Jeremiah 51:19
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The portion of Jacob [is] not like them; for he [is] the former of all things: and [Israel is] the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts [is] his name. [See comments on Jeremiah 10:16].
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Jeremiah 51:20
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thou [art] my battle axe [and] weapons of war,.... This is said by the Lord, either to Cyrus, as some, to which our version inclines, whom God made use of as an instrument to subdue nations and kingdoms, and destroy them; see Isaiah 45:1; or rather Babylon, and the king of it, who had been the hammer of the earth, Jeremiah 50:23; as it may be...
Jeremiah 51:21
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider,.... Or, "have broken": meaning the cavalry of an army, wherein lies its chief strength: and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; which were also used in war.
Jeremiah 51:22
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And with thee also will I break in pieces man and woman,.... Or, "have broken"; having no respect to any sex, and to the propagation of posterity: and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; not sparing men of any age, however useful they might be, the one for their wisdom, the other for their strength: and with thee will I break in pieces...
Jeremiah 51:23
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock,.... Or, have broken; which Abarbinel thinks respects the Arabians particularly, who were shepherds, and dwelt in tents; but it rather signifies shepherds and their flocks in general; who were killed or scattered wherever his armies came, which spared none, even the most innocent...
Jeremiah 51:24
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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,...
Jeremiah 51:25
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth,.... Babylon is called a mountain, though situated in a plain, because of its high walls, lofty towers, and hanging gardens, which made it look at a distance like a high mountain, as Lebanon, and others: or because it was a strong fortified city; so...
Jeremiah 51:26
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations,.... Signifying that it should be so utterly consumed by fire, that there should not be a stone left fit to be put into any new building, especially to be a corner or a foundation stone. The Targum understands it figuratively, "and they shall not take of thee a king...
Jeremiah 51:27
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Set ye up a standard in the land,.... Not in Chaldea, but rather in any land; or in all the countries which belonged to Media and Persia; where Cyrus's standard is ordered to be set up, to gather soldiers together, and enlist in his service, in order to go with him in his expedition against Babylon: blow the trumpet among the nations; for the same...
Jeremiah 51:28
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Prepare against her the nations, with the kings of the Medes,.... At the head of them, Darius and Cyrus. The Syriac version has it in the singular number, the king of the Modes: the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominions; that is, the inhabitants of it, the common people, with their princes, nobles,...
Jeremiah 51:29
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the land shall tremble and sorrow,.... The land of Chaldea, the inhabitants of it, should tremble, when they heard of this powerful army invading their land, and besieging their metropolis; and should sorrow, and be in pain as a woman in travail, as the word (f) signifies: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon; or,...
Jeremiah 51:30
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight,.... Or, "ceased from fighting" (h) for it seems, upon Cyrus's first coming, the king of Babylon and his army gave him battle; but being overthrown, they retired to the city (i), and dared never fight more: they have remained in [their] holds; in the towers and fortresses of Babylon, never daring to...
Jeremiah 51:31
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another,.... That is, one post should be after another, and one messenger after another, post upon post, and messenger upon messenger, as fast as they could run; when one had been with his message, and delivered it, and returned, he meets another; or they met one another, coming from...
Jeremiah 51:32
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And that the passages are stopped,.... Or "taken", or "seized" (o); where Cyrus placed soldiers to keep them; these were the passages leading from the river Euphrates to the city, the keys of it; the little gates, that Herodotus (p) speaks of, leading to the river, which were left open that night. Kimchi thinks the towers built by the river side,...
Jeremiah 51:33
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... "The Lord of hosts", the Lord God omnipotent, and can do all things; "the God of Israel", and therefore will plead their cause, and take vengeance on Babylon: the daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshing floor; on which the nations of the earth had been threshed, or punished and destroyed;...
Jeremiah 51:34
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me,.... Or "us" (w); everyone of us: these are the words of Zion and Jerusalem, as appears from Jeremiah 51:35; complaining of the injuries done them by the king of Babylon, who had eaten them up; spoiled their substance, as the Targum; took their cities, plundered them of their riches, and carried...
Jeremiah 51:35
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The violence done to me, and to my flesh, [be] upon Babylon,.... That is, let the injuries done to Zion and her children, be avenged on Babylon; the hurt done to their persons and families, and the spoiling of their goods, and destruction of their cities, houses, and substance: shall the inhabitant of Zion say; by way of imprecation: and my blood...
Jeremiah 51:36
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore thus saith the Lord,.... In answer to the prayers of the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem, imprecating divine vengeance on Babylon: behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; not by words only, but by deeds, inflicting punishment on their enemies: and I will dry up her sea; the confluence of waters about Babylon; the...
Jeremiah 51:37
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Babylon shall become heaps,.... The houses should be demolished, and the stones lie in heaps one upon another, and become mere rubbish: a dwelling place for dragons; and other wild and savage creatures. Dragons, as Aelianus (a) observes, love to live in desert places, and such now Babylon is; it lies in ruins; and even its palace is so full of...
Jeremiah 51:38
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They shall roar together like lions,.... Some understand this of the Medes and Persians, and the shouts they made at the attacking and taking of Babylon; but this does not so well agree with that, which seems to have been done in a secret and silent manner; rather according to the context the Chaldeans are meant, who are represented as roaring,...