(proprie, in terroribus, vel, terriculamentis) gloriantur (vel, insaniunt.)
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.
JOHN CALVIN
Thus the city was in no ordinary way fortified, for it was difficult of access, being on one side surrounded by so large a river: it had also trenches full of water, and it had many channels. But Cyrus, as Xenophon relates, when attempting to take the city, used the same contrivance, and imitated those who had fortified Babylon, but for a different purpose; for he diverted the streams, so that the river might be forded.
Thus, then, he dried up that great river, which was like a sea; so that Babylon was taken with no great trouble. Cyrus, indeed, entered in by night, and unexpectedly invaded Babylon, while they were securely feasting, and celebrating a festival, as we find in the book of Daniel. However, the way by which Cyrus contrived to take the city was, by dividing the Euphrates into many streams. Hence it was, that the
Prophet, in order that the Jews might see, as it were, with their own eyes, spoke nothing without reason, having not only predicted the slaughter and destruction of the city, but showed also the very way in which it was done, as though the event had been portrayed before them.
The reason is added, because it is the land of carvings, or gravings. God, indeed, took vengeance on Babylon for other things, as it has before appeared; but the Prophet here speaks of carvings, that the Israelites might know that there is no certain salvation anywhere else except in the one true God, who had revealed himself to them. Jeremiah, in short, means, that when any country is destitute of
God's help, though it may excel in arms, in number, in wealth, and in wisdom, yet everything under heaven is of no avail without the blessing and favor of God. He has spoken of princes and of wise men, and he has named chariots, horses, and treasures, --- all these have been mentioned for the purpose I have just stated, even to show, that were we supplied with all that may seem necessary to defend us, except
God protected us, whatever the world may offer would be all in vain; for we shall at length find, that without God neither arms, nor chariots, nor wisdom nor counsel, nor any other helps, can avail us anything.
It follows, that Chaldea gloried in images The word {,}אימיםaimim, means terrors, and giants are called by this name in Deuteronomy 2:10, because they inspire terror by their aspect. But this name is no doubt applied to images, because they are only bugbears, des epovantailz, as we say in French. 435 As then they are mere scarecrows, which only frighten children, they are called {,}אימיםaimim. And he says, that they gloried in, or doted on them --- for {,}הללelal, means both, in Hithpael, as it is found here. It means to boast or to elate one's-self, and also to be mad or to dote. Either sense would not be unsuitable to this place; for the unbelieving gloried in their idols, and at the same time were mad: yet the first meaning seems to me the best, that they gloried in their idols, as it is said in Psalm 47:7,
them perish who trust in images and glory in them.''
Though the verb there is indeed different, yet the meaning is the same.
It was not, indeed, without reason, that the Prophet reproaches the Chaldeans, that they gloried in their idols, because they thereby robbed God of his honor; for what is ascribed to idols is taken away from God. He intimates, in short, that the
435That the Babylonians had large idols or images, which were of terrific size, is evident from Daniel 3:1 — Ed.