Jeremiahchapter 50
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Speaks with:Jeremiah 51×18Jeremiah 49×8Jeremiah 50×8Isaiah 13×6Jeremiah 31×3Revelation 18×3
Summary
Chapter summary
Two chapters against Babylon begin: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed.' A nation out of the north comes up against her, and none shall dwell there. In the same breath, Israel's homecoming: 'My people hath been lost sheep,' their shepherds having turned them aside on the mountains. 'In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together,' weeping as they go, asking the way to Zion, joining themselves to Jehovah 'in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.' Their sin will be sought and not found. Flee out of the midst of Babylon: 'their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name.'
Context
Prophecy · Jeremiah — Jeremiah overview
- A. 1–10 Babylon Taken: Bel Confounded, Merodach Dismayed
- B. 11–20 Lost Sheep and the Shepherds Who Led Them Astray
- C. 21–32 Go Up Against Merathaim and Pekod: the Proud One Stumbles
- D. 33–46 Their Redeemer Is Strong; a People Out of the North
The outline
A.Babylon Taken: Bel Confounded, Merodach Dismayedvv. 1 to 10
Read vv. 1 to 10 →B.Lost Sheep and the Shepherds Who Led Them Astrayvv. 11 to 20
Read vv. 11 to 20 →C.Go Up Against Merathaim and Pekod: the Proud One Stumblesvv. 21 to 32
Read vv. 21 to 32 →D.Their Redeemer Is Strong; a People Out of the Northvv. 33 to 46
Read vv. 33 to 46 →
The world behind this chapter
Jeremiah 50The history
Babylon in this era was the largest city in the world — massive double walls, the Euphrates running through the middle of it, the processional way and the Ishtar Gate faced in glazed blue brick, the great stepped tower, and a calendar of festivals in which the images of the gods were carried through the streets.
The two gods named are the ones a resident would name. Bel, meaning lord, and Marduk — here written Merodach — are titles of Babylon's chief deity, whose statue was central to the New Year festival. The chapter says Bel is put to shame and her images are dismayed.
The military picture is accurate to how the fall would come. A nation out of the north, an assembly of great nations, comes against her; the archers are told to draw the bow and spare no arrows. Babylon herself is called the hammer of the whole earth, now to be broken, and the golden cup that made the earth drunk.
Running through the chapter is the counter-theme: my people have been lost sheep, their shepherds led them astray, and now they are told to flee out of Babylon, to go home weeping and seeking the LORD, and to join themselves in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
What it meant to them
For exiles the practical value of this chapter was that Babylon had an expiry date. They had been told to build houses and settle down; they were also told the empire was not permanent.
The moral logic is stated plainly. Babylon was God's instrument, and Babylon is still held accountable for how it behaved — because it rejoiced and grew fat while plundering God's heritage. Being used by God is not the same as being approved by him.
Sources cited
- Herodotus, The Histories
- Walton, Matthews and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Jeremiah 50. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.