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Texts -- Jeremiah 50:12-46 (NET)

Context
50:12 But Babylonia will be put to great shame . The land where you were born will be disgraced . Indeed , Babylonia will become the least important of all nations . It will become a dry and barren desert . 50:13 After I vent my wrath on it Babylon will be uninhabited . It will be totally desolate . All who pass by will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it. 50:14 “Take up your battle positions all around Babylon , all you soldiers who are armed with bows . Shoot all your arrows at her! Do not hold any back ! For she has sinned against the Lord . 50:15 Shout the battle cry from all around the city. She will throw up her hands in surrender. Her towers will fall . Her walls will be torn down . Because I, the Lord , am wreaking revenge , take out your vengeance on her ! Do to her as she has done ! 50:16 Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon . Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time . Let all the foreigners return to their own people . Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army . 50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep which lions have chased away . First the king of Assyria devoured them. Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones . 50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all , say : ‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria . 50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture . They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan . They will eat until they are full on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead . 50:20 When that time comes, no guilt will be found in Israel . No sin will be found in Judah . For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive . I, the Lord , affirm it!’” 50:21 The Lord says , “Attack the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod ! Pursue, kill , and completely destroy them! Do just as I have commanded you! 50:22 The noise of battle can be heard in the land of Babylonia. There is the sound of great destruction . 50:23 Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces. But see how that ‘hammer ’ has been broken and shattered! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations ! 50:24 I set a trap for you, Babylon ; you were caught before you knew it. You fought against me. So you were found and captured . 50:25 I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored . I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath . For I , the Lord God who rules over all , have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia . 50:26 Come from far away and attack Babylonia! Open up the places where she stores her grain ! Pile her up in ruins ! Destroy her completely! Do not leave anyone alive ! 50:27 Kill all her soldiers ! Let them be slaughtered ! They are doomed , for their day of reckoning has come , the time for them to be punished .” 50:28 Listen ! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon . They are coming to Zion to declare there how the Lord our God is getting revenge , getting revenge for what they have done to his temple . 50:29 “Call for archers to come against Babylon ! Summon against her all who draw the bow ! Set up camp all around the city! Do not allow anyone to escape ! Pay her back for what she has done . Do to her what she has done to others. For she has proudly defied me, the Holy One of Israel . 50:30 So her young men will fall in her city squares . All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time ,” says the Lord . 50:31 “Listen ! I am opposed to you, you proud city,” says the Lord God who rules over all . “Indeed , your day of reckoning has come , the time when I will punish you. 50:32 You will stumble and fall , you proud city; no one will help you get up . I will set fire to your towns ; it will burn up everything that surrounds you.” 50:33 The Lord who rules over all says , “The people of Israel are oppressed . So too are the people of Judah . All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners. They refuse to set them free . 50:34 But the one who will rescue them is strong . He is known as the Lord who rules over all . He will strongly champion their cause . As a result he will bring peace and rest to the earth , but trouble and turmoil to the people who inhabit Babylonia . 50:35 “Destructive forces will come against the Babylonians ,” says the Lord . “They will come against the people who inhabit Babylonia , against her leaders and her men of wisdom . 50:36 Destructive forces will come against her false prophets ; they will be shown to be fools ! Destructive forces will come against her soldiers ; they will be filled with terror ! 50:37 Destructive forces will come against her horses and her chariots . Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; they will be as frightened as women ! Destructive forces will come against her treasures ; they will be taken away as plunder ! 50:38 A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up . All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols . Her people act like madmen because of those idols they fear . 50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there. Ostriches will dwell in it too. But no people will ever live there again . No one will dwell there for all time to come. 50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns. No one will live there . No human being will settle in it,” says the Lord . 50:41 “Look ! An army is about to come from the north . A mighty nation and many kings are stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth . 50:42 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears . They are cruel and show no mercy . They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses . Lined up in formation like men going into battle , they are coming against you, fair Babylon ! 50:43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming . Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. 50:44 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose . For there is no one like me . There is no one who can call me to account . There is no ruler that can stand up against me. 50:45 So listen to what I, the Lord , have planned against Babylon , what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia . Their little ones will be dragged off . I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done. 50:46 The people of the earth will quake when they hear Babylon has been captured . Her cries of anguish will be heard by the other nations .”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • JEREMIAH (2)

    [isbe] JEREMIAH (2) - jer-e-mi'-a: 1. Name and Person 2. Life of Jeremiah 3. The Personal Character of Jeremiah 4. The Prophecies of Jeremiah 5. The Book of Jeremiah 6. Authenticity and Integrity of the Book 7. Relation to the Sept...

  • Babylon

    [nave] BABYLON City of Built by Nimrod, Gen. 10:10. In the land of Shinar, Gen. 10:10; 11:2. Tower of, Gen. 11:1-9. Capital of the kingdom of Babylon, Dan. 4:30; 2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 36:6, 7, 10, 18, 20. Gates of, Isa. 45:1, 2...

  • Exile

    [ebd] (1.) Of the kingdom of Israel. In the time of Pekah, Tiglath-pileser II. carried away captive into Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; comp. Isa. 10:5, 6) a part of the inhabitants of Galilee and of Gilead (B.C. 741). After the destruct...

  • Merathaim

    [ebd] double rebellion, probably a symbolical name given to Babylon (Jer. 50:21), denoting rebellion exceeding that of other nations.
    [isbe] MERATHAIM - mer-a-tha'-im (merathayim "double rebellion"): A name used for Babylon in Jer 50:21. According to Delitzsch it may be equivalent to the Babylonian Marratun, i.e. land by the nar Marratu, "the bitter river" (Persi...
    [smith] (double rebellion), The land of, alluding to the country of the Chaldeans, and to the double captivity which it had inflicted on the nation of Israel. (Jeremiah 50:21)
    [nave] MERATHAIM, probably a poetical name for Chaldea, Jer. 50:21.

  • Pekod

    [ebd] probably a place in Babylonia (Jer. 50:21; Ezek. 23:23). It is the opinion, however, of some that this word signifies "visitation," "punishment," and allegorically "designates Babylon as the city which was to be destroyed."
    [isbe] PEKOD - pe'-kod (peqodh): A name applied in Jer 50:21 and Ezek 23:23 to the Chaldeans. Various English Versions of the Bible (margins) in the former passage gives the meaning as "visitation."
    [smith] (visitation), an appellative applied to the Chaldeans. (Jeremiah 50:21; Ezekiel 23:23) Authorities are undecided as to the meaning of the term.
    [nave] PEKOD, name for Chaldea, Jer. 50:21; Ezek. 23:23.

  • ARMOR; ARMS

    [isbe] ARMOR; ARMS - ar'-mer, arms. I. ARMOR IN GENERAL--OLD TESTAMENT II. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT; POLYBIUS III. OFFENSIVE WEAPONS 1. Rod 2. Sling 3. Bow and Arrows 4. Spear--Javelin 5. Sword IV. DEFENSIVE WEAPONS 1. Shield 2. Helmet...

  • Hammer

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. pattish, used by gold-beaters (Isa. 41:7) and by quarry-men (Jer. 23:29). Metaphorically of Babylon (Jer. 50:23) or Nebuchadnezzar. (2.) Heb. makabah, a stone-cutter's mallet (1 Kings 6:7), or of any workman (Judg....
    [isbe] HAMMER - ham'-er: The Hebrew maqqebheth, occurs in Jdg 4:21, where it refers to the mallet (probably wooden) used to drive tent-pins into the ground. The same word occurs in 1 Ki 6:7; Isa 44:12; Jer 10:4 as applied to a work...
    [nave] HAMMER, 1 Kin. 6:7; Isa. 41:7; Jer. 10:4. Figurative Jer. 23:29; 50:23.

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Archer

    [ebd] a shooter with the bow (1 Chr. 10:3). This art was of high antiquity (Gen. 21:20; 27:3). Saul was wounded by the Philistine archers (1 Sam. 31:3). The phrase "breaking the bow" (Hos. 1:5; Jer. 49:35) is equivalent to taking ...

  • Carmel

    [ebd] a park; generally with the article, "the park." (1.) A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of some 12 miles or more. At ...
    [isbe] CARMEL - kar'-mel (karmel, or, with article, ha-karmel, "fruit garden"; Josephus, ho Karmelos, Karmelion oros): (1) A beautifully wooded mountain range running for about 13 miles in a south-easterly direction from the promon...
    [nave] CARMEL 1. A fertile and picturesque mountain in Palestine, Song 7:5; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18; 50:19; Amos 1:2. Forests of, 2 Kin. 19:23. Caves of, Amos 9:3; Mic. 7:14. An idolatrous high place upon; Elijah builds an a...

  • Sickle

    [ebd] of the Egyptians resembled that in modern use. The ears of corn were cut with it near the top of the straw. There was also a sickle used for warlike purposes, more correctly, however, called a pruning-hook (Deut. 16:9; Jer. ...
    [isbe] SICKLE - sik'-'l (chermesh (Dt 16:9; 23:25), maggal; compare Arabic minjal (Jer 50:16; Joel 3:13); drepanon (Mk 4:29; Rev 14:14-19)): Although the ancients pulled much of their grain by hand, we know that they also used sick...
    [nave] SICKLE, an agricultural implement used for cutting grain, Deut. 23:25; Jer. 50:16; Mark 4:29. Figurative Of the judgments of God, Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:14-19.

  • Owl

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. bath-haya'anah, "daughter of greediness" or of "shouting." In the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15); also mentioned in Job 30:29; Isa. 13:21; 34:13; 43:20; Jer. 50:39; Micah 1:8. In all these passages...
    [smith] A number of species of the owl are mentioned in the Bible, (Leviticus 11:17; 14:16; Isaiah 14:23; 34:15; Zephaniah 2:14) and in several other places the same Hebrew word is used where it is translated ostrich. (Job 30:29; Jer...
    [nave] OWL, a carnivorous bird. Unclean, Lev. 11:16, 17; Deut. 14:15, 16; Job 30:29; Isa. 13:21; 34:11, 13; 43:20; Jer. 50:39; Mic. 1:8.

  • Armory

    [isbe] ARMORY - ar'-mer-i: (1) ('otsar; thesauros): A storehouse (1 Ki 7:51; Neh 10:38), but employed figuratively of the stored-up anger of Yahweh which breaks forth in judgments (Jer 50:25). (2) (nesheq): Identical with Solomon's...
    [nave] ARMORY A place for the storage of armor, Neh. 3:19; Song 4:4; Isa. 22:8; 39:2. In different parts of the kingdom, 1 Kin. 10:17; 2 Chr. 11:12. See: Jerusalem. Figurative Jer. 50:25.

  • Infidelity

    [nave] INFIDELITY. Gen. 3:1 v. 4.; Ex. 5:2; Ex. 14:11 v. 12;; Ex. 16:3, 7; Num. 14:27-34; 16:41; 21:5. Ex. 17:7; Num. 15:30 v. 31.; Deut. 29:19, 20 v. 21.; Deut. 32:15; 1 Kin. 20:28; 1 Kin. 22:24; 2 Kin. 2:23 v. 24.; 2 Chr. 30:6, ...

  • Lion

    [nave] LION King of beasts, Mic. 5:8. Fierceness of, Job 4:10; 28:8; Psa. 7:2; Prov. 22:13; Jer. 2:15; 49:19; 50:44; Hos. 13:8. The roaring of, Psa. 22:13; Prov. 20:2. Strength of, Prov. 30:30; Isa. 38:13; Joel 1:6. Instincts o...

  • ARCHERY

    [isbe] ARCHERY - ar'-cher-i: (1) The art of using the arcus, or bow and arrow for hunting and in battle is of great antiquity. It is mentioned in Gen 21:20, as well as in the Iliad and the Odyssey, and depicted on Egyptian monument...

  • Sin

    [nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...

  • Bashan

    [ebd] light soil, first mentioned in Gen. 14:5, where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Pro...
    [nave] BASHAN A region E. of the Jordan and N. of Arnon, Gen. 14:5. Og, king of, Josh. 13:12. Allotted to the two and one half tribes, which had their possession E. of the Jordan, Num. 32:33; Deut. 3:10-14; Josh. 12:4-6; 13:29-31...

  • Remnant

    [nave] REMNANT Gen. 45:7; Deut. 3:11; 2 Kin. 19:4, 30, 31; 21:14; 2 Chr. 34:9, 21; 36:20; Ezra 9:8, 13, 14, 15; Neh. 1:2; Isa. 10:20, 21; 11:11, 16; 17:3; 28:5; 37:4, 31, 32; Jer. 6:9; 11:23; 23:3; 31:7; 40:11, 15; 42:2, 15, 19; 43...

  • Pride

    [nave] PRIDE. Ex. 18:10, 11; Lev. 26:19; Deut. 8:11-14, 17-20; Judg. 9:14, 15; 1 Sam. 2:3-5; 1 Kin. 20:11; 2 Kin. 14:9, 10 2 Chr. 25:18, 19. Job 11:12; Job 12:2, 3; Job 13:2, 5; Job 15:1-13; Job 18:3, 4; Job 21:31, 32; Job 32:9-13...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Ruth carried out Naomi's instructions exactly, further demonstrating her loyal love to her mother-in-law, and encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (vv. 6-9)."Note that the threshingfloor was a public place an...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. God and Marriage. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980.Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poe...
  • The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle"or "burden,"prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.140These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's ...
  • This section of Isaiah on "The Lord's redemption of His servant [Israel]"(44:23-47:15) has included an announcement of redemption (44:23-28), the identification of the instrument of redemption, Cyrus (45:1-13), and a reminder...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • The Book of Jeremiah is not theologically organized in the sense that it develops a certain theological emphasis as it unfolds, as Isaiah does. Rather it presents certain theological truths in greater or lesser degree through...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents that comprise this part of the book deals with Jeremiah's ministry to his own people.64The second main division of the book contains oracles against fore...
  • This pericope contains one of Jeremiah's "confessions,"a self-revelation of the prophet's own struggles to cope with God's actions (cf. 10:23-24; 15:10-12, 15-21; 17:9-11, 14-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18).219The heart of this on...
  • This prophecy about Israel's neighbors anticipates chapters 46-51, which contain oracles against Gentile nations.12:14 The Lord promised to judge Judah's neighbor nations that had robbed His people of what the Lord had given ...
  • 33:1 Jeremiah received another message from the Lord while he was still confined in the court of the guard (cf. 32:2).33:2 The Lord introduced Himself as the Creator and Establisher of the earth (cf. 32:17; Gen. 1). This was ...
  • This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
  • The Edomites lived to the southeast of Judah, south of Moab. The Zered River was their northern border, the Gulf of Aqabah (about 100 miles to the south) the southern, the Arabah the western, and the desert the eastern border...
  • Jeremiah wrote almost as much about Babylon's future as he did about the futures of all the other nations in his other oracles combined. The length of this oracle reflects the great importance of Babylon in his ministry as we...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • 21:1-2 Again the Lord told His prophet to speak a message of judgment against Jerusalem, the pagan sanctuaries, and the whole land of Israel (i.e., Judah). This would be a clarification of the figures used in the previous par...
  • Four messages announce God's judgment on Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness (vv. 22-27, 28-31, 32-34, 35).23:22-24 Because of her behavior the Lord promised to turn Oholibah's soldier-lovers against her, even the Babylonians, C...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • An oracle is a message of judgment. Amos proceeded to deliver eight of these, seven against Israel's neighbors including Judah (1:3-2:5) and one against Israel (2:6-6:14).12The order is significant. The nations mentioned firs...
  • 4:1 Amos opened this second message as he did the first (ch. 3), with the cry, "Hear this word."He addressed the wealthy women of Samaria, calling them "cows of Bashan."Bashan was a very luxuriant region of Transjordan east a...
  • 4:6 The Lord had brought famine throughout the land to warn His people about their disobedience and His displeasure, but this judgment did not move them to repent (cf. 1 Kings 8:37). Famine was one of the curses that God said...
  • The second description of Nineveh's fall is more philosophical than the first one and ends with a statement by Yahweh that gives the reason for its fall (v. 13).2:8 Nineveh had been as placid as the waters around the city for...
  • This section, evidently another message that Nahum delivered concerning Nineveh's fall, begins by comparing it to the fall of another great city. Nahum proceeded to use many figures of speech to describe how various segments ...
  • 2:13 Zephaniah also prophesied the destruction of Assyria to Judah's north (really northeast) and her capital Nineveh (cf. Isa. 13:1-14:27; 21:1-10; Jer. 50-51). Since Nineveh fell to the combined forces of Babylonia, Media, ...
  • "The full fate of Israel is not recounted in the rejection of the good Shepherd God raised up to tend them. The complete tale of woe centers in their acceptance of the bad shepherd God will raise up to destroy them. The one d...
  • 3:17-18 If Peter's charges against his hearers were harsh (vv. 13-15), his concession that they acted out of ignorance was tender. Peter undoubtedly hoped that his gentle approach would win a reversal of his hearers' attitude...
  • The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...
  • 16:17 This final judgment has the greatest impact of all since the air into which the angel pours his bowl is what humans breathe.535The loud voice is probably once again God's since it comes from the throne in the heavenly t...
  • 17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the wom...
  • 18:1 John next saw another scene on earth (Gr. Meta tauta eidon, "After these things I saw,"cf. 4:1). Another angel of the same kind as in 17:1 (i.e., one who descends from heaven to fulfill a special mission; cf. 10:1; 20:1)...
  • 18:4 Another voice from heaven instructed God's people to separate themselves from the system that the city symbolizes so they would avoid getting caught in her judgment. The being speaking is evidently an angel who speaks fo...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of Hosts is His name: He shall thoroughly plead their cause.'--Jer 50:34.AMONG the remarkable provisions of the Mosaic law there were some very peculiar ones affecting the next-of-kin. The n...
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