Jeremiah 51:64

And thou shall say,.... Not only use the above sign and ceremony, but explain the meaning of it to those of his friends who might accompany him; and what he said was in the name of the Lord, as the

The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

It hath been often said that Euphrates was that great river which ran by the walls of Babylon; into this Seraiah is commanded by Jeremiah to throw this roll of prophecy against Babylon, symbolically to teach the Jews, that according to the tenor of his prophecy the time should come, after some years, when Babylon should be destroyed never to rise again to any great view or degree of splendour, no more than that roll with the stone tied to it should rise from the bottom of Euphrates. And they shall be weary; some read, though they weary themselves, that is, do what they can, or, (as it is here,) and they shall be weary with that weight of judgment which shall be upon them. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah: either the words of Jeremiah relating to Babylon reach thus far, or all the words of Jeremiah remaining on sacred record (for it is thought that the next chapter was rather penned by some other holy man); or (which seemeth the best) the prophetical words of Jeremiah, for the matter of the next chapter is historical, and the Book of Lamentations is not prophetical, as to the main of it, though there be in it three or four prophetical passages, ,22, &c.

Jeremiah 51:64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far [are] the words of Jeremiah.Ver. 64. Thus shall Babylon sink.] Ceremonies are to little purpose unless they have divine expositions annexed unto them. And they shall be weary.] That seek either to save it or to restore it. Thus far the words of Jeremiah,] sc., Concerning Babylon. See the like concerning Moab.

(64) They shall be weary.—The words are identical with those that had closed the great prophecy in Jeremiah 51:58. What was meant was probably that Seraiah was to repeat the last words of the prediction, and, as they passed his lips, was to fling the roll into the river. That submersion was typical of the end of the futile labour and weariness of the men of the doomed city. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.—The words are clearly of the nature of what we should call an editorial note by the compiler of Jeremiah’s prophecies, Baruch or another. He is careful to inform his readers that the narrative that follows in Jeremiah 52 was not written by Jeremiah.

Verse 64. Thus shall Babylon sink, c.] This is the emblem of its overthrow and irretrievable ruin. See Revelation 18:21, where we find that this is an emblem of the total ruin of mystical Babylon. Herodotus relates a similar action of the Phocoeans, who, having resolved to leave their country, and never return to it again, μυδρονσιδηρεονκατεπονωσαν, καιωμοσανμηπρινεςΦωκαιηνἡξειν, πρινητονμυδροντουτοναναφηναι· "threw a mass of iron into the sea, and swore that they would never return to Phocaea till that iron mass should rise and swim on the top." The story is this: The Phocaeans, being besieged by Harpagus, general of the Persians, demanded one day's truce to deliberate on the propositions he had made to them relative to their surrendering their city and begged that in the mean while he would take off his army from the walls. Harpagus having consented, they carried their wives, children, and their most valuable effects, aboard their ships; then, throwing a mass of iron into the sea, bound themselves by an oath never to return till that iron should rise to the top and swim. See Herodotus, lib. i. c. 165. Horace refers to this in his epode Ad Populum Romanum, Epode xvi. ver. 25: - Sed juremus in haec: simul imis saxa renarint Vadis levata, ne redire sit nefas. "As the Phocaeans oft for freedom bled, At length with imprecated curses fled." FRANCIS. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.] It appears that the following chapter is not the work of this prophet: it is not his style. The author of it writes Jehoiachin; Jeremiah writes him always Jeconiah, or Coniah. It is merely historical, and is very similar to 2Kg 24:18-25. The author, whoever he was, relates the capture of Jerusalem, the fate of Zedekiah, the pillage and burning of the city and the temple. He mentions also certain persons of distinction who were slain by the Chaldeans. He mentions the number of the captives that were carried to Babylon at three different times; and concludes with the deliverance of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon, in which he had been for thirty-seven years. It is very likely that the whole chapter has been compiled from some chronicle of that time, or it was designed as a preface to the Book of the Lamentations; and would stand with great propriety before it, as it contains the facts on which that inimitable poem is built. Were it allowable, I would remove it to that place.

64. upon her: and they shall be weary] The mg. (rightly) puts a full stop after “upon her” and a colon after “they shall be weary.” These latter words (one word in the Heb.) doubtless (so Gi., Co. and others) were taken, probably by accident, from Jeremiah 51:58, when, on the addition of this short section by the compiler, the words “Thus far … Jeremiah” were transferred to this later v. This last sentence is meant to mark off ch. 52, as taken for the most part from 2 Kings.

64. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah — This implies that the following chapter does not belong to this body of prophecy, but constitutes an historical appendix added by another hand.