37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps. 39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD. 34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, hey I will make them drunken, that they may hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. 35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant. of Zion say and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. 41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! Verse 33. The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor] The threshing wheel is gone over her; she related, so now messengers, one after another, were Either Verse 34. Nebuchadrezzar-hath devoured me] These are the words of Judea; he has taken away all my riches. He hath cast me out.] He shall vomit all up; i. e., they shall be regained. Verse 32. That the passages are stopped] the bridges or slips for boats, by which the inhabitants passed from one side to the other, and may mean the Verse 35. The violence done to me-be upon Babyprincipal gates or passes in the city, which the victo-lon,—and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea] rious army would immediately seize, that they might Zion begins to speak, ver. 34, and ends with this prevent all communication between the inhabitants. verse. The answer of Jehovah begins with the next verse. Though the Chaldeans have been the instrument of God to punish the Jews, yet in return they, being themselves exceedingly wicked, shall suffer for all the carnage they have made, and for all the blood they have shed. Verse 36. I will dry up her sea] Exhaust all her treasures. The reeds they have burned with fire] What this means I cannot tell, unless it refer to something done after the taking of the city. Setting fire to the reeds in the marshy ground, in order the better to clear the places, and give a freer passage to the water, that it may neither stagnate nor turn the solid ground into a marsh. Dr. Blayney thinks it refers to the firing of the houses, in order to throw the inhabitants into the Verse 37. Without an inhabitant.] See chap. 1. 39. greater confusion; but no historian makes any men- Verse 39. In their heat I will make their feasts] tion of burning the city, except what is said ver. 30, It was on the night of a feast day, while their hearts "They have burned her dwelling places;" and this were heated with wine and revelry, that Babylon was may be a poetical expression. That they burnt no- taken; see Dan. v. 1-3. This feast was held in hothing before they took the city must be evident from nour of the goddess Sheshach, (or perhaps of Bel,) who the circumstance of their taking the city by surprise, is mentioned, ver. 41, as being taken with her worin the night time, with the greatest secrecy. Still shippers. As it was in the night the city was taken, there might have been some gates, barricadoes, or many had retired to rest, and never awoke; slain in wooden works, serving for barracks or such like, which their beds, they slept a perpetual sleep. obstructed some of the great passages, which, when they had entered, they were obliged to burn, in order to get themselves a ready passage through the city. This is the more likely because this burning of reeds is connected with the stopping of the passages, burning the dwelling places, and breaking the bars. 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. C 43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. 44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any moré unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear b for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that *I will do 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. 48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: m for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD. 49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. See Isa. viii. 7, 8. Chap. 1. 39, 40; ver. 29.- d Isa. xlvi. 1; chap. 1. 2. Ver. 58. Ver. 6; chap. 1. 8; Rev. xviii. 4. Or, let not.2 Kings xix. 7. Chap. 1. 2; ver. 52. Heb. visit upon.Isa. xliv. 23; xlix. 43; Rev. xviii. 20. Chap. 1. 3, 41. · of Babylon foretold A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. Tarquinii Prisci, 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. R. Roman., 22. 51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house. 52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan. 54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: 55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: 56 Because the spoiler is come upon her," even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: "for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely requite. 57 ▾ And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep at perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, Verse 42. The sea is come up] A multitude of foes Babylon] Its fall shall be a subject of universal have inundated the city. Verse 44. I will punish Bel in Babylon] Bel or Belus was their supreme deity. That which he hath swallowed up] The sacred vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, which were taken thence by Nebuchadnezzar, and dedicated to him in his temple at Babylon. The wall of Babylon shall fall.] It shall cease to be a defence; and shall moulder away until, in process of time, it shall not be discernible. Verse 45. My people, go ye out] A warning to all the Jews in Babylon to leave the city, and escape for their lives. Verse 46. A rumour shall-come one year] A year before the capture of the city there shall be a rumour of war,—and in that year Belshazzar was defeated by Cyrus. In the following year the city was taken. Verse 48. The heaven and the earth-shall sing for rejoicing. Verse 50. Ye that have escaped the sword] The Jews. Let Jerusalem come into your mind.] Pray for its restoration; and embrace the first opportunity offered of returning thither. Verse 51. Strangers are come into the sanctuaries] The lamentation of the pious Jews for the profanation of the temple by the Chaldeans. Verse 53. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven] Though it were fortified even to the skies, it shall fall by the enemies that I will send against it. Verse 55. The great voice] Its pride and insufferable boasting. Verse 56. The Lord God of recompenses] The fall of Babylon is an act of Divine justice; whatever it suffers, it is in consequence of its crimes. Verse 57. I will make drunk her princes] See on ver. 39. The message of Jeremiah A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. OI. XLVI. 2. Anno A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. Anno whose name is the LORD of 61 And 61 And Jeremiah said to hosts. Seraiah, When thou comest to Tarquinii Prisci, 58 Thus saith the LORD of Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., 22. hosts; The broad walls of read all these words; Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. 59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince. с 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. Or, The walls of broad Babylon.- -y Ver. 44.naked.- Hab. ii. 13. Or, on the behalf of. 62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates : 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Or, made of Menucha, or chief chamberlain. -d Chap. 1. 3, 39; ver. 29. Verse 58. The broad walls of Babylon] Herodotus, who saw these walls, says, “The city was a regular square, each side of which was one hundred and twenty stadia, the circumference four hundred and eighty-stadia. It was surrounded by a wall fifty cubits broad, and two hundred cubits high; and each side had twenty-five brazen gates."-Herod., lib. i. c. 178. Had not Cyrus resorted to stratagem, humanly speaking, he could not have taken this city. For the destruction of this wall and its very vestiges, see on Isa. xiii. 19. Verse 59. The word which Jeremiah] On account of the message sent by Jeremiah to the Jewish captives in Babylon. Verse 60. Wrote in a book] Whether this book contained any more than is recorded in this place we do not know; probably it contained no more than what is found in verses 62-64. A book, sepher, signifies, in Hebrew, any writing, great or small. Verse 64. Thus shall Babylon sink, &c.] This is the emblem of its overthrow and irretrievable ruin. See Rev. xviii. 21, where we find that this is an emblem of the total ruin of mystical Babyłam, | e from the walls. Harpagus having consented, they carried their wives, children, and their most valuable effects, aboard their ships; then, throwing a mass of iron into the sea, bound themselves by an oath never to return till that iron should rise to the top and swim. See Herodotus, lib. i. c. 165. Horace refers to this in his epode Ad Populum Romanum, Epode xvi. ver. 25 :— Sed juremus in hæc: simul imis saxa renarint "As the Phocæans oft for freedom bled, At length with imprecated curses fled." FRANCIS.' Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.] It appears that the following chapter is not the work of this prophet: it is not his style. The author of it writes Jehoiachin; Jeremiah writes him always Jeconiah, or Coniah. It is merely historical, and is very similar. to 2 Kings xxiv. 18-xxv. 30. The author, whoever he was, relates the capture of Jerusalem, the fate of Zedekiah, the pillage and burning of the city and the temple. He mentions also certain persons of distinction who were slain by the Chaldeans. He mentions the number of the captives that were carried to Babylon at three different times; and concludes with the deliverance of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon, in which he had been for thirty-seven years. is very likely that the whole chapter has been compiled from some chronicle of that time; or it was designed as a preface to the Book of the Lamentations; and would stand with great propriety before it, as it contains the facts on which that inimitable poem is built. Were it allowable, I would remove it to that Neewdows relates a similar action of the Phocans, who, having resolved to leave their country, and never *** to #agam, Midpur and way, xa endar pa spur as rev udpov Surtur glupolat "throw a mass of iron into the sea, and sword that they would never return to Phocæa till that tom mass should use and swim on the top." The atory to this. The Phocans, being besieged by Harpades, general of the Persians, demanded one day's truce to deliberato ou the propositions he had made to them relative to their surrendering their city; and beg- | god thut in the mean while he would take off his army place. 304 It Account of the siege CHAP. LII. and capture of Jerusalem. CHAPTER LII. This chapter was added after Jeremiah's time, probably by Ezra, after the return from the captivity, of which it gives a short account, nearly the same as in 2 Kings xxiv. 18-20, and xxv. It is very properly subjoined to the preceding prophecies, in order to show how exactly they were fulfilled. It likewise forms a proper introduction to the following Lamentations, as it gives an account of the mournful events which gave rise to them. Zedekiah's evil reign and rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, 1–3. Jerusalem is taken by the Chaldeans after a siege of eighteen months, 4–7. Zedekiah pursued and taken in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army dispersed, 8, 9. The king's sons and all the princes of Judah slain in Riblah, 10. Zedekiah has his eyes put out by order of the Chaldean monarch; and is afterward bound in chains, carried to Babylon, and imprisoned for life, 11. Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, burns and spoils the city and temple, 12-19. The two pillars of the temple, with their dimensions and ornaments, 20-23. The officers of the temple, and several others, carried away captives into Babylon, and then slain by order of Nebuchadnezzar, 24-27. The number of Jews that Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive in the seventh year of his reign, 28 ; in his eighteenth year, 29; and in his twenty-third year, 30. Evil-merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, in the year of his accession to the throne of Babylon, (which was in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity, and the one hundred and ninety-first from the building of Rome, according to the computation of Varro,) orders Jehoiachin to be taken out of prison, and treats him kindly for the remainder of his life, 31–34. A. M. 3406 -3416. B. C. 598 -588. Ol. XLV: 3- b A. M. 3416. B. C. 588. OI. XLVIII. 1. Anno ZEDEKIAH was one and the ninth day of the month, the twenty years old when he famine was sore in the city, so began to reign, and he reigned that there was no bread for the Tarquinii Prisci, eleven years in Jerusalem. And people of the land. his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.. 2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoi- akim had done. A. M. cir. 3411. 3 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, 4 And it came to pass in the A. M. 3414. B. C. 590. Ol. XLVII. 3. Anno ninth year of his reign, in the Tarquinii Prisci, tenth month, in the tenth day of R. Roman., 27. the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. A. M. 3414 -3416. 5 So the city was besieged unto B. C. 590-588. the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6 And in the fourth month, in Ol. XLVII. 3- 2 Kings xxiv. 18. R. Roman., 29. and all the 7 Then the city was broken up, men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about :) and they went by the way of the plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. 10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he and the king of put out the eyes of Zedekiah; Babylon bound him in chains, 2 Kings xxv. 1-27; Chap. xxxii. 4. Ezek. xii. 13.- Heb. blinded. b Heb. reigned.· NOTES ON CHAP. LII. fetters. Or, Verse 5. So the city was besieged] It held out one Verse 1. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old] year and six months. See 2 Kings xxiv. 18. Verse 2. And he did-evil] This and the following verse are the same as 2 Kings xxiv. 19. Verse 3. Through the anger of the Lord] Here is a king given to a people in God's anger, and taken away in his displeasure. Verse 6. And in the fourth month] See the notes nearly to our July. on chap. xxxix. 1, &c. The fourth month answers Verse 8. The army of the Chaldeans pursued] See on 2 Kings xxv. 5. Verse 9. King of Babylon to Riblah] See the note on chap. xxxix. 5. Verse 4. Ninth year tenth month] Answering Verse 11. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah] See nearly to our January. on chap. xxxix. 7. 13 And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 » Then Nebużar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. 16 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. 17 Also the r pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the "bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. m -n Heb. house of the wards. Zech. vii. 5; viii. 19. See ver. 29.- - Chap. xxxix. 9.- Or, chief marshal.- Heb. chief of the executioners, or slaughtermen; and so ver. 14, &c. o Heb. stood before. - Chap. xxxix. 8, 9.- - Chap. xxvii. 19, See 1 Kings vii. 15, 23, 27, 50.- Exod. xxvii. 3; 2 Kings xxv. 14, 15, 16. Or, instruments to remove the ashes. Verse 12. Now in the fifth month] Answering nearly to our August. Verse 13. And burned the house of the Lord] Thus perished this magnificent structure, after it had stood four hundred and twenty-four years three months and eight days. It was built A. M. 2992, and destroyed A. M. 3416. .. carried into captivity. in silver, took the captain of the guard away. A. M. 3416. B. C. 588. OI. XLVIII. 1. Anno R. Roman., 29. 20 The two pillars, one sea, and Tarquinii Prisci, twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had. made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without weight. W 21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. a 22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these. 23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were a hundred round about. 24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the 4 door: 25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. "Or, basins. Or, censers.w1 Kings vii. 47. Heb. their brass.-y 1 Kings vii. 15; 2 Kings xxv. 17; 2 Chron. iii. 15.2 Heb. thread. See I Kings vii. 20.b2 Kings xxv. 18. Chap. xxi. 1; xxix. 25.-d Heb. threshold. Heb. saw the face of the king.- Or, scribe of the captain of the host. g Lam. i. 3. Verse 17. Also the pillars] See on chap. xxvii. 19. Verses 18-23. In reference to these verses see the parallel texts in the margin, the various readings there, and the notes. Verse 24. The second priest] See the note on 2 Kings xxv. 18. The three keepers] The priests who stood at the Verse 15. Those that fell away] The deserters to door to receive the offerings of the people, see 2 Kings the Chaldeans during the siege. Verse 16. The poor of the land] See on chap. xxxix. 1. XX. 9, and xxiii. 4. Verse 25. Seven men-that were near the king's person] These were privy counsellors. |