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| 1 Thus, saith Yahweh–Behold me! stirring up against Babylon, And against the inhabitants of the centre of them who rise up against me,–A wind that destroyeth; |
Against Babylon – Mystic Babylon, Christendom. D26; HG64:1
And against them – All in sympathy with Babylon. D39
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| 2 And I will send to Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her, And shall empty her land,–For they are against her round about, in the day of calamity. |
The day of trouble – Rendered "evil" in "I create evil." (Isa. 45:7) A125
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| 3 Let not the archer tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail,–And do not spare her young men, Devote to destruction all her host. |
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| 4 So shall they fall wounded, in the land of Chaldea,–Yea thrust through, in her streets, |
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| 5 For Israel and Judah have not been widowed, Of their God, Of Yahweh of hosts,–But, their land, hath been filled with punishment for guilt, from the Holy One of Israel. |
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| 6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, And deliver ye every man his own life, Be not cut off in her punishment,–For it is Yahweh's, time of avenging, A recompense, is he, repaying unto her. |
Flee – No one is responsible to flee unless he sees that it is Babylon, but the very suggestion that it is Babylon means that one should make a thorough investigation to see if it is so. Q65:T
Present Truth will guide us into closer fellowship with God and separateness of mind, heart and service from Babylon. SM127:2
For those who obey this command there is but one place of refuge, "The secret place of the Most High" (Psa. 91:1)--the place or condition of complete consecration. D43
Out of the midst – "Come out of her, my people." (Rev. 18:4) D43; R436:5, R2538:1
The Lord's people are not to look back at the things that are to be destroyed. R5456:4
With a full renunciation of the things of the present time. R5456:5
And deliver – This call must be heard and heeded before the disaster comes; for it will come suddenly, as in an hour. SM411:2
Whoever shall seek to save his life must lose it. Whoever shall lose his life will thereby be preserving it. (Luke 9:24) R5456:5
LORD'S vengeance – A part of the work of the second advent will be the overthrow of antitypical Babylon. R5092:3; D39
A recompence – In the time of trouble God will repay his enemies according to their deeds. D39
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| 7 A cup of gold, was Babylon, in the hand of Yahweh, Making drunk all the earth,–Of her wine, have the nations drunk, For this cause, have the nations been acting as men who are mad. |
A golden cup – Representing the Bible, the Divine Standard or authority. SM407:1
"Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations." (Rev. 17:4) C156
The cup suggests that the unfaithful church had once been the receptacle of divine truth. R5092:1
Made all the earth drunken – Not that every doctrine presented by Papacy was false and intoxicating; but that a stupefying potion was put into the wine already in the cup. SM407:2
So strong is the power of this intoxication that its inconsistencies are not discerned by those intoxicated. SM408:1
Nations have drunken – As heathen philosophies were joined with Christianity a poisonous draught was mixed and poured into the "golden cup" of truth, making all nations drunk. R5910:6
"She made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Rev. 14:8) C156
Wine – False doctrine. R5092:1
The nations are mad – Intoxicated with her errors. C156
As error spread, the spirit of ambition superseded the spirit of humility. R5910:6
The pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul, combined with that of the torture of the wicked, resulted in the doctrine of eternal torture. R5911:1
During the Dark Ages millions were tortured, exiled, and murdered in multitudinous ways. R5911:2
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| 8 Suddenly, hath Babylon fallen, and been broken,–Howl ye over her, Fetch balsam for her pain, Peradventure, she shall be healed! |
Is suddenly fallen – Both literal and symbolic Babylon. R2498:3
"Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen." (Rev. 18:2) C156
She has been spewed out of his mouth, and the Almighty now calls upon his true people to "come out of her." (Rev. 18:4) R5478:2
And destroyed – And broken. C156
Howl for her – "And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, Alas, that great city." (Rev. 18:19) C156
"The merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her." (Rev. 18:11) R1371:6
Take balm – Human remedies. D469
For her pain – Her wound. C156
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| 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed, Leave her, and let us go every one to his own land,–For her judgment, reacheth unto the heavens, And mounteth as far as the skies. |
Babylon – The chief empire of earth in Jeremiah's day; an illustration of a prophecy which has had one literal fulfillment, and is about to have its second or higher fulfillment. R436:5[R436]
Is not healed – Illustrated by preparations for war among nations which confess allegiance to the Prince of Peace. R4411:6*[R4411*]
The protests and warnings of the righteous are steadily ignored by the world. D542[D542]
There is no balm in Gilead, and no physician there. (Jer. 8:22) D469[D469]
Forsake her – "Come out of her, my people." (Rev. 18:4) D543[D542]
Get out from under her influence; stand free from this bondage to error and worldliness. R5696:6[R5696]
His own country – To the true Church, or to the world, as the case may be, according as each is thus proved to be of the wheat or the tares. C156[C156]
Her judgment – Her punishment. C156[C156]
Reacheth unto heaven – "Her sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities." (Rev. 18:5) R1371:6[R1371]
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| 10 Yahweh hath brought forth our righteousnesses,–Come and let us relate in Zion, the work of Yahweh our God. |
Declare in Zion – There is a nominal spiritual Zion, and a nominal fleshly Zion. D23; A297; T33
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| 11 Polish the arrows, Lay hold of the shields,–Yahweh hath roused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, For, against Babylon, his purpose is, to destroy her,–For it is, The avenging of Yahweh, The avenging of his temple. |
The kings – Of Christ's Kingdom, the Royal Priesthood. R2498:4
Of his temple – The Christ. T70
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| 12 Against the walls of Babylon, Lift ye up a standard, Strengthen ye the watch, Station the watchmen, Make ready the ambuscades,–For Yahweh hath both planned, and also performed, that which he had spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon. |
The walls – Civil power. D40
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| 13 O thou who dwellest upon many waters, Who aboundest in treasures,–Come, hath thine end! The measure of thine unrighteous gain! |
Upon many waters – "The waters that thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues." (Rev. 17:15) R1371:6, R5846:2
The literal was built on the river Euphrates and derived wealth and splendor from that source; the symbolic is seated upon many waters--peoples, nations, from which it derives its support. R45:1
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| 14 Yahweh of hosts, hath sworn, by his own soul: Surely I have filled thee with men, as with locusts, And they have answered against thee, with a shout. |
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| 15 He that, Made the earth in his might, Established the world in his wisdom,–And, in his understanding, stretched out the heavens, |
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| 16 By the voice that he uttered, there was a tumult of waters in the heavens, And he caused vapours to ascend from the end of the earth,–Lightnings for the rain, made he, And brought forth wind out of his treasures. |
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| 17 Every son of earth had become too brutish to know,–Every goldsmith, hath been put to shame, by a graven image,–For, a falsehood, is his molten image, Seeing there is no breath in them: |
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| 18 Vanity, they are, A handiwork of mockeries,–In the time of their visitation, shall they perish. |
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| 19 Not like these, is the portion of Jacob, For, the fashioner of all things, is he! And the portion of his inheritance,–Yahweh of hosts, is his name. |
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| 20 A war-club, art thou, for me, Weapons of war; Therefore will I, Beat down with thee–nations, and, Destroy with thee–kingdoms; |
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| 21 and, Beat down with thee–the horse and his rider,–and, Beat down with thee–the chariot and its rider; |
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| 22 and, Beat down with thee–man and woman, and, Beat down with thee–elder and youth, and, Beat down with thee–young man and virgin; |
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| 23 and, Beat down with thee–the shepherd and his flock, and, Beat down with thee–the plowman and his yoke;–and, Beat down with thee–governors and deputies: |
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| 24 So will I recompense to Babylon, And to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, All their wickedness which they have committed against Zion, before your eyes,–Declareth Yahweh. |
Babylon – Christendom, the nominal Christian church, especially the Papacy. D26, D39
Of Chaldea – Babylonia, Christendom, all the nations of the so-called Christian world. D39
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| 25 Behold me! against thee, O destroying mountain, Declareth Yahweh, That destroyest all the earth,–Therefore will I stretch out my hand over thee, And roll thee down from the crags, And make of thee a burning, mountain: |
Mountain – Kingdom. A318
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| 26 So shall they not fetch from thee, A stone for a corner, nor, A stone for a foundation,–For, desolations age-abiding, shalt thou become, Declareth Yahweh. |
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| 27 Set ye up an ensign in the earth, Blow ye a horn among the nations, Hallow against her–nations, Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz,–Set in charge against her a marshal, Bring up cavalry like hairy locusts: |
Set ye up a standard – The standard of the truth. D40
Blow the trumpet – The seventh trumpet, the last trump, the trump of God, the trump of knowledge and liberty. B148
Not metallic trumpets. The angelic movements under the seventh trumpet are as noiseless as they have been under the other six. HG26:1
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| 28 Hallow against her–nations, With the kings of Media, With her governors and all her deputies,–And with all the land of his dominion: |
The kings – Of Christ's Kingdom, the Royal Priesthood. R2498:4
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| 29 Then did the land tremble, and was in pain,–For the plans of Yahweh, had been established against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon an astonishment, without inhabitant. |
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| 30 The heroes of Babylon have ceased, to fight, They have remained in the strongholds, Parched, is their might, They have become women,–They have set fire to her habitations, Broken, are her bars! |
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| 31 Runner to meet runner, shall they run, And teller to meet teller,–To tell the king of Babylon, That captured, is his city at the end! |
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| 32 and, The fords, have been seized, and, The reeds, have they burned with fire; and, The men of war, are dismayed! |
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| 33 For, thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon, is like a threshing-floor, at the time of treading her: Yet a little, and the time of harvest shall overtake her. |
Of her harvest – "Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." (Rev. 14:15) R1371:6
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| 34 Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon–Hath devoured me, Hath vexed me, Hath set me down as an empty vessel, He hath swallowed me like a sea-monster, He hath filled his belly with my dainties,–He hath driven me away! |
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| 35 The violence done to me and to my flesh, be upon Babylon! Shall the inhabitress of Zion say,–Yea, my blood, be upon the inhabitant of Chaldea! Shall Jerusalem say. |
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| 36 Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! pleading thy cause, So then I will execute the avenging of thee; And will dry up her sea, And make dry her spring: |
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| 37 Thus shall Babylon become-Heaps, A habitation of jackals, An astonishment, and, A hissing, Without inhabitant. |
For dragons – "An habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Rev. 18:2) R1371:6
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| 38 Together, like wild lions, shall they roar,–They have growled like lions' whelps. |
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| 39 When they are heated, I will spread their banquets, And let them drink that they may become uproarious, So shall they sleep an age-abiding sleep and not wake,–Declareth Yahweh. |
They – Babylon's great ones, highly esteemed by her subjects, called by various dignified and high sounding titles. R1951:4
Perpetual sleep – As clergy, with high-sounding titles and offices, they shall never awake or exist again as such. R1951:4
Olam, lasting, not endless. R3725:5*
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| 40 I will bring them down, As fat lambs to slaughter,–As rams, with he-goats. |
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| 41 How, hath Sheshach, been captured! How, hath the praise of all the earth, been seized! How, hath Babylon, become an astonishment among the nations! |
How is Sheshach taken – Representing Babylon. The religious element will be the last to fall. (Jer. 25:26) HG94:1
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| 42 The sea, hath gone up over Babylon,–With the multitude of its rolling waves, is she covered. |
The sea – Restless, anarchistic masses of mankind. A318
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| 43 Her cities, have become, an astonishment, A land parched up, and a waste plain,–A land wherein shall no man dwell, Nor, pass through them, a son of the earth-born! |
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| 44 So will I bring punishment upon Bel in Babylon, And will bring forth what he hath swallowed, out of his mouth, And the nations, shall stream unto him no more,–Even the wall of Babylon, hath fallen! |
Bel in Babylon – The God of Babylon, the Pope. D40
Out of his mouth – He shall repudiate in his extremity the "great swelling words" and blasphemous titles which he has for so long appropriated to himself. D40
The wall of Babylon – The civil power that once defended it and that in a measure does so still. D40
Built of ignorance and superstition, whose great foundations were laid centuries ago. SM409:2
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| 45 Come ye forth out of her midst, O my people, And deliver ye every man his own life,–Because of the glow of the anger of Yahweh. |
Go ye out – "Come out of her, my people." (Rev. 18:4) R1371:6, R2538:1
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| 46 And let not your heart be timid, nor be ye afraid, Because of the report that is reported in the earth, When there shall come, in one year, the report, And, after that, in another year, the report, With violence in the earth, and ruler upon ruler. |
Rumour that shall be heard – "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars." (Mark 13:7,8; Luke 21:8,9) R5969:2*
Another year – A second year. R5969:2*
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| 47 Therefore, lo! days coming, when I will bring punishment upon the images of Babylon, And, all her land, shall turn pale,–Yea, all her wounded, shall fall in her midst. |
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| 48 Then shall shout over Babylon–heavens and earth, and all who are therein,–For, out of the North, shall come to her the spoilers, Declareth Yahweh. |
The heaven – The powers of spiritual control. A318
And the earth – Society. A318
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| 49 Not only, hath, Babylon, caused the fall of the slain of Israel,–By Babylon, also, have fallen the slain of, all the earth. |
So at Babylon – Because of her greater responsibility, against her will burn the fierceness of his wrath and indignation. D28
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| 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, depart, do not stand still,–Remember, from afar, Yahweh, Let, Jerusalem, come up on your heart:– |
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| 51 We have turned pale, for we have heard a reproach, Confusion, hath covered, our faces,–For aliens have entered upon the hallowed places of the house of Yahweh! |
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| 52 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When I will bring punishment upon her images; And, throughout all her land, shall the pierced, one, groan. |
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| 53 Though Babylon should mount, the heavens, And though she should fortify her strong high-place, From me, should come spoilers unto her, Declareth Yahweh. |
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| 54 A voice of outcry from Babylon! And a great crash from the land of the Chaldeans! |
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| 55 For, Yahweh, is spoiling, Babylon, And will destroy out of her the loud voice,–Though their waves have roared like many waters, Been uttered the loud boast of their voice. |
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| 56 For there hath come upon her–upon Babylon–a spoiler, And captured, are their heroes, And broken, are their bows,–For, a GOD of recompenses, is Yahweh, He will, surely repay. |
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| 57 Then will I make drunk–Her princes and her wise men, Her governors, and her deputies, and her heroes, And they shall sleep an age-abiding sleep, and not wake,–Declareth the King, Yahweh of hosts, is his name. |
Made drunk – An intoxication of error, false doctrines and theories. R4287:3
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| 58 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts–The broad walls of Babylon, shall be, laid utterly bare, And, her lofty gates, with fire, shall be burned,–And peoples shall labour for emptiness, And, populations, for the fire, shall weary themselves. |
Her high gates – Representing mystic Babylon's worldly wisdom, human ingenuity and dexterity of organization to maintain control of the symbolic waters. SM409:2
Be burned with fire – Be destroyed. D40
The same symbol of fire is used by St. Peter in referring to the same trouble and destruction. SM424:3
Shall labour in vain – To prop and save the walls of Babylon. D40
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| 59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign,–now, Seraiah, was travelling-marshal. |
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| 60 So Jeremiah wrote, all the calamity which was to come unto Babylon, in one scroll; even all these words which have been written against Babylon. |
Jeremiah wrote in a book – The prophets did not confine themselves to oral teachings. R1145:3
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| 61 Then said Jeremiah unto Seraiah,–When thou comest into Babylon, then shalt thou look out and read, all these words; |
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| 62 and thou shalt say–O Yahweh! thou thyself, hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, That there be in it no inhabitant, Neither man nor beast,–But, desolations age-abiding, shall it become! |
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| 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this scroll, that thou shalt bind thereunto a stone, and cast it in the midst of the Euphrates. |
Midst of Euphrates – Peoples, nations. B209
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| 64 Then shalt thou say,–In like manner, shall Babylon sink and not rise, Because of the calamity which I, am about to bring thereupon: So shall they perish. Thus far, are, the words of Jeremiah. |
Shall Babylon sink – Into the restless sea of ungovernable peoples. D111
Showing that her destruction will be sudden, violent and complete. D37
And shall not rise – "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all." (Rev. 18:21) R1371:6, R5478:2
The "sea" of anarchy will swallow up the false systems. R5478:2
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