Jeremiah 51:47, commentary and pictures

Jeremiah 51:47 stands among the prophecies against Babylon and the nations from Jeremiah 46 onward, declaring that God Himself will bring judgment upon Babylon's graven images until her idols are disgraced, her whole land is confounded and shamed, and her slain fall in the midst of her. That doom comes because Babylon is proud, devoted to idols and defiant toward God, having filled her measure of iniquity, refused the healing He offered, persecuted His people and offended against His temple. The word was spoken as a detailed prediction many years beforehand, even before the city reached its height under Nebuchadnezzar, and was fulfilled suddenly while Babylon felt secure, when Cyrus with the Medes and Persians took the city in the reign of Belshazzar as he feasted in idolatrous blasphemy with the vessels of the temple until the handwriting numbered, weighed and divided his kingdom. The overthrow by Persia did not end the matter, for the city afterward sank gradually into heaps without inhabitant, as foreshown when the roll of the prophecy was sunk with a stone in the Euphrates to declare that Babylon shall sink and not rise, and as its buried ruins still witness. What befell literal Babylon is also a type of mystical Babylon the great in Revelation, the apostate confused religious system whose final destruction in the day of the Lord is vividly portrayed by ancient Babylon's fall, with its doom set forth as warning that no might or wealth can save a proud city that forgets and defies God, but calamity follows persistent wickedness and calls for repentance.

Words and Setting

Jeremiah 51:47 stands among the prophecies against foreign nations running from Jeremiah 46 onward, pronouncing the doom of the kingdoms surrounding Israel including Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Syria and Babylon, and especially among the prophecies against Babylon in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 foretelling her utter desolation to become heaps without inhabitant. It belongs to the prophecies against Babylon concerning both the ancient empire and Babylon as a type of mystical Babylon, so that its judgment upon literal Babylon foreshadows the fate of Babylon the great prophesied in Revelation. The roll containing this prophecy was brought to the banks of the Euphrates and read by Seraiah, who then tied a stone to it and cast it into the river declaring that Babylon shall sink and shall not rise from the evil brought upon her. Its fulfillment stands in the buried cities by the Euphrates lying as mounds for more than twenty centuries, now wandered over and dug up by men from England and the United States with the Bible containing these prophecies as a guide-book, unearthing stones, sculptured slabs, inscribed bricks, pottery, sarcophagi, winged lions and bulls, necklaces and ornaments of the proud and rich, and floating them to London and Philadelphia.

The verse declares that God will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, that its images will be disgraced, its whole land thrown into confusion and shame, and its people killed with its slain falling in the midst of her. This judgment upon idols brings confusion upon the whole land and causes its slain to fall within it as part of Babylon's destruction for idolatry. It was fulfilled in the reign of Belshazzar the weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous blasphemer of God, worshiper of Babylon and her deities, who feasted over her greatness and drank from the plundered gold and silver vessels of the temple at Jerusalem to gods of gold and wood and stone. While he drank a hand wrote Numbered, numbered, Weighed, Divisions, meaning God had numbered his kingdom and finished it, he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians, and before he rose from the banquet Babylon was taken on every quarter and the cry went out Babylon is fallen, is fallen, proving no might or scheme or power or wealth of man can save a city or nation that sows within herself error, confusion, destruction and death.

The judgment comes because Babylon has sinned against the Lord and is proud and devoted to idols, and its idolatry and defiance of God bring judgment on the land and its people with overthrow and desolation as the result. The verse belongs to the prophecy of Babylon's destruction, which follows the city's pride and religious persecution. Its warning makes Babylon's destruction a lesson for cities and people who ignore God's warnings, that calamity follows persistent wickedness and calls for repentance and a principled change of life.

Babylon had filled its measure of iniquity, refused the healing God offered, and disregarded the warning until its doom was declared, and when her sins were complete God's judgments fell upon her within a divine message of impending judgment, warning, and offered mercy. The chapter sets forth Babylon's character, God's judgment on it, and His defense of His people, presenting Babylon's overthrow as the Lord's vengeance for His temple. The Medes are summoned to destroy the city, though the religious system associated with Babylon continues in later kingdoms. Jeremiah's prophecy is thus evidence that pagan Babylon persecuted God's people, and ancient Babylon's destruction also serves as a vivid portrayal of the final destruction of modern Babylon, the confused religious world, when God closes all earthly accounts.

Prophecy and Fulfillment

The prediction was spoken by God many years before the event, giving particulars of Babylon's doom before the city reached its height under Nebuchadnezzar. It concerned the downfall of Babylon as the head of gold, to be followed when Babylon falls by the Persian kingdom built from its ruins taking its place in succession. Its truth was to be proved by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians who did not know the prophecy and had no design to show its fulfillment. The ruins of Babylon by the Euphrates stand as witness to the truth of that foretold doom.

The fall foretold for both the city and its empire came suddenly while Belshazzar and his lords felt secure. It came when Cyrus with the Medes and Persians captured the city. God's judgment brought the city's defenders and revelers to death, while the whole land was overcome, with her slain falling in her midst. It was fulfilled in the reign of Belshazzar the weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous blasphemer of God, worshiper of Babylon and her deities, who feasted over her greatness and drank from the plundered gold and silver vessels of the temple at Jerusalem to gods of gold and wood and stone. While he drank a hand wrote Numbered, numbered, Weighed, Divisions, meaning God had numbered his kingdom and finished it, he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Before he rose from the banquet Babylon was taken on every quarter.

The destruction was not completed when the Persians overthrew Babylon, but came ultimately as the city gradually fell into decay and became desolate, fulfilling the prophecy literally. The prophecy in chapters 50 and 51 foretold utter desolation, that Babylon should become heaps without inhabitant. The roll was brought to the banks of the Euphrates and read by Seraiah, who then tied a stone to it and cast it into the river declaring that Babylon shall sink and shall not rise from the evil brought upon her. That fulfillment stands in the buried cities by the Euphrates lying as mounds for more than twenty centuries, now wandered over and dug up by men from England and the United States with the Bible containing these prophecies as a guide-book. They unearthed stones, sculptured slabs, inscribed bricks, pottery, sarcophagi, winged lions and bulls, necklaces and ornaments of the proud and rich, and floated them to London and Philadelphia. So the city, its palaces, and its idols lie amid remarkable desolations, and the ruins by the Euphrates bear witness to judgment upon the graven images and to the desolation of the city.

Type and Warning

What concerns the ancient empire, the city, and literal Babylon is also a type with double fulfillment, foreshadowing the fate of mystical Babylon the great prophesied in Revelation. The prophecies against Babylon from Jeremiah 46 onward pronounce doom on the kingdoms surrounding Israel, including Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Syria and Babylon, and the judgment upon the graven images with the whole land confounded pronounces the doom of literal Babylon as type of the great mystical Babylon of the present day. That fall comes suddenly while Belshazzar and his lords feel secure, embracing both city and empire, and by sudden transition from type to antitype it has a second fulfillment in the day of the Lord when modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished.

The antitype is the apostate system ruling over the nations, the confused religious world and formal professors, whose judgment is typical of the final punishment of the ungodly. The chapter sets forth Babylon's character, God's judgment on it, and His defense of His people as the Lord's vengeance for His temple, with the Medes summoned to destroy the city, though the religious system associated with Babylon continues in later kingdoms. Ancient Babylon refused the healing God offered, and when its sins were complete judgments fell, so its final destruction vividly portrays the final destruction of modern Babylon when God closes all earthly accounts.

The chapter's announcement of Babylon's fall applies to churches that rejected the first angel's Advent message, the remedy that could have healed their confusion and worldliness, whose refusal left them fallen. The judgment on idols and land belongs within a divine message of impending judgment, warning, and offered mercy, which Babylon disregarded after filling its measure of iniquity until its doom was declared. Judgment on the graven images brings shame upon the whole land with its slain falling within it because of idolatry and defiance of God, and it is offered as a lesson for cities, places, and people that forget and defy God. Calamity follows persistent wickedness, no might or wealth can save a proud prosperous city that openly defies God and sows error, confusion, destruction and death, and the warning calls for repentance and a principled change of life.