Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 51:24
And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
24. Babylon, after Jehovah has used it as the instrument by means of which to punish other nations, shall now be itself requited. “In your (the Jews’) sight” is to be connected with the opening words of the v. Cp. Psa 91:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 24. And I will render] The vau should be translated but, of which it has here the full power: “But I will render unto Babylon.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The particle in the front of this verse, which our translators (understanding the four former verses of Cyrus) render and in a copulative sense, must be rendered now, or but, if the four former verses be understood of Babylon, and the sense is this: Though I nave hitherto made use of Babylon, and shall yet for a time make use of the Chaldeans and Babylonians to destroy several other nations; yet now the time is come that I will punish them, and recompense to them all the mischief they have done to the Jews, and some of the Jews shall live to see it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. The detail of particulars(Jer 51:20-23) is inorder to express the indiscriminate slaughters perpetrated by Babylonon Zion, which, in just retribution, are all to befall her in turn(Jer 50:15; Jer 50:29).
in your sightaddressedto the Jews.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will render unto Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea,…. Or, “but I will render” w, c. though I have made this use of Babylon, she shall not be spared, but receive her just recompense of reward not the city of Babylon only, but the whole land of Chaldea, and all the inhabitants of it:
all their evil that they have done in Zion, in your sight, saith the Lord; the sense is, that for all the evil the Chaldeans had done in Judea; the ravages they had made there, the blood they had shed, and the desolation they had made; and particularly for what they had done in Jerusalem, and especially in the temple, burning, spoiling, and profaning that, God would now righteously punish them, and retaliate all this evil on them; and which should be done publicly, before all the nations of the world, and particularly in the sight of God’s own people: for this phrase, “in your sight”, does not refer to the evils done in Zion, but to the recompense that should be made for them.
w “sed rependam”, Piscator; “sed retribuam”, Schmidt.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet, after having reminded the Jews that all that they had suffered from the Babylonians had been justly inflicted on account of their sins, and that God had been the author of all their calamities, now subjoins, I will render to Babylon and to the Chaldeans what they have deserved. It may, however, appear strange at the first view, that God should here threaten the Babylonians; for if their services depended on his command, they seemed doubtless to have deserved praise rather than punishment; nay, we know what the Holy Spirit declares elsewhere,
“
I gave Egypt as a reward to my servant Nebuchadnezzar, because he has faithfully performed my work,” (Eze 29:20)
for Nebuchadnezzar had afflicted the Jews, therefore he obtained this, says Ezekiel, as his reward. It seems then an inconsistent thing when God declares that the Chaldeans deserved punishment because they had afflicted the Jews. But both declarations agree well together; for when God declared by Ezekiel that he gave Egypt as a reward to his servant Nebuchadnezzar, he had a regard to the Jews and to their perverseness, because they had not as yet been sufficiently humbled; nay, they thought that it was by chance that they had been subdued by the Babylonians. God then declares that he had executed his judgment on them by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. It was afterwards necessary that the faithful should be raised up in their extreme distress; and this was regarded by our Prophet when he said — Behold, I will render to Babylon and to the Chaldeans all their evils They then obtained Egypt for a short time, but afterwards all the evils they had brought on other nations recoiled on their own heads.
But this promise was in a peculiar manner given to the Church; for though the vengeance executed on the Chaldeans was just, because they exercised extreme cruelty towards all nations; yet God, having a care for his own Church, thus undertook its cause; therefore he speaks not here generally of the punishment inflicted on the Chaldeans for their cruelty; but God, as I have said, had a regard to his own Church. Hence, he says, I will render to the Babylonians and to all the Chaldeans, all the evil which they had done in Sion We now see that this punishment had a special reference to the chosen people, in order that the faithful might know that they had been so chastised by God, that yet the memory of his covenant had never failed, and that thus in the midst of death they might have some hope of salvation, and that they might feel assured that God would at length be merciful; not that God would ever restore the whole body of the people; but this promise, as it has been elsewhere stated, is addressed only to the remnant. Yet fixed remains the truth, that God, after having broken in pieces the Jews and other nations by means of one nation, would yet be the avenger of his Church, because he could never forget his covenant. He adds, before your eyes, that the faithful might with calmer minds wait for the vengeance of which they themselves would be eye-witnesses.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Jer 51:24. And I will render unto Babylon “But, though I have made Babylon the instrument of my vengeance towards others, I will render unto Babylon all the evil which they have done in Zion, and these things shall be done before your eyes, saith the Lord.” See Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 51:24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Ver. 24. And I will render unto Babylon. ] See Jer 50:15 ; Jer 50:29 Isa 47:6 ; Isa 47:8 ; Isa 10:5-6 ; Isa 10:12 .
In your sight.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 51:24-26
24But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes, declares the Lord.
25Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth, declares the Lord,
And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a burnt out mountain.
26They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate forever, declares the Lord.
Jer 51:24-26 This poem (Jer 51:25-26) describes the destruction of Babylon (O destroying mountain) in highly figurative language. The book that has helped me understand this genre is by D. Brent Sandy, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic.
It is possible that this imagery relates to the Babylonian sky gods who were worshiped on the tops of ziggurats (i.e., the tower of Babel, Genesis 11). These manmade mud brick structures dominated the flat river plains of Babylon’s chief cities. Each one had their own god and tower. The great ziggurat of Marduk was in the city of Babylon.
The violent and complete destruction of the city of Babylon did not occur in 539 B.C., when the city was taken without a fight and with minimal destruction, by the Persian army. However, it did occur later in history (i.e., by Xerxes I in 482 B.C.).
Jer 51:25 O destroying mountain This imagery is uncertain. It is obviously figurative language referring to Babylon as a military victor. But why mountain?
1. the home of the gods (i.e., divine empowerment, i.e., Isa 14:13)
2. the God of Mt. Moriah (i.e., the Jewish temple, i.e. Isa 2:2-3)
3. the military advantage of higher ground
4. the awesome physical sites of mountains and their strength
5. root of the mountains as the entrance to the underworld
6. imagery used of a mountain where pagan altars were located (cf. 2Ki 23:13)
This destroying mountain will be destroyed (i.e., fire, see Special Topic: Fire ) by YHWH. He sends and uses Babylon but also holds them responsible!
Jer 51:26 This is imagery of a complete and lasting destruction (cf. Jer 50:13). Usually in the ANE the sites of major cities were advantageous sites (i.e., water, protection, fertility), so destroyed cities were quickly rebuilt, often using the building material lying around. This verse prophesies no habitation. Note the ruins of Babylon today!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah’s oracle.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 51:11, Jer 51:35, Jer 51:49, Jer 50:15, Jer 50:17, Jer 50:18, Jer 50:28, Jer 50:29, Jer 50:33, Jer 50:34, Psa 137:8, Psa 137:9, Isa 47:6-9, Isa 51:22, Isa 51:23, Isa 61:2, Isa 63:1-4, Isa 66:6, 1Th 2:15, 1Th 2:16, Rev 6:10, Rev 18:20, Rev 18:24, Rev 19:2-4
Reciprocal: Deu 30:7 – General Isa 27:7 – he smitten Isa 43:14 – For Jer 51:47 – her whole Jer 51:56 – the Lord Lam 1:21 – they shall Mic 7:10 – she that Hab 2:8 – the violence Hab 2:17 – of the city Zec 1:15 – and Mat 7:2 – General Rev 18:6 – Reward
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 51:24. This verse comes into more direct reference to the specific event which the prophet has been describing. Babylon and Chaldea are the same as to the present situation, and /Aon stands for the nation of God which had been mistreated by the mentioned people of the heathen nations.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
He would use this entity to repay Babylon, and all the inhabitants of Chaldea, for what they had done to Zion. The Israelites would witness Babylon’s judgment.