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The Babylonian Captivity Foretold

25

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah (that was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon), 2which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to this day, the word of the L ord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. 4And though the L ord persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear 5when they said, “Turn now, every one of you, from your evil way and wicked doings, and you will remain upon the land that the L ord has given to you and your ancestors from of old and forever; 6do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.” 7Yet you did not listen to me, says the L ord, and so you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

8 Therefore thus says the L ord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the L ord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an object of horror and of hissing, and an everlasting disgrace. 10And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the L ord, making the land an everlasting waste. 13I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.

The Cup of God’s Wrath

15 For thus the L ord, the God of Israel, said to me: Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.

17 So I took the cup from the L ord’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the L ord sent me drink it: 18Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20all the mixed people; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaven temples; 24all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoples that live in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Sheshach shall drink.

27 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the L ord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, get drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.

28 And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them: Thus says the L ord of hosts: You must drink! 29See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the L ord of hosts.

30 You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

The L ord will roar from on high,

and from his holy habitation utter his voice;

he will roar mightily against his fold,

and shout, like those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31

The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,

for the L ord has an indictment against the nations;

he is entering into judgment with all flesh,

and the guilty he will put to the sword,

says the L ord.

 

32

Thus says the L ord of hosts:

See, disaster is spreading

from nation to nation,

and a great tempest is stirring

from the farthest parts of the earth!

33 Those slain by the L ord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.

34

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;

roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,

for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions,

and you shall fall like a choice vessel.

35

Flight shall fail the shepherds,

and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.

36

Hark! the cry of the shepherds,

and the wail of the lords of the flock!

For the L ord is despoiling their pasture,

37

and the peaceful folds are devastated,

because of the fierce anger of the L ord.

38

Like a lion he has left his covert;

for their land has become a waste

because of the cruel sword,

and because of his fierce anger.

 


Here follows a denunciation of punishment; the Prophet says that God would no longer deal in words, for their iniquity had ripened, according to what is in Genesis,

“My Spirit shall not contend (or strive) any more with man.” (Genesis 6:3.)

When God prepares to execute vengeance on the wickedness of men, he says that there is no more time for contending. A sudden execution of judgment is then what is here intended; but he mentions at the same time the punishment. After having explained the cause of so much severity, even because they would not hear the words of God, he adds, Behold, I will send for and take all the families of the north, etc. I have no doubt but that the Prophet alludes to the edicts of kings, for when they wish to raise an army they publish their edicts, and order those everywhere to meet who have either given their names or been enlisted as soldiers. So God now by these words intimates that the Chaldeans were under his power, so that they were ready, as soon as he gave them a signal; according to other modes of speaking he uses in other places, but in the same sense, “I will hiss,” and also, “I will send an alarm.” The Scripture is full of expressions of this kind, which shew that all mortals are prepared to obey God whenever he intends to employ their services; not that it is their purpose to serve God, but that he by a secret influence so rules them and their tongues, their minds and hearts, their hands and their feet, that they are constrained, willing or unwilling, to do his will and pleasure. And in the same sense he calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant, for that cruel tyrant never meant to offer his service to God; but God employed him as his instrument, as though he had been hired by him. And we shall see also elsewhere that he is called God’s servant.

And it ought to be noticed, for we hence learn the fact, that many are God’s servants who are yet wholly unworthy of so honorable a title; but they are not so called with respect to themselves. Nebuchadnezzar thought that he was making war with the God of Israel when he invaded Judea; and only ambition, and avarice, and cruelty impelled him to undertake so many wars. When, therefore, we think of him, of his designs and his projects, we cannot say that he was God’s servant; but this is to be referred to God only, who governs by his hidden and incomprehensible power both the devil and the ungodly, so that they execute, though unwittingly, whatever he determines. There is a great difference between these and God’s servants, who, when anything is commanded them, seek to render that obedience which they ought — all such are faithful servants. They are, then, justly called God’s servants, for there is a mutual concord between God and them: God commands, and they obey. But it is a mutilated and a half service when the ungodly are led beyond the purpose of their own minds, and God uses them as instruments when they think of and design another thing.

It must at the same time be noticed that this name of servant is given, though in an inferior sense, to Nebuchadnezzar for the sake of honor, in order that the Jews might be made ashamed; for it was a great reproach to them that a heathen had been chosen by God, and had obtained the title of a servant, when they themselves had become aliens. The Prophet then, no doubt, intended to cast reproach on them by raising to this dignity the king of Babylon. There was also another reason, even that the Jews might know that whatever they were to suffer would be inflicted by God’s hand, and that they might not otherwise think of Nebuchadnezzar than as God’s scourge, in order that they might thus be led to confess their sins and be really humbled. We now perceive the meaning of the words.

He says afterwards, I will bring them on this land and on all its inhabitants, etc By these words he confirms what I have just referred to, that God had his vengeance ready as soon as he purposed to treat the Jews as they deserved. As he had then said that Nebuchadnezzar and all the people of the north were prepared by him as hired soldiers, so he now adds that victory was in his power — I will bring them, he says, over the land and over all the neighboring nations which are around 129129     “Over or on the land,” etc., rather than “against;” for it is literally, “I will cause them to come over this land,” etc. So is the Vulg. — Ed. Why the Prophet denounces punishment here on other nations we shall see elsewhere. The Jews, in addition to other vain confidences, were wont to flatter themselves with this, that if Nebuchadnezzar should invade the territories of others, all would unite together against him, and that by such a confederacy they could easily overcome him. As, then, the Jews looked to all parts, and knew that the Egyptians were in alliance with them, and were also persuaded that the Moabites, the Tyrians, the Syrians, and all the rest would become confederates, they became confident, and indulged in that security by which they deceived themselves. This, therefore, is the reason why the Prophet expressly threatens the nations by which they were surrounded, not for the sake of these nations, but that the Jews might cease to entertain their vain confidence.

God says that he would make all nations, as well as the Jews, an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations He intimates that it would be a dreadful calamity, such as would astonish all that heard of it. As it is said elsewhere, “The report alone will excite alarm;” so in this place, I will make them for an astonishment When a moderate calamity is related to us, we are indeed moved to pity; but when the greatness of the evil exceeds belief, we then stand amazed, and all our senses are stunned. The Prophet then means that the calamity which God would bring on the Jews would be, as it were, monstrous, such as would stupify all that would hear of it. 130130     The three words are by the Sept. and Arab. rendered “extinction — hissing — perpetual reproach;” by the Vulg., “astonishment — hissing — perpetual solitudes;” by the Targ., “waste — astonishment — perpetual desolations;” and by the Syr., “astonishment — hissing — waste for ever.” The first word, שמה, means first, waste or desolation, and then what waste occasions, wonder or astonishment. It evidently means the latter here, as desolation is expressed by the last word; it is so rendered by the Vulg. the Syr., and in our version and by Blayney and others. The two words are again found together in the eleventh verse. Here the order, as often is the case, is inverted; the effect is first mentioned, then the cause: the cause of astonishment and hissing would be the desolations. — Ed

At last he adds, that they would be for perpetual desolations He does afterwards, indeed, mitigate the severity of these words; for he confines God’s vengeance to seventy years. But this mode of speaking is common in Scripture; for, עולם, oulam stands opposed to a short time. It is to be taken in different senses, according to the circumstances of the passage. It sometimes designates perpetuity, as when the Prophet says, from age to age, that is, through continued ages, or through a course of years, which shall last perpetually. But age, or עולם, oulam, is often to be taken for the time allotted to the people until the coming of Christ; and sometimes it means simply a long time, as here and in many other places. It follows, —


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