Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 50:33–end
We have in these verses,
I. Israel's sufferings, and their deliverance out of those sufferings. God takes notice of the bondage of his people in Babylon, as he did of their bondage in Egypt; he has surely seen it, and has heard their cry. Israel and Judah were oppressed together, Jer 50:33. Those that remained of the captives of the ten tribes, upon the uniting of the kingdoms of Assyria and Chaldea, seem to have come and mingled with t hose of the two tribes, and to have mingled tears with them, so that they were oppressed together. They were humble suppliants for their liberty, and that was all; they could not attempt any thing towards it, for all that took them captives held them fast, an…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Jeremiah 50:39
wild beasts of the desert--wild cats, remarkable for their howl [BOCHART].
wild beasts of the islands--jackals (See on Isa 13:21).
owls--rather, "female ostriches"; they delight in solitary places. Literally, "daughters of crying." Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Rev 18:2.
no more inhabited for ever--The accumulation of phrases is to express the final and utter extinction of Babylon; fulfilled not immediately, but by degrees; Cyrus took away its supremacy. Darius Hystaspes deprived it, when it had rebelled, of its fortifications. Seleucus Nicanor removed its citizens and wealth to Seleucia, which he founded in the neighborhood; and the Parthians removed all that was left to Ctesiphon.…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on Jeremiah 50:39
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there,.... Of these creatures See Gill on Isaiah 13:21; and See Gill on Isaiah 13:22;
and the owls shall dwell therein; so mystical Babylon when fallen shall become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Revelation 18:2;
and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; interpreters observe that this was gradually accomplished: it was taken by Cyrus, and made tributary to the Persians; the seat of the empire was removed from it; its walls were demolished by Darius; it was drained both of…
