Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 50:42
They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not show mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
The bow and the lance were the two usual weapons of soldiers in those countries, Jer 6:23. The Persians were a cruel, bloody people. These phrases signify no more than that the enemies should come upon Babylon in a terrible manner, and prepared to destroy them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
42. cruelthe character of thePersians, and even of Cyrus, notwithstanding his wish to be thoughtmagnanimous (Isa 13:18).
like a manSo orderlyand united is their “array,” that the whole army moves tobattle as one man [GROTIUS].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They shall hold the bow and the lance,…. Or “spear”. The Targum interprets it, “shields”; as many in Cyrus’s army had t; the one an offensive, the other a defensive weapon; or, if bow and lance, the one is used at a distance, the other when near. The Medes and Persians were well skilled in handling the bow, as once and again observed: this very properly describes the armour of the Persians; which were, as Herodotus u says, large bows and short spears; and Xenophon w observes, that, besides bows and arrows, they had two javelins or lances, one of which they cast, and the other they held and used in their hands, as they found necessary; and so Cyrus x, in a speech of his, says that they had breast plates to cover their bodies, and lances or javelins which they could use by throwing or holding, as they pleased:
they [are] cruel, and will not show mercy: not even to infants, but dash them against the stones, Ps 137:8; see Isa 13:17; and
[See comments on Isa 13:17] and
[See comments on Isa 13:18]; hence “horribilis Medus”, in Horace y:
their voice shall roar like the sea; when there is a tempest on it. This does not design the shout of the soldiers, when beginning the onset in battle, or making an attack upon a city besieged; but the noise of their march, their foot, and horse, and chariots, and the clashing of their army; all which, by reason of their numbers, would be very clamorous and terrible:
and they shall ride upon horses; the Persians had a large cavalry, their country abounding in horses:
[everyone] put in array like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon; furnished with armour, and put in a proper disposition, all in rank and file, well accoutred, and full of spirit, prepared to engage in battle, with you, O ye inhabitants of Babylon.
t Cyropaedia, l. 5. c. 15. u Terpsichore, sive l. 5. c. 49. & Polymnia, sive l. 7. c. 61. w Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 5. x Ibid. l. 4. c. 16. y Carmin. l. 1. Ode 29.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jeremiah again speaks especially of armor, to intimate that the Babylonians would not be able to sustain the assault of their enemies. He then says that they would be armed with the bow and the shield; (78) and adds, that they would be cruel. It is certain that the Persians were very bloody; for it was a barbarous nation; and where barbarity rules, there is no feeling of mercy. Cyrus indeed wished to appear a magnanimous prince, and not a savage; but it is sufficiently evident that he was very cruel, though Xenophon in his Life speaks of him otherwise; but he is not a true historian, for he tells many false things in favor of Cyrus. But when any one reads all that has been recorded, he will readily find out that Cyrus was a barbarian, who delighted in slaughter and carnage.
As to the Medes, they were given to luxuries, and were not a warlike nation. Darius, however, brought with him many princes, those whom he had overcome in uncultivated countries, and such as also possessed some valor. Though, then, the king of the Medes was effeminate as well as his people, yet he had with him many warlike men. And the same thing is expressed also by Isaiah; and you ought to compare this prophecy with that of Isaiah (Isa 13:17) for the two Prophets wholly agree, though Isaiah was dead when Jeremiah uttered this prophecy and wrote it.
He says that their voice would be tumultuous as the sea, or would sound or roar as the sea, when moved by some violent storm. And all these things were said, that the Babylonians might know that all their defenses would Be of no avail, when God should arm the Persians and the Medes for their destruction. For had that war been carried on only by men, the Chaldeans would have never thought that their enemies would be victorious; and doubtless they would have never been so, had not the Lord roused them and determined by their means to execute vengeance on the Chaldeans. He says that they would be prepared as a man for war Interpreters do not seem to me to understand the meaning of the Prophet; for though Jeremiah uses the word “prepared” in the singular number, yet he speaks of the whole people. But how does he say they would be prepared? even like a man Here he sets forth the union of the whole army, for they would all come to battle, like one man attacking his own enemy. It is indeed difficult for the minds of all to be so directed in battle, that they should unitedly attack an enemy and fight as it were with one hand, and that they should not look on one another, and yet make an united assault. This, then, is what the Prophet means when he says, that they would be prepared against the Chaldeans as one man.
He then adds, against thee, daughter of Babylon He intimates that they would be not only sufficiently strong against ordinary enemies, but also against the city itself. For had not this been added, Babylon would have ever been considered as an exception; for it was deemed impregnable on account of the multitude of men, the height and breadth of its walls, its towers, and all other defenses. Now, then, God shows that though Babylon proudly exulted in its forces, and thought itself exempt from every danger, yet the Persians and the Medes would possess sufficient power by which they would easily overcome it. What follows I cannot finish today; it is therefore better to stop here.
(78) Rather “spear” or lance; so the Sept. and Syr. , though the Vulg. and Targ. have “shield.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Jer 50:42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
Ver. 42. Against thee, O daughter of Babylon. ] In like sort as thou didst once against God’s Israel. Jer 6:23 Now thou shalt meet with thy match.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hold: Jer 6:22, Jer 6:23
they are cruel: Psa 74:20, Psa 137:8, Psa 137:9, Isa 13:17, Isa 13:18, Isa 14:6, Isa 47:6, Hab 1:6-8, Jam 2:13, Rev 16:6
their voice: Psa 46:2, Psa 46:3, Psa 46:6, Isa 5:30
shall ride: Jer 8:16, Jer 47:3, Isa 5:28, Hab 1:8, Rev 19:14-18
Reciprocal: 1Ch 19:9 – put the battle Isa 21:9 – behold Isa 47:1 – daughter Jer 50:9 – I will raise Jer 50:14 – bend Jer 51:3 – let the Jer 51:27 – cause Rev 17:16 – these
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 50:42. A bow was used to shoot an arrow and a lance was thrust by hand; these two forms of weapons were used by the Persians. The rough practices of these people are predicted in this verse. The history of their long combined reign is too full of incidences and details to relate in this place.