SEARCH THE 1611 KJV (Advanced)
Viewing the original 1611 KJV with archaic English spelling.
Click to switch to the Standard KJV.
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon, and against the land of the Caldeans by Ieremiah the Prophet.
2 Declare yee among the nations, and publish, and set vp a standart, publish and conceale not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, her idols are confounded, her Images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the North there commeth vp a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remoue, they shall depart both man and beast.
4 ¶ In those daies, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they, and the children of Iudah together, going and weeping: they shall goe, and seeke the Lord their God.
5 They shall aske the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let vs ioyne our selues to the Lord, in a perpetuall Couenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people hath bene lost sheepe: their shepheards haue caused them to goe astray, they haue turned them away on the mountaines: they haue gone from mountaine to hill, they haue forgotten their resting place.
7 All that found them haue deuoured them, and their aduersaries said, We offend not, because they haue sinned against the Lord, the habitation of iustice, euen the Lord, the hope of their fathers.
8 Remoue out of the midst of Babylon, and goe foorth out of the land of the Caldeans, and be as the hee goats before the flocks.
9 ¶ For loe, I will raise and cause to come vp against Babylon, an assembly of great nations from the North countrey, and they shall set themselues in aray against her, from thence shee shalbe taken: their arrowes shalbe as of a mightie expert man: none shall returne in vaine.
10 And Caldea shall bee a spoile: all that spoile her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.
11 Because ye were glad, because yee reioyced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are growen fat, as the heifer at grasse, and bellow as bulles:
12 Your mother shalbe sore confounded, she that bare you shalbe ashamed: beholde, the hindermost of the nations shalbe a wildernes, a dry land, & a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord, it shall not be inhabited, but it shalbe wholly desolate: euery one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hisse at all her plagues.
14 Put your selues in aray against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her; spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the Lord,
15 Shout against her round about: shee hath giuen her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are throwen downe: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance vpon her; as she hath done, doe vnto her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of haruest: for feare of the oppressing sword, they shall turne euery one to his people, and they shall flee euery one to his owne lande.
17 ¶ Israel is a scattered sheepe, the lyons haue driuen him away: first the king of Assyria hath deuoured him, and last this Nebuchad-rezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I haue punished the king of Assyria.
19 And I will bring Israel againe to his habitation, and he shal feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soule shall be satisfied vpon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those dayes, and in that time, sayth the Lord, the iniquitie of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sinnes of Iudah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserue.
21 ¶ Goe vp against the land of Merathaim, euen against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and vtterly destroy after them, sayeth the Lord, and doe according to all that I haue commanded thee.
22 A sound of battell is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken? how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations?
24 I haue laide a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found and also caught, because thou hast striuen against the Lord.
25 The Lord hath opened his armorie, and hath brought foorth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the worke of the Lord God of hosts, in the land of the Caldeans.
26 Come against her from the vtmost border, open her store-houses: cast her vp as heapes, and destroy her vtterly: let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks: let them goe downe to the slaughter: woe vnto them, for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
28 The voice of them that flee & escape out of the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his Temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all yee that bend the bow, campe against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her worke; according to all that shee hath done vnto her: for shee hath bene proud against the Lord, against the Holy one of Israel.
30 Therefore shall her yong men fall in the streets, & all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, sayth the Lord God of hostes: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the most proude shall stumble and fall, and none shal raise him vp: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall deuoure all round about him.
33 ¶ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Iudah were oppressed together, and all that tooke them captiues, held them fast, they refused to let them goe.
34 Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his Name, he shall throughly pleade their cause, that hee may giue rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 ¶ A sword is vpon the Caldeans, saith the Lord, and vpon the inhabitants of Babylon, and vpon her princes, and vpon her wise men.
36 A sword is vpon the lyers, and they shall dote: a sword is vpon her mighty men, and they shalbe dismayed.
37 A sword is vpon their horses, and vpon their charets, and vpon all the mingled people that are in the middest of her, and they shall become as women: a sword is vpon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is vpon her waters, and they shalbe dried vp: for it is the land of grauen images, and they are madde vpon their idoles.
39 Therefore the wilde beasts of the desert with the wilde beastes of the Ilands shall dwel there, and the owles shall dwell therein: & it shalbe no more inhabited for euer: neither shall it bee dwelt in frō generation to generation.
40 As God ouerthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbour cities thereof, sayth the Lord: so shall no man abide there, neither shal any sonne of man dwell therein.
41 Behold, a people shall come from the North, and a great nation, and many kings shall bee raised vp from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall holde the bow and the lance: they are cruell and will not shewe mercy: their voice shall roare like the sea, and they shall ride vpon horses, euery one put in aray like a man to the battell, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble; anguish tooke hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in trauell.
44 Behold, he shall come vp like a lyon from the swelling of Iordan, vnto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly runne away from her: and who is a chosen man that I may appoint ouer her? for who is like me, and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepheard that will stand before me?
45 Therefore heare yee the counsell of the Lord that hee hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes that he hath purposed against the land of the Caldeans: surely the least of the flocke shall drawe them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moued, and the cry is heard among the nations.
The ruin of Babylon. (1-3,8-16,21-32,35-46;) The redemption of God's people. (4-7,17-20,33,34)1-7 The king of Babylon was kind to Jeremiah, yet the prophet must foretell the ruin of that kingdom. If our friends are God's enemies, we dare not speak peace to them. The destruction of Babylon is spoken of as done thoroughly. Here is a word for the comfort of the Jews. They shall return to their God first, then to their own land; the promise of their conversion and reformation makes way for the other promises. Their tears flow not from the sorrow of the world, as when they went into captivity, but from godly sorrow. They shall seek after the Lord as their God, and have no more to do with idols. They shall think of returning to their own country. This represents the return of poor souls to God. In true converts there are sincere desires to attain the end, and constant cares to keep in the way. Their present case is lamented as very sad. The sins of professing Christians never will excuse those who rejoice in destroying them.
8-20 The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put again into good pasture. All who return to God and their duty, shall find satisfaction of soul in so doing. Deliverances out of trouble are comforts indeed, when fruits of the forgiveness of sin.
21-32 The forces are mustered and empowered to destroy Babylon. Let them do what God demands, and they shall bring to pass what he threatens. The pride of men's hearts sets God against them, and ripens them apace for ruin. Babylon's pride must be her ruin; she has been proud against the Holy One of Israel; who can keep those up whom God will throw down?
33-46 It is Israel's comfort in distress, that, though they are weak, their Redeemer is strong. This may be applied to believers, who complain of the dominion of sin and corruption, and of their own weakness and manifold infirmities. Their Redeemer is able to keep what they commit to him; and sin shall not have dominion over them. He will give them that rest which remains for the people of God. Also here is Babylon's sin, and their punishment. The sins are, idolatry and persecution. He that will not save his people in their sins, never will countenance the wickedness of his open enemies. The judgments of God for these sins will lay them waste. In the judgments denounced against prosperous Babylon, and the mercies promised to afflicted Israel, we learn to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.