31. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD, of hosts:
JOHN CALVIN
God himself; for the verb here used denotes a sin different from that which happens through levity or want of thought. When any one sins inconsiderately, he is said to have erred; but when one sins knowingly, it is a deliberate wickedness, and he is said to be proud; and this we learn from Psalm 19:12; for David there sets pride in opposition to errors:
he says, ``who can understand?''
and then he asks God to cleanse him from all pride. David indeed had not designedly raised his horns against God, but he yet feared lest the wantonness of the flesh should lead him to pride. When, therefore, the Prophet now says that the
Chaldeans had acted proudly towards God, it is the same as though he accused them of sacrilegious pride, even that they designed to be insolent towards God himself, and not only cruel to his people.
But an explanation follows, against the Holy One of Israel The Babylonians might have raised an objection, and said, that it was not their purpose to act proudly towards God. But the Prophet here brings forward the word Israel, as though he had said, ``If there be a God in heaven, our religion is true; then God's name dwells with us. Since, then, the Babylonians have basely oppressed the people whom God has chosen, it follows that they have been sacrilegious towards him.'' And he meant the same thing when he said before, the vengeance of Jehovah our God Why did he add, our God? that the Jews might know that whatever wrongs they had suffered, they reached God himself, as though he were hurt in his own person. So also in this place the Prophet takes away from the Babylonians all means of evasion when he says, that they had acted proudly towards the Holy One of Israel When, therefore, the ungodly seek evasions and say that they do not contend with God, their pretenses are disproved, when they carry on war with his Church, and fight, against his faithful people, whose safety he has undertaken to defend. For God cannot be otherwise the protector of his Church than by setting himself up as a shield in its defense whenever he sees his people unjustly attacked by the reprobate. It follows, ---
Jeremiah 50:30
30. Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD.
30. Propterea cadent electi ejus (vel, adolescentes,) in plateis ejus, et omnes viri militiae ejus (hoc est, omnes viri bellicosi) redigentur ad silentium (alii vertunt, compescentur; nam {}דמםsignificat utrumque) in die illo, dicit Jehova.
He confirms the same thing, and shows that the destruction of Babylon would be such, that everything valuable would be destroyed. Fall, he says, shall her strong men in the streets; which is worse than if he had said, ``They shall fall in battle.''
Babylon was so taken that all her armed men were slain in the middle of the city.
Cyrus indeed spared, as it has been already said, the common people; but he slew all the chief men and the armed soldiers. As the Babylonians were taken while keeping a feast, as we read in Daniel, hence Jeremiah mentions the streets. He afterwards adds, ---
Jeremiah 50:31
31. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD, of hosts: