The Bible

 

Jeremiah 51

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1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.

2 And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Against [him that] bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against [him that] lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

4 And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens:

16 when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

17 Every man is become brutish [and is] without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and [Israel] is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

22 and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;

23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke [of oxen]; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion.

29 And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

32 and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.

39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah.

46 And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year [shall come] tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.

49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:

56 for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,

62 and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:

64 and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

   

Commentary

 

Cut off, to be

  

In Daniel 9:26, this signifies that divine truth shall be taken from the people, but will live again in a new church. (Apocalypse Explained 315[23])

In Genesis 17:14, this signifies eternal death. (Arcana Coelestia 2058)

In Exodus 23:23, this signifies that hell is removed solely through the protection of heaven by the Lord. (Arcana Coelestia 9316) To be cut off, as in Genesis 41:36, signifies to perish.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 5302, Genesis 41)

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The Lord #34

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34. 5. The complete union of the divine nature and the human nature in him was effected by the suffering on the cross, which was his last trial.

Support for this proposition was provided above, in the chapter explaining that the Lord came into the world to subdue the hells and to glorify his human nature, and that the suffering on the cross was the last battle, by which he gained complete victory over the hells and completely glorified his human nature. Since, then, by suffering on the cross the Lord completely glorified his human nature-that is, united it to the divine nature-and thereby made his human nature divine as well, it follows that he is Jehovah and God in respect to both natures.

[2] That is why in so many passages in the Word Jehovah, God, or the Holy One of Israel is called the Redeemer, the Savior, or the Maker, as in the following:

Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)

The angel said to the shepherds, “Behold, I am bringing you good news, a great joy, which will be for all people. There is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

They said, “This is truly the Savior of the world, the Christ.” (John 4:42)

I, Jehovah God, am helping you; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)

Thus says Jehovah, who is your Creator, O Jacob, and your Maker, O Israel: “I have redeemed you. I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1, 3)

Thus says Jehovah your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” (Isaiah 43:14-15)

Thus says Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and Israel’s Maker. (Isaiah 45:11)

Thus says Jehovah your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 48:17)

... so that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26)

Then he will come to Zion as the Redeemer. (Isaiah 59:20)

... so that you may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Powerful One of Jacob. (Isaiah 60:16)

Jehovah, the one who formed you from the womb. (Isaiah 49:5)

... Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)

They remembered that God was their Rock, and God on High their Redeemer. (Psalms 78:35)

Thus says Jehovah your Maker, and the one who formed you from the womb. (Isaiah 44:2)

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah Sabaoth is his name, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 47:4)

“With everlasting compassion I will have mercy on you, ” says Jehovah, your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8)

Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah is his name. (Jeremiah 50:34)

Let Israel hope in Jehovah, because with Jehovah there is mercy; with him there is abundant redemption. He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalms 130:7-8)

Jehovah God is my rock, my fortress, the horn of my salvation, my Savior. (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

Thus says Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One: “Monarchs will see and abide, because of Jehovah, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” (Isaiah 49:7)

God is only among you, and there is no other God. Surely you are a hidden God, O God of Israel, the Savior. (Isaiah 45:14-15)

Thus says Jehovah the King of Israel, and Israel’s Redeemer, Jehovah Sabaoth: “There is no God other than me.” (Isaiah 44:6)

I am Jehovah, and there is no Savior other than me. (Isaiah 43:11)

Am I not Jehovah? And there is no [God] other than me; and there is no Savior other than me. (Isaiah 45:21)

I am Jehovah your God. You are to acknowledge no God other than me; there is no Savior other than me. (Hosea 13:4)

Am I not Jehovah? And there is no God other than me. I am a just God, and there is no Savior other than me. Look to me so that you may be saved, all you ends of the earth, because I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:21-22)

Jehovah Sabaoth is his name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. He will be called the God of the whole earth. (Isaiah 54:5)

[3] We can see from these passages that the Lord’s divine nature called “the Father” (and here called “Jehovah” and “God”) and his divine human nature called “the Son” (and here “the Redeemer” and “the Savior” as well as “the Maker, ” meaning the Reformer and Regenerator) are one, not two, for it not only says “Jehovah is God” and “the Holy One of Israel is the Redeemer and Savior, ” it also says “Jehovah is the Redeemer and Savior.” Not only that, it even calls Jehovah “the Savior” and says, “there is no Savior other than me.” This clearly shows that the divine nature and the human nature in the Lord are one person and that the human nature is divine as well, since the Redeemer and Savior of the world is no other than the Lord in his divine human nature, which is called “the Son.” Redemption and salvation are properly credited to his human nature, and are called “merit and righteousness, ” since his human nature bore the trials and the suffering on the cross, which means that he accomplished redemption and salvation by means of his human nature.

[4] Since, then, after the union of his human nature with his inner divine nature, which was like that of soul and body in us, they were no longer two but were one person (according to the teaching of the Christian world), the Lord was Jehovah and God in both respects. This is why some passages speak of “Jehovah” and “the Holy One of Israel the Redeemer and Savior, ” but others say “Jehovah is the Redeemer and Savior, ” as you can see from the citations above.

For Christ being called the Savior, see Luke 2:10-11 and John 4:42. On God and the God of Israel being the Savior and Redeemer, see Luke 1:47; Isaiah 45:14; 54:5; Psalms 78:35. On Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel being the Savior and Redeemer, see Isaiah 41:14; 43:3, 11, 14-15; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5. On Jehovah being the Savior, Redeemer, and Maker, see Isaiah 44:6; 47:4; 49:26; 54:8; 63:8; Jeremiah 50:34; Psalms 19:14; 130:7-8. On Jehovah God being the Redeemer and Savior, “and there is no Savior other than me, ” see Isaiah 43:11; 44:6; 45:14, 18, 21-22; Hosea 13:4.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.