Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 51:3

Against [him that] bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against [him that] lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

3. Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not lift himself up, etc.] As the mg., when compared with the text, suggests, the Heb. is difficult. It is in fact ungrammatical and probably corrupt. It seems best to omit the negatives, and make the whole v. (as the latter part must be in any case) an address to the assailants of Babylon. If we retain the negatives, the sense will be that it will be useless for Babylon’s warriors to attempt her defence.

destroy ye utterly all ] For mg. devote ye all, etc., See on Jer 25:9 and cp. Jer 50:21.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The man who bends the bow, and the heavy-armed soldier who vaunts himself in his coat of mail (Jer 46:4 note), represent the Babylonians who defend the city.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Whatever arms the Babylonians shall be armed with, they shall meet with their matches; those that are archers shall meet with archers to bend the bow against them, and those who are otherwise armed shall meet with persons prepared to encounter them at their own weapons. Their whole host shall be destroyed, both young and old men.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. Against him that bendethnamely,the bow; that is, the Babylonian archer.

let the archer bendthatis, the Persian archer (Jer 50:4).The Chaldean version and JEROME,by changing the vowel points, read, “Let not him (theBabylonian) who bendeth his bow bend it.” But the close of theverse is addressed to the Median invaders; therefore it is morelikely that the first part of the verse is addressed to them, as inEnglish Version, not to the Babylonians, to warn themagainst resistance as vain, as in the Chaldean version. Theword “bend” is thrice repeated: “Against him thatbendeth let him that bendeth bend,” to imply the utmoststraining of the bow.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Against [him that] bendeth let the archer bend his bow,…. These are either the words of the Lord to the Medes and Persians, to the archers among them, to bend their bows and level their arrows against the Chaldeans, who had bent their bows and shot their arrows against others; or of the Medes and Persians stirring up one another to draw their bows, and fight manfully against the enemy:

and against [him that] lifteth up himself in his brigandine; or coat of mail; that swaggers about in it, proud of it, and putting his confidence in it, as if out of all danger. The sense is, that they should direct their arrows both against those that were more lightly or more heavily armed; since by them they might do execution among the one and the other:

and spare ye not her young men; because of their youth, beauty, and strength:

destroy ye utterly all her host; her whole army, whether officers or common soldiers; or let them be accoutred in what manner they will. The Targum is,

“consume all her substance.”

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Interpreters give various expositions of this verse. Some understand a soldier of light armor by him who bends the bow; and by him who elevates himself in his coat of mail, they understand a heavy-armed, soldier, There is also another difference; some take אל, al, for לא, la, when it is said ואל יתעל , veal itol, because a copulative follows; and the words seem not to be well connected, if we read thus, “As to him who raises himself up in his coat of mail, and spare ye not,” etc.; and hence they take negatively the particle אל, al, instead of לא la, “and he may not raise up himself in his coat of mail.” But it is probable that the copulative in the second place is redundant The simple meaning would therefore be, As to him who bends the bow, and who raises himself up in his coat of mall (81)

I do not, indeed, give such a refined interpretation as some do, respecting the light and heavy armed soldiers. I doubt not, then, but that he points out the archers, and those clad in mail. If, however, any one prefers the other explanation, let him enjoy his own opinion. As to the main point, it is evident that the Prophet exhorts the Persians and the Medes not to spare the young men among the Chaldeans, but to destroy their whole army, so that no part of it should be left remaining.

(81) It is singular that אל is omitted in the Sept. and the Syr., and retained in its negative sense in the Vulg. and the Targ., which makes no sense consistently with the context. There is evidently אשר understood before the first verb, as is often the case when the verb is in the future tense. Then the literal rendering would be this, —

At him who bends let the bender bend his bow, And at him who glories in his coat of mail; And spare ye not her chosen men, Utterly destroy all her host.

There is here perfect consistency. They who take אל as a negative say, that the first part is addressed to the Chaldeans, and the second to their enemies; but this would be strangely abrupt. — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(3) Let the archer bend his bow.The words represent the sense of the original, but the Hebrew word for archer is literally bender, and so the iteration of the verb gains its full rhetorical force. On brigandine, as meaning the coat of mail of heavy-armed troops, see Note on Jer. 46:4. The two classes of soldiers describe collectively the garrison that defended Babylon.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. Archer Literally, bender. The Masoretes have stumbled over the text of this verse, and there has been some variety of opinion among the critical expositors of recent times. But there is no serious difficulty in the text as it now stands, and it is by all means to be accepted.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jer 51:3. Against him that bendeth Let not him who bendeth the bow relax his hand; let him not put off his armour. Houbigant.

And against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine And let him not lift up himself in his brigandine. This is exactly parallel in sense to the preceding part of the verse, if the posture of him that stoops to bend the bow be considered. For in using the large and strong steel bows, which could not be bent by the force of the arms, they rested one end upon the ground, and pressing the other with the foot or knee, they drew back the arrow with their hands as far as ever they could, in order that it might fly with greater force. Hence the archer is called dorec kesheth, one that treadeth the bow. And therefore when he is bid not to lift himself up in his coat of mail, it is the same as bidding him not to desist from shooting with his bow.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jer 51:3 Against [him that] bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against [him that] lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

Ver. 3. Against him that bendeth. ] Periphrasis Babylonii, omnibus gentibus infesti.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)