1. They were sheep going astray. Scattered over the world.
2. Marked, noted, contemplated by the Divine eye, the Divine foreknowledge, the Divine purpose.
3. Found in different regions of the earth, yet advancing to one heavenly home–the better country.
II. View the people of the Most High, the spiritual Israel, as a forgiven people (Jer 50:20).
1. Divine forgiveness.
2. A forgiveness dependent upon a Divine redemption.
3. A forgiveness is righteousness.
4. A complete forgiveness.
5. A forgiveness, and more than forgiveness. Inseparable from justification, acceptance in a righteousness of God, unto all and upon all them that believe.
6. A forgiveness never separate from sanctification.
III. View the chosen of the Most High, the spiritual Israel, as assailed and persecuted by lion-like foes (Jer 50:17).
1. They who are effectually called, and set apart for God, are exposed at once to special enmities. All the enemies of Gospel truth, holiness, spirituality, godliness are their enemies.
2. The enemies of the spiritual Israel are formidable, but vincible.
3. The days of open persecution have emphatically illustrated the ferocity of anti-Christian persecution.
4. The foes of the spiritual Israel are vanquished foes. Christ hath already overcome them. They have all been vanquished in principle.
5. The spiritual Israel hath mighty resources engaged, mighty friendship and support pledged on its behalf. In Isa 31:1-9. Jehovah compares Himself to a lion in the succour and defence of His Zion (Isa 31:4).
IV. View the spiritual Israel as a reserved inheritance for Christ (verse 20).
1. Purchased and redeemed in order to be reserved.
2. Effectually called and regenerated in order to be reserved.
3. Separated from the world in order to be reserved.
4. Reserved, that the Saviour may take delight in them.
5. Reserved, as the gift of the Father to the Son.
6. Reserved to be witnesses for God and His Christ.
7. Reserved as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb.
8. Reserved to inherit exceeding riches of grace, and ultimate riches of glory.
V. View the people of the Most High, the spiritual Israel, as feeding in the pastures of grace under the Great Shepherd of the sheep (verse 19).
1. The Shepherd of this fold is mightier than all the devouring lions that can threaten His redeemed. He can curb them at His pleasure. The Shepherd of this fold is wiser than all the opponents of His Church. Neither might nor craft can defeat the purposes of His grace. (D. R. Morris.)
The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none.—
Sin completely removed
I. Sin is completely removed, in that the guilt of it is all forgiven, and the punishment due to it entirely remitted.
II. Sin is completely removed, in that the sinner is perfectly restored to the love and favour of God.
III. Sin is completely removed, in that the pardoned sinner obtains a blessed restoration of character, state, and hope.
IV. The way in which so complete a pardon and restoration of guilty sinners is effected.
V. This complete forgiveness of sin is alone worthy of God, and sufficient for man.
VI. This complete forgiveness is necessary for us all, and ought to be most earnestly sought by us all. (Essex Remembrancer.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. Israel] All the descendants of Jacob have been harassed and spoiled, first by the Assyrians, and afterwards by the Chaldeans. They acted towards them as a lion to a sheep which he has caught; first he devours all the flesh, next he breaks all the bones to extract the marrow.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By Israel is here meant the whole twelve tribes (though sometimes it signifieth the ten tribes in opposition to Judah); they were all wandering sheep, they became penally scattered sheep. Enemies as fierce and cruel as lions had seized them, and carried them into captivity.
First the king of Assyria devoured the ten tribes, which were strictly called Israel, 2Ki 17:6. Then Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon took Jerusalem, as we heard, Jer 39, and carried away the people, and burnt the temple, which the prophet here calls a breaking of
his bones.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. lionshostile kings(Jer 4:7; Jer 49:19).
Assyria (2Ki17:6, Shalmaneser; Ezr 4:2,Esar-haddon).
Nebuchadnezzar(2Ki 24:10; 2Ki 24:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Israel [is] a scattered sheep,…. Or like a sheep that is frightened and drove from the fold, and is dispersed, and wanders about here and there; Israel includes all the twelve tribes:
the lions have driven [him] away; from his own land, and carried him captive, and scattered him among the nations; these lions are afterwards interpreted of the kings of Assyria and Babylon: so the Targum,
“kings have removed them;”
comparable to lions for their strength, fierceness, and voraciousness:
first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; eaten up his flesh; meaning Shalmaneser king of Assyria, who carried captive the ten tribes, that never returned, and therefore said to be devoured:
and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones; or, “boned him” t; took out his bones, all his strength and substance; or took the flesh off of them, stripped him of all his wealth and riches, reduced him to his bones, made a mere skeleton of him: we, with Kimchi and Ben Melech, and others, read “broke his bones”; to get the very marrow out, that nothing may be left of him: he took Jerusalem, burnt the temple, and carried captive the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the strength of Israel; so, between the one and the other, all Israel were like a scattered sheep, dispersed among the nations. Nebuchadrezzar was the then reigning king in Babylon when this prophecy was delivered, and therefore called “this Nebuchadrezzar”.
t “exossavit eum”, Munster, Montanus, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vs. 17-20: GRACE TOWARD ISRAEL
1. “Israel”, in this verse, stands for the whole nation, which, as hunted (scattered) sheep, has been driven away from his own land by lions, (vs. 17; comp. vs. 6; Jer 2:15; Jer 4:7).
a. The king of Assyria first devoured him, (comp. vs. 7; 2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:9-13).
b. Now the king of Babylon has “ground his bones” (Berkeley; comp. 2Ki 24:1; 2Ki 24:10-16; 2Ki 25:1-7).
2. Now the Lord will punish the king of Babylon, and his land, as He has already punished the Assyrians, (vs. 18; Isa 10:12; Eze 31:3; Eze 31:11-12).
3. The Lord will so establish Israel in his own land that he may feed on Carmel and Bashan – his soul finding satisfaction on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead, (vs. 19; Jer 31:10-12; Jer 33:12-16; Jer 31:5).
4. In that day God will cleanse and abundantly pardon the iniquity of the remnant of His people, (vs. 20; Jer 31:34; Jer 33:8; Isa 1:9; Isa 43:25; Mic 7:19; Rom 9:27-29).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Here the Prophet more clearly shows what he had briefly referred to, even that God was thus incensed against the Babylonians, because he had undertaken the cause of the people whom he had chosen. Then Jeremiah’s design was to show to the faithful, that though God severely chastised them for a time, he had not wholly divested himself of his paternal regard towards them, because he would at length make it openly evident that they to whom he had been so rigid were dear to him. He then mitigates the severity of punishment, that the Jews might not succumb to despair, but call upon God in their miseries, and hope that he, after having turned them, would at length be propitious to them.
The sum of what is said is, that whatever punishments God inflicts on his Church are temporary, and are also useful for salvation, being remedies to prevent them from perishing in their vices. Let us then learn to embrace the promises whenever we are wounded with extreme sorrow under the chastisements of God: let us learn, I say, to look to his mercy; and let us be convinced of this, that though signs of his wrath may appear on every side, yet the punishments we suffer are not fatal, but on the contrary, medicinal. For this reason, the Prophet exhorted the faithful of his time to be patient, by showing that God, after having been a Judge, would be again a Father to them.
He then says that Israel was like a scattered flock, or a straying sheep, which is the same thing. He expresses how they became so, the first who devoured them was the king of Assyria; for we know that the kingdom of Israel was overthrown by the Assyrians, and the land of Judah was also very much pillaged by them; a small portion remained. Then God says, that the people had been consumed by the calamities which the Assyrians had occasioned. But he compares what remained to bones, as though a wild beast devoured a sheep, and left only the bones. There was then no flesh or skin in Israel after the Assyrians had cruelly treated them, and that often. But as the kingdom of Judah remained, he says that it was like bones; and hence he adds, and this last, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath broken, his bones, (61) that is, hath broken in pieces and devoured the bones which remained.
We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet. Moreover, he exaggerates the miseries of the chosen people, that he might in a manner open a way for mercy. God, then, here assumes the feeling of man, who is touched with a sad spectacle, when he sees a miserable and harmless sheep devoured, and the bones cast away, and then sees another wild beast, still more savage, who breaks the bones with his teeth and devours them. Since God then thus speaks, there is no doubt but that he meant to express with what tender feeling he regarded his chosen people, and that he also meant to give the godly the hope of salvation. It afterwards follows,—
(61) Literally, “and boned him;” which is to be taken in a privative sense, “and unboned him.” There are similar words in Hebrew: to neck is to break the neck. (Exo 13:13.) To tail is to cut off the tail. (Jos 10:19.) To root is to root up. (Psa 52:5.) The Vulg. here is exossavit — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) Israel is a scattered sheep . . .The words paint vividly the two blows that had fallen on Israel, as a sheep driven from the fold: first from the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom by Salmaneser, and then, when, as it were, the carcase was half devoured and only the bones left, from that of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. The lion appears here, as in Dan. 7:4, as the symbol of the great Eastern monarchies. The fact that the sculptured winged lion appears so constantly in the remains both of Assyria and Babylon gives the imagery a special force.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Scattered “Scattered sheep” postulates a flock, and this conception lies in the background of this verse. But attention is fixed on the individual sheep separated from the flock and chased by the lions. These “lions” were the king of Assyria, who had scattered Israel, and the king of Babylon, who had scattered Judah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Those Who Misuse God’s People Will Be Punished Accordingly Whilst The Restoration Of His People Is Sure ( Jer 50:17-20 ).
Babylon’s great crime lay in what it had done to God’s people. Like Assyria before it, its armies had descended on hapless Israel/Judah like a pack of lions separating off one of the sheep from the flock and hunting it down to its death. The king of Assyria had done it first, devouring the sheep so that northern Israel ceased to be. Now Nebuchadrezzar had done the same, breaking what was left of its bones by destroying Jerusalem and annexing Judah.
But the king of Assyria had been punished and his empire had collapsed. Now in the same way the king of Babylon and his land will be punished. He will die and the land will become barren and fruitless. This was because, in spite of being YHWH’s chosen instruments of chastening, in both cases they had exceeded YHWH’s purpose for them (Jer 50:11; Isa 10:5-15), and now they would suffer the consequences. In contrast the remnant of God’s people will be restored to fruitfulness and will once again enjoy fruitful fields and vineyards. The ‘dead sheep’ will live and pasture on Carmel (a fruitful area west of Jordan) and Bashan (a fruitful area east of Jordan), and on the hills of Ephraim (central Israel west of Jordan) and in Gilead (the land east of Jordan).
Jer 50:17-19
“Israel is a hunted sheep,
The lions have driven him away,
First, the king of Assyria devoured him,
And now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.
Therefore thus says YHWH of hosts,
The God of Israel,
Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
As I have punished the king of Assyria,
And I will bring Israel again to his pasture,
And he will feed on Carmel and Bashan,
And his soul will be satisfied,
On the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.”
Lions would warily approach a flock, guarded by its shepherds, with the aim of separating off one of the sheep and then hunting it down and devouring it, afterwards picking its bones. In the same way had hapless Israel been treated, first by the king of Assyria who had devoured the northern kingdom (2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 17:1-6), and then by Nebuchadrezzar who had done the same with Israel/Judah. It is interesting that the lion was a symbol that both nations applied to themselves. The sculptured winged lion is a prominent feature of both empires. But both had overlooked the fact that YHWH, Who is the Lord of all hosts both in Heaven and on earth, was also especially the God of Israel. Thus they had dishonoured Him by their behaviour. In consequence YHWH will exact retribution on Babylon as He had on Assyria. Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC at the hands of the Babylonians and their allies. But instead of recognising that this was the fate of all such empires Babylon had pursued similar tactics and would now itself suffer similar consequences.
And what is more YHWH will restore the remnant of Israel to its own land, where they will feed on Carmel, the fruitful upland on the west coast, and Bashan, the fruitful land in Transjordan, famous for its trees. And also on the hills of Ephraim, the central highlands, and in Gilead to the east of Jordan. The fulfilment of this took place in the inter-testamental period so that by the time of Jesus Israel was restored to its own land and was prospering.
Jer 50:20
“In those days, and in that time,
The word of YHWH,
The iniquity of Israel will be sought for,
And there will be none,
And the sins of Judah,
And they will not be found,
For I will pardon them,
Whom I leave as a remnant.”
But the promise included more. Israel would be restored to purity of heart. Its iniquity would be removed, and its sins found no more. For the pardon of YHWH would reach out to the remnant of Israel. This found its glorious fulfilment in the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Who called out a remnant of Israel to be purified and cleansed through His cross and resurrection, and became the foundation of the new restored Israel, ‘the congregation’ (church), the true Vine (Mat 16:18; Joh 15:1-6).
‘In those days and at that time.’ Compare Jer 50:4. The reference is to the future days (future to Jeremiah) when God will commence His work of restoration. It is not time specific. It found its fulfilment in the coming of Jesus Christ and His ministry.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 50:17. Israel is a scattered sheep See Jer 50:6. “As a lion coming among a flock of sheep scatters them one from another; so have these foreign invaders served my people.” See chap. Jer 2:15 Jer 5:6. Instead of, A scattered sheep, Houbigant reads, a dispersed flock; and he reads the latter part of the verse thus, First the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzarhath eaten up his bones; the first lion devoured his flesh, the last his bones.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
5. THE HAPPY TURN
Jer 50:17-20
17A scattered sheep is Israel, which the lions chased.17
First the king of Assyria devoured him,
And last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.18
18Therefore thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel;
Behold, I visit the king of Babylon and his land
As I have visited the king of Assyria.
19And I bring Israel home to his pasturage,
To pasture on Carmel and Bashan,
And on mount Ephraim and Gilead his soul shall be satisfied.
20In those days, at that time, saith Jehovah,
The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,19and it is gone!
And the sins of Judahbut thou findest them not.20
For I will pardon him whom I reserve.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Hitherto Israel has been a poor frightened sheep, driven and devoured by two mighty wild animals, Assyria and Babylon (Jer 50:17); but the tables are to be turned. Assyria has already received its chastisement. That of Babylon will not be deferred (Jer 50:18). Then will Israel again feed peaceably on his own pasture (Jer 50:19). The reason of this wonderful change consists in this, that the Lord will show kindness to His people and forgive them all their iniquity (Jer 50:20).
Jer 50:17-19. A scattered be satisfied. Assyria destroyed the northern, Babylon the southern kingdom. In both cases the destruction was complete, and consequently represented by the figure of devouring, only with this difference that as a still higher degree the breaking of the bones is mentioned in the second case. After the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes the kingdom of Judah still remained as the skeleton of the theocracy. In destroying Jerusalem and the temple Nebuchadnezzar, as it were, broke its bones.As I have visited. Comp. Jer 46:25. The then already long past destruction of Nineveh is thus the type and pledge of the destruction of Babylon.Bring Israel home. Comp. Eze 38:4; Eze 39:2.Pasturage. Comp. Jer 23:3; Jer 22:6; Mic 7:14; Isa 33:9; Nah 1:4; Eze 34:13-14.
Jer 50:20. In those days reserve. Comp. Jer 50:4. As in the mention of Assyria and Babylon, Jer 50:17-18, there was a reference to the community of the two halves of the theocratic nation in misfortune, so here their union in prosperity is expressly set forth. Comp. rems. on Jer 50:4. The reason of their restoration to prosperity is here mentioned; Jehovahs grace which will grant forgiveness to the survivors, and cause their guilt to disappear without a trace.
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:
[17]Jer 50:17.This is to be regarded as a relative sentence with understood. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 80, 6.
[18]Jer 50:17. here only. It is formed like , denominative from . As this signifies to strip off, to gnaw off (Num 24:8; Eze 23:34), so the former means to bone, to destroy the bones.
[19]Jer 50:20. . Comp. Jer 31:34; Jer 33:8; Jer 36:3, In regard to the construction comp. Naegelsb Gr., 100, 2.
[20]Jer 50:20.. Comp. Olsh., 265, c.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Every verse in this passage is peculiarly striking and gracious. Observe how the Lord speaks tenderly in behalf of his people, and contemptuously of their enemies. A scattered sheep fallen into the jaws of lions. This king of Babylon, as if to point to his impotence. And do not overlook, or forget, from this representation, how plain it is, that the Lord is everlastingly watching over his people, and takes particular notice of everyone that hurts them. Oh! that every child of God would keep this in remembrance. And, Reader, do not forget to mark down also in the tablet of thine heart; yea, beg of God the Holy Ghost to write it there for thee, that such is the perpetual, unceasing, and soul cleansing efficacy of Christ’s blood, that when the iniquity of Israel, and sin of Judah, are sought for, they shall not be found. The Church of Jesus, in the eye of God the Father, by virtue of her union, and oneness with him, is altogether beautiful and lovely. He beholds no iniquity in Jacob, neither perverseness in Israel. Jesus declares himself of his spouse, that she is all fair, and that there is no spot in her. And he will present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she may be forever unblameable and irreproveable in his sight. Num 23:21 ; Son 4:7 ; Eph 5:27 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 50:17 Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
Ver. 17. First the king of Assyria hath devoured him. ] Many Assyrian kings successively, but especially Sennacherib.
Hath broken his bones.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 50:17-20
17Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria. 19And I will bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’
Jer 50:17-20 This prose paragraph connects with Jer 50:4-5. God’s people are coming home!
This paragraph lists the covenant people’s two main enemies of this period.
1. Assyria who took the northern ten tribes into exile with the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.
2. Neo-Babylon who took Judah into exile with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
The nation that God will use to bring judgment on the Mesopotamia powers and restore His people is Persia, under Cyrus II (cf. Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1).
Jer 50:17
NASB, NKJV,
TEV, NJBNebuchadnezzar
NRSV, JPSOA,
REBNebuchadrezzar
LXX(leaves out the name but has) king of Babylon
Both of these refer to the same person, son of Nabopolassar. There are several forms of his Babylonian name in Hebrew letters. It is difficult to transliterate names from one language to another.
Jer 50:20 This is such an important theological text. The faithful remnant of YHWH’s people have been forgiven (i.e., Jer 31:31-34) and restored!
In the future period (in those days) a repentant and obedient Israel and Judah will be united in restoration and forgiveness.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Israel. Now a united nation. See note on Jer 50:4.
last. See note on “hindermost”, Jer 50:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a scattered: Jer 50:6, Jer 23:1, Jer 23:2, Eze 34:5, Eze 34:6, Eze 34:12, Joe 3:2, Mat 9:36-38, Luk 15:4-6, Joh 10:10-12, 1Pe 2:25
the lions: Jer 2:15, Jer 5:6, Jer 49:19, Jer 51:38
first: 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:6-23, 2Ki 18:9-13, 2Ch 28:20, 2Ch 32:1-23, 2Ch 33:11, Isa 7:17-20, Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8, Isa 10:5-7, Isa 36:1 – Isa 37:38
this: Jer 39:1-8, Jer 51:34, Jer 51:35, Jer 52:1, 2Ki 24:1 – 2Ki 25:30, 2Ch 36:1-23, Isa 47:6, Dan 6:24
Reciprocal: Num 24:8 – break Deu 28:64 – scatter 1Ki 22:17 – as sheep Est 3:8 – scattered abroad Psa 89:41 – All Isa 5:29 – roaring Isa 14:1 – the Lord Isa 24:1 – scattereth Isa 42:22 – a people Isa 43:14 – For Isa 45:4 – Jacob Isa 49:25 – Even Isa 52:4 – the Assyrian Isa 52:5 – make Jer 4:7 – lion Jer 10:21 – their Jer 10:25 – eaten Jer 30:16 – General Jer 31:10 – He Jer 50:7 – have devoured Jer 50:11 – ye destroyers Jer 50:33 – and all Jer 51:24 – General Jer 51:49 – As Babylon Lam 2:16 – We have swallowed Lam 3:4 – he hath Lam 3:34 – crush Eze 5:10 – the whole Eze 36:24 – General Eze 38:13 – with Hos 8:8 – swallowed Mic 7:9 – until Nah 2:11 – the dwelling Hab 2:8 – the violence Zec 1:19 – scattered Zec 2:8 – the nations Zec 10:2 – therefore Mat 10:6 – lost
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 50:17. Israel is used of the nation as a whole and the verse is a historical statement. Ten tribes were taken away by Assyria (2 Kings 17) and two tribes were taken by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24, 25). Sheep refers to the flock to which the nation is compared, and it was to be scattered over the wilds of the heathen fields.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 50:17. Israel is a scattered sheep See note on Jer 50:6. The lions have driven him away As a lion coming among a flock of sheep scatters them one from another; so have these foreign invaders, enemies cruel as lions, served my people. First, the king of Assyria hath devoured him Namely, Shalmaneser, who carried away the ten tribes into captivity, whence they never in general returned. And last this Nebuchadrezzar hath broken his bones Hath entirely ruined Judah and Jerusalem, hath destroyed or carried captive the whole nation.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
50:17 Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of {r} Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his {s} bones.
(r) Meaning Tiglath-pilesar who carried away the ten tribes.
(s) He carried away the rest, that is Judah and Benjamin.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The restoration of Israel 50:17-20
The next section of the oracles emphasizes the restoration of Israel.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The king of Assyria, Shalmanezer, had scattered the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom like sheep (in 722 B.C.; 2Ki 17:1-6; 2Ki 18:9-12), and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had done worse to the Judahites in the south (in 605-581 B.C.; Jer 4:7; 2 Kings 24). He had broken their bones-not just scattered the people but also slain them.
"Politically, the intrigues and treacheries of Judah’s kings (’shepherds’, as the Old Testament regards them) had brought Assyria and now Babylon to the kill. Spiritually too (to adopt the New Testament connotation of ’shepherd’), a badly pastored flock is soon astray, then swiftly preyed upon." [Note: Kidner, p. 150.]