people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon
JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS men, they shall be infatuated, he says. The verb {,}יאלial, means indeed to begin, but in Niphal it means to become foolish, or to be infatuated. 433
Then he says, The sword shall be on her valiant men; whom before he called chief men or princes, {,}שריםsherim, he now calls strong, {,}גבריםgeberim, or those who excelled in valor. The amount of the whole is, --- that whatever wisdom Babylon arrogated to itself would become folly, and that the valor in which it prided, would vanish away. For he says, that they would be broken in pieces The verb {,}חתת chetat, means to be broken, but as we have elsewhere seen, it is often applied to the mind, and then it means to dread, or to be terrified. He then says, that the valiant would not be able to stand when the sword was upon them, for they would become, as it were, lifeless, or, at least, they would become so effeminate as to think of nothing but flight.
Jeremiah 50:37
37. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.
37. Gladins super equos ejus, et super currus ejus, et super multitudinem ejus
(aut, vulgus promiscuum; {}ערבsignificat examen animalium sicuti apum, et transfertur etiam ad homines, et tunc accipitur pro vulgo ignobili; super multitudinem ergo,) quae est in medio ejus; erunt in mulieres (hoc est, erunt similes mulieribus;) gladius super thesauros ejus, et spoliabuntur (expositi erunt in praedam.)
The Prophet, indeed, changes the gender of the pronouns, and seems to refer to the king; but there is no ambiguity in the meaning, he then declares that the horses as well as the chariots would perish; for the sword would consume all the things used in war. And at the beginning he generally declared that destruction was nigh all the
Chaldeans, so he repeats the same now, on all the promiscuous multitude, which is in the midst of Babylon. He says that they would be without courage, for the Lord would dishearten them by terror, as it will be hereafter stated again. Then he joins, and on her treasures, and they shall be a prey to enemies. It follows, ---
Jeremiah 50:38
38. A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
38. Siccitas super aquas ejus et arescent; quia terra sculptilium est, et iis idolis
(proprie, in terroribus, vel, terriculamentis) gloriantur (vel, insaniunt.)
Here the same word is used in a different sense: he had often before used the word
but now by changing only a point, he uses it in the sense of waste, or drought. 434 But as he mentions waters, the Prophet, no doubt, means drought; nor was it without reason that he mentioned this, because the Euphrates, as it is well known, flowed near the city, and it was also divided into many streams, so that there were many islands, as it were, made by the skill and hand of men.
433Events would prove, that they were foolish and ignorant, being not able to foretell the ruin of their own nation, notwithstanding their boast in the knowledge of futurity. — Ed.
434It is so rendered by the Vulg. and the Targ., omitted by the Sept., and rendered "sword" by the Syr., and also by Blayney and Henderson. The same incongruity exists as to the treasures; but the sword here, means those who wielded it, the soldiers of Cyrus: they spoiled the treasures, they turned the streams of the rivers. — Ed.