Jeremiah 50 Study Notes: Babylon Judged and Israel Restored
The LORD declares that Babylon will be captured and its idols disgraced, repaid for its pride and cruelty to His people. Israel and Judah will return in tears to seek Him; He will pardon the remnant He spares, their strong Redeemer will defend them, and a northern army will leave Babylon’s king weak with dread.
General
When the report of a cruel army from the north reaches Babylon, how does its king react (Jeremiah 50:41-43)?
Answer: His strength fails, and anguish seizes him like labor pains
A mighty northern nation, joined by many kings, marches against Babylon armed with bow and spear, cruel and without mercy, its noise like the roaring sea (50:41-42). When Babylon’s king hears the news, his strength drains away and anguish takes hold of him like the pain of a woman giving birth (50:43). Nearly the same words had earlier described an army coming against the Daughter of Zion, a name for Jerusalem and its people, who went weak when they heard the report (6:22-24). The terror Babylon once brought on Jerusalem now falls on Babylon itself; Habakkuk had warned that the one who looted many nations would be looted in turn (Habakkuk 2:8). The chapter closes with the LORD’s own questions, who is like Him and what ruler can stand against Him (50:44), and with the earth shaking when Babylon is taken (50:46). God is the Judge who brings one power low and lifts up another (Psalm 75:7).
- Jeremiah 50:41-43 (BSB)“Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth. They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.”A cruel army from the north comes against Babylon, and its king goes weak with anguish at the news.
- Jeremiah 50:44-46 (BSB)“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them. At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.”The LORD asks who could rival Him and announces His plans against Babylon, whose fall makes the earth shake.
- Jeremiah 6:22-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth. They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Zion.” We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.”An earlier warning described the same kind of northern army coming against Jerusalem, whose people went weak at the report.
- Habakkuk 2:8 (BSB)“Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.”The one who looted many nations will be looted in turn.
- Psalm 75:7 (BSB)“but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.”God is the Judge who humbles one and raises up another.
Theological
How does Babylon’s king respond in 50:43 to the report of the army from the north?
Answer: His strength fails, and anguish seizes him like labor pains
A northern coalition, a great nation with many kings roused from the far reaches of the earth, advances on Babylon with bow and spear, pitiless and thundering like the sea (50:41-42). At the report, Babylon’s king loses all strength, and anguish grips him like a woman in childbirth (50:43). The oracle echoes almost word for word the earlier warning against the Daughter of Zion (6:22-24): the very terror Babylon carried to Jerusalem now returns upon Babylon, the plunderer plundered (Habakkuk 2:8). The chapter ends with the LORD’s challenge that none is like Him and no ruler can withstand Him (50:44), and with the earth trembling at Babylon’s fall (50:46). Under His sovereign rule, God humbles one power and raises up another (Psalm 75:7).
- Jeremiah 50:41-43 (BSB)“Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth. They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.”A cruel army from the north comes against Babylon, and its king goes weak with anguish at the news.
- Jeremiah 50:44-46 (BSB)“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them. At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.”The LORD asks who could rival Him and announces His plans against Babylon, whose fall makes the earth shake.
- Jeremiah 6:22-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth. They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Zion.” We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.”An earlier warning described the same kind of northern army coming against Jerusalem, whose people went weak at the report.
- Habakkuk 2:8 (BSB)“Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.”The one who looted many nations will be looted in turn.
- Psalm 75:7 (BSB)“but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.”God is the Judge who humbles one and raises up another.
General
Israel’s enemies said they were not guilty for devouring God’s people (Jeremiah 50:7). How does the rest of the chapter answer that claim?
Answer: The LORD holds Babylon guilty and repays it for what it did
The enemies reasoned that since Israel had wronged the LORD, they could devour Israel without blame (50:7). Israel had indeed sinned against Him, and God had brought Nebuchadnezzar against Judah as His servant (25:9). But Babylon is not excused. The LORD condemns Babylon for celebrating and gloating as it looted His inheritance, His own people (50:11). He names Babylon’s own sin and commands that it be paid back for what it did (50:14-15). Both truths stand together: God ruled over Babylon’s conquest for His purposes, and Babylon remained fully responsible for its cruelty and pride. Isaiah says the same: God gave His people into Babylon’s hand, but Babylon had no pity on them (Isaiah 47:6). Zechariah adds that God had been only a little angry, yet the nations made the disaster worse (Zechariah 1:15).
- Jeremiah 50:7 (BSB)“All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”Israel’s enemies justify devouring them by pointing to Israel’s sin against the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:11 (BSB)““Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,”The LORD condemns Babylon for rejoicing and gloating as it plundered His inheritance.
- Jeremiah 50:14-15 (BSB)“Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD. Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.”Babylon’s own sin against the LORD is named, and it is to be repaid as it has done to others.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”God had said He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against Judah as His servant.
- Isaiah 47:6 (BSB)“I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.”God placed His people under Babylon’s control, yet Babylon is blamed for its pitiless treatment of them.
- Zechariah 1:15 (BSB)“but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’”God’s anger burns against the nations, for His anger had been slight but they made the disaster worse.
Theological
How does Jeremiah 50 answer the enemies’ plea of innocence in 50:7?
Answer: The LORD holds Babylon guilty and repays it for what it did
Israel’s devourers appealed to Israel’s sin against the LORD as their warrant (50:7). Israel’s guilt was real, and the LORD had sovereignly appointed Nebuchadnezzar as His servant against Judah (25:9). Yet the chapter refuses Babylon’s self-justification: the LORD indicts its glee in plundering His heritage (50:11), names its sin against Him, and decrees retribution in kind (50:14-15). Divine ordination and human culpability stand together without conflict; God governed the conquest for His just ends, while Babylon acted from its own cruelty and is fully accountable. Isaiah states the same dual truth, that God handed His people over yet Babylon showed no mercy (Isaiah 47:6), and Zechariah charges the nations with adding to the calamity beyond God’s measured anger (Zechariah 1:15).
- Jeremiah 50:7 (BSB)“All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”Israel’s enemies justify devouring them by pointing to Israel’s sin against the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:11 (BSB)““Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,”The LORD condemns Babylon for rejoicing and gloating as it plundered His inheritance.
- Jeremiah 50:14-15 (BSB)“Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD. Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.”Babylon’s own sin against the LORD is named, and it is to be repaid as it has done to others.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”God had said He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against Judah as His servant.
- Isaiah 47:6 (BSB)“I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.”God placed His people under Babylon’s control, yet Babylon is blamed for its pitiless treatment of them.
- Zechariah 1:15 (BSB)“but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’”God’s anger burns against the nations, for His anger had been slight but they made the disaster worse.
General
After comparing Israel to sheep scattered and hunted by lions, what does the LORD promise to do (Jeremiah 50:17-19)?
Answer: To punish Babylon as He did Assyria and bring Israel home to graze
Israel is pictured as a scattered flock hunted by lions: first the king of Assyria devoured it, and last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon crushed its bones (50:17). So Israel’s God says He will punish Babylon’s king and land just as He dealt with Assyria’s king (50:18). Then He will lead Israel home to its grazing land, where it will feed and be satisfied in the hill country and fields of its own land (50:19). Empires rise and fall at God’s command. Isaiah had foretold that God would punish Assyria’s king for his proud heart after using him (Isaiah 10:12), and Jeremiah had already said Babylon would be punished for its guilt after seventy years (25:12). Ezekiel records the same promise of God gathering His scattered flock and feeding it in its own land (Ezekiel 34:11-13).
- Jeremiah 50:17 (BSB)“Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.””Israel is a scattered flock, first devoured by Assyria and then crushed by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 50:18-19 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.”The LORD will punish Babylon’s king as He punished Assyria’s and return Israel to its pasture.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”Isaiah records God’s purpose to punish Assyria’s king for his pride after using him.
- Jeremiah 25:12 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”Jeremiah had already said that at the end of seventy years God would call Babylon’s king and nation to account for their wrongdoing.
- Ezekiel 34:11-13 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.”God Himself promises to search for His scattered flock, bring it back to its land, and feed it on Israel’s mountains.
Theological
What does the LORD pledge in 50:17-19 after describing Israel as a flock mauled by lions?
Answer: To punish Babylon as He did Assyria and bring Israel home to graze
Israel’s flock lies scattered, devoured first by Assyria’s king and finally crushed by Nebuchadnezzar (50:17). The LORD of Hosts responds by decreeing for Babylon’s king and land the same visitation He brought on Assyria’s king (50:18), and by restoring Israel to its pasture, where it will feed to its heart’s content in its own territory (50:19). The successive empires that afflicted God’s people were instruments under His rule, and each was called to account in turn: Assyria for the arrogance of its heart (Isaiah 10:12) and Babylon for its guilt at the end of the seventy years (25:12). The restoration of the flock is God’s own shepherding work (Ezekiel 34:11-13).
- Jeremiah 50:17 (BSB)“Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.””Israel is a scattered flock, first devoured by Assyria and then crushed by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 50:18-19 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.”The LORD will punish Babylon’s king as He punished Assyria’s and return Israel to its pasture.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”Isaiah records God’s purpose to punish Assyria’s king for his pride after using him.
- Jeremiah 25:12 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”Jeremiah had already said that at the end of seventy years God would call Babylon’s king and nation to account for their wrongdoing.
- Ezekiel 34:11-13 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.”God Himself promises to search for His scattered flock, bring it back to its land, and feed it on Israel’s mountains.
General
According to 50:29-32, why would Babylon be paid back and brought down?
Answer: It had arrogantly defied the holy God whom Israel worshiped
The LORD calls for archers to surround Babylon so that no one escapes, and to repay it for its deeds, doing to it what it has done to others. The reason is that Babylon had defied the LORD, Israel’s Holy One (50:29). He calls Babylon the arrogant one and says He is against it; its day of punishment has come, and the proud one will trip and go down with nobody to raise it (50:31-32). Earlier the LORD says Babylon was caught in a trap He set because it challenged Him (50:24). Obadiah states the same principle: what a nation has done will come back on its own head (Obadiah 1:15). Nebuchadnezzar himself once confessed that God is able to bring the proud low (Daniel 4:37), and Proverbs teaches that pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
- Jeremiah 50:24 (BSB)“I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.”Babylon was caught in a trap the LORD set, because it opposed the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Archers are summoned to repay Babylon for its deeds, because it defied the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 50:31-32 (BSB)““Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.””The LORD declares Himself against the arrogant one, who will fall with no one to raise him up.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah states the same principle of repayment: a nation’s deeds come back upon itself.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed that God is able to humble the proud.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs states the general rule that pride leads to ruin.
Theological
What reason does 50:29-32 give for Babylon’s repayment and downfall?
Answer: It had arrogantly defied the holy God whom Israel worshiped
Archers are to encircle Babylon and requite her for her works, because she has acted insolently against Israel’s Holy One (50:29). The LORD declares Himself against the arrogant one, whose day of visitation has arrived, so that the proud one trips and collapses with none to raise him (50:31-32). Babylon’s capture was a snare laid by the LORD because she contended with Him (50:24). Babylon served God’s purposes against Judah, yet it was judged for its own proud defiance. Obadiah voices the same law of just recompense (Obadiah 1:15), Nebuchadnezzar learned that God humbles the proud (Daniel 4:37), and Proverbs makes pride the forerunner of ruin (Proverbs 16:18).
- Jeremiah 50:24 (BSB)“I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.”Babylon was caught in a trap the LORD set, because it opposed the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Archers are summoned to repay Babylon for its deeds, because it defied the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 50:31-32 (BSB)““Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.””The LORD declares Himself against the arrogant one, who will fall with no one to raise him up.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah states the same principle of repayment: a nation’s deeds come back upon itself.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed that God is able to humble the proud.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs states the general rule that pride leads to ruin.
General
What news are the nations to hear about Babylon and its gods (Jeremiah 50:2)?
Answer: Babylon is taken, and its gods Bel and Marduk are disgraced
The LORD tells messengers to announce to the nations, raise a signal flag, and hold nothing back: Babylon has fallen, Bel is shamed, Marduk is shattered, its images are shamed, and its idols are smashed (50:2). Bel and Marduk were gods of Babylon, and they could do nothing to save the city. An enemy people from the north would come and make Babylon’s land empty of people and animals (50:3). Later in the chapter the LORD calls Babylon a land of carved images whose people are crazed over idols (50:38). Isaiah pictured Babylon’s gods unable to rescue even themselves, carried off into captivity (Isaiah 46:1-2). Jeremiah had already said that idols are lifeless frauds that perish when judgment comes (10:14-15), and the psalm says idols have mouths that cannot speak and those who trust them end up as empty as they are (Psalm 115:4-8). Babylon’s fall exposes its gods as nothing.
- Jeremiah 50:2-3 (BSB)““Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’ For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.””The nations are to hear that Babylon has fallen and its gods are shamed, as a nation from the north lays its land waste.
- Jeremiah 50:38 (BSB)“A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.”Babylon is described as a land of carved images whose people are crazed over idols.
- Isaiah 46:1-2 (BSB)“Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.”Isaiah pictures Babylon’s gods unable to save even themselves, going into captivity.
- Jeremiah 10:14-15 (BSB)“Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.”Jeremiah had already exposed idols as lifeless deceptions that will be destroyed when judgment comes.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats. Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.”The psalm shows that man-made idols cannot speak, see or act, and neither can those who trust them.
Theological
What announcement about Babylon and its deities are the nations to receive (Jeremiah 50:2)?
Answer: Babylon is taken, and its gods Bel and Marduk are disgraced
The proclamation is to be raised like a banner before the nations without concealment: Babylon is taken, Bel disgraced, Marduk shattered, her images shamed and her idols smashed (50:2), as a northern nation turns her land into a desolation (50:3). The fall of the city is simultaneously the humiliation of her gods, for Babylon is a country full of carved images and maddened by idols (50:38). Isaiah portrays Babylon’s deities as powerless burdens that go into captivity themselves (Isaiah 46:1-2), and Jeremiah had already exposed idols as breathless frauds destined to perish in their visitation (10:14-15). The psalmist’s verdict holds: idols cannot act, and their worshipers share their emptiness (Psalm 115:4-8). The LORD alone is God over the empire that seemed to have conquered His people.
- Jeremiah 50:2-3 (BSB)““Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’ For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.””The nations are to hear that Babylon has fallen and its gods are shamed, as a nation from the north lays its land waste.
- Jeremiah 50:38 (BSB)“A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.”Babylon is described as a land of carved images whose people are crazed over idols.
- Isaiah 46:1-2 (BSB)“Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.”Isaiah pictures Babylon’s gods unable to save even themselves, going into captivity.
- Jeremiah 10:14-15 (BSB)“Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.”Jeremiah had already exposed idols as lifeless deceptions that will be destroyed when judgment comes.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats. Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.”The psalm shows that man-made idols cannot speak, see or act, and neither can those who trust them.
General
How does the LORD describe Israel and Judah coming back in those days (Jeremiah 50:4-5)?
Answer: Together, in tears, seeking the LORD and binding themselves to Him
Israel and Judah had long been two separate kingdoms, but in those days they would come back side by side, in tears, looking for their God (50:4). They would ask for the road to Zion, the hill of Jerusalem, turn toward it, and tie themselves to God in a covenant, a binding agreement, that would last forever and would not slip from memory (50:5). Their weeping goes hand in hand with seeking their God. Jeremiah had foretold that they would return weeping and the LORD would lead them (31:9), and that Judah and Israel would walk together back to the land He gave their fathers (3:18). Elsewhere Jeremiah connects the everlasting covenant with God’s own work: He promised to place the fear of Him within them so that they would never stray from Him (32:40).
- Jeremiah 50:4-5 (BSB)““In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”Israel and Judah come back together in tears, look for their God, set out for Zion, and bind themselves to Him in a lasting covenant.
- Jeremiah 31:9 (BSB)“They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.””Jeremiah had foretold that the people would return in tears and that the LORD would guide them.
- Jeremiah 3:18 (BSB)“In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave to your fathers as an inheritance.”God had promised that Judah and Israel would walk together and come back to the land of their inheritance.
- Jeremiah 32:40 (BSB)“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”In a related promise, God Himself plants reverence for Him within His people so that they will never depart from Him.
Theological
In what manner do Israel and Judah return in 50:4-5?
Answer: Together, in tears, seeking the LORD and binding themselves to Him
The northern and southern kingdoms, long divided, return together, in tears, seeking their God (50:4). They inquire after the road to Zion, head toward it, and bind themselves to Him by a covenant without end that will never fall into oblivion (50:5). The return is not merely geographic but a turning of the heart, as Jeremiah foresaw: they return in tears and supplication, and the LORD leads them (31:9), Judah walking with Israel (3:18). Jeremiah elsewhere ties the everlasting covenant to God’s sovereign work rather than to the people’s steadiness: He binds Himself never to stop doing them good and places the fear of Him within them so they will not depart from Him (32:40), a confident promise of perseverance grounded in divine grace.
- Jeremiah 50:4-5 (BSB)““In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.”Israel and Judah come back together in tears, look for their God, set out for Zion, and bind themselves to Him in a lasting covenant.
- Jeremiah 31:9 (BSB)“They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.””Jeremiah had foretold that the people would return in tears and that the LORD would guide them.
- Jeremiah 3:18 (BSB)“In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave to your fathers as an inheritance.”God had promised that Judah and Israel would walk together and come back to the land of their inheritance.
- Jeremiah 32:40 (BSB)“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”In a related promise, God Himself plants reverence for Him within His people so that they will never depart from Him.
General
Whom does the LORD blame for leading His people astray like lost sheep (Jeremiah 50:6)?
Answer: Their own shepherds
The LORD calls His people sheep that are lost. Their shepherds, the leaders who were supposed to care for them, had led them astray, so that they roamed over hills and mountains and forgot their place of rest (50:6). Then all their enemies who came upon them ate them up (50:7). Jeremiah had already pronounced woe on the shepherds who scattered God’s flock and did not care for it (23:1-2), and Ezekiel describes God’s sheep wandering over every mountain with nobody looking for them (Ezekiel 34:5-6). Jesus showed the same compassion when He saw crowds who were troubled and helpless, like a flock with no shepherd (Matthew 9:36). God’s answer to bad shepherds is His own care: He promises to gather what is left of His flock and bring them back to graze (23:3).
- Jeremiah 50:6-7 (BSB)“My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”God’s people are lost sheep misled by their shepherds, and their enemies devour them while denying any guilt.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD pronounces woe on the shepherds who scattered His flock and did not care for it.
- Ezekiel 34:5-6 (BSB)“They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’”Ezekiel likewise describes God’s flock scattered over every mountain for lack of a shepherd.
- Matthew 9:36 (BSB)“When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”Jesus was moved with pity for crowds who were troubled and defenseless, like a flock with no shepherd.
- Jeremiah 23:3 (BSB)“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.”The LORD promises to collect the survivors of His flock Himself and bring them back to graze.
Theological
To whom does 50:6 attribute the straying of God’s flock?
Answer: Their own shepherds
God names His people lost sheep whose own shepherds, their rulers and leaders, misled them and turned them loose on the mountains until they forgot their resting place (50:6), leaving them prey to every enemy who came upon them (50:7). The indictment echoes the woe on the shepherds who scattered the LORD’s flock (23:1-2) and Ezekiel’s portrait of a shepherdless flock scattered over every hill (Ezekiel 34:5-6). Christ’s compassion on the harassed and helpless crowds (Matthew 9:36) shows the same divine heart toward a misled people. The remedy is God’s own shepherding: He Himself gathers the survivors of His flock and brings them back to their pasture (23:3).
- Jeremiah 50:6-7 (BSB)“My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”God’s people are lost sheep misled by their shepherds, and their enemies devour them while denying any guilt.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD pronounces woe on the shepherds who scattered His flock and did not care for it.
- Ezekiel 34:5-6 (BSB)“They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’”Ezekiel likewise describes God’s flock scattered over every mountain for lack of a shepherd.
- Matthew 9:36 (BSB)“When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”Jesus was moved with pity for crowds who were troubled and defenseless, like a flock with no shepherd.
- Jeremiah 23:3 (BSB)“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.”The LORD promises to collect the survivors of His flock Himself and bring them back to graze.
General
True or False: The LORD says that in those days, when Israel’s guilt and Judah’s sins are searched for, nothing will be found, because He will pardon the survivors He keeps (Jeremiah 50:20).
Answer: True
This is true. Israel’s sin was real; even the enemies who devoured them pointed to it (50:7). Yet the LORD promises a day when a search would be made for their guilt and nothing would turn up. This is not because they had made themselves sinless, but because the LORD Himself would forgive the remnant, the small group of survivors, whom He keeps (50:20). The forgiveness is so complete that their sins can no longer be found. This is closely related to Jeremiah’s new covenant promise, in which God will pardon their wrongdoing and no longer call their sins to mind (31:34), and Hebrews quotes that promise as fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 8:12). Micah praises God for pardoning the survivors of His people (Micah 7:18-19), and Paul speaks of a remnant in his own day that God chose by grace (Romans 11:5). Both keeping the remnant and forgiving it are God’s work.
- Jeremiah 50:20 (BSB)“In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.”In those days no guilt will be found in Israel or Judah, because the LORD pardons the survivors He keeps.
- Jeremiah 31:34 (BSB)“No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.””The new covenant promise includes God pardoning His people’s wrongdoing and no longer calling their sins to mind.
- Hebrews 8:12 (BSB)“For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.””Hebrews quotes this new covenant promise of forgiveness as fulfilled in Christ’s better covenant.
- Micah 7:18-19 (BSB)“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.”Micah praises God for pardoning the survivors of His people and hurling their sins into the deep sea.
- Romans 11:5 (BSB)“In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”Paul says that in his own day, too, God has kept a remnant, chosen by His grace.
Theological
True or False: According to 50:20, a search for Israel’s and Judah’s guilt will turn up nothing, because the LORD will pardon the remnant He preserves.
Answer: True
This is true. The guilt of Israel and Judah was real, so real that their devourers appealed to it (50:7), yet in those days a search for it will find nothing, because the LORD forgives the remnant He preserves (50:20). The remnant exists because God preserves it, and its guilt vanishes because God pardons it; both its survival and its cleansing are sovereign grace. The promise is closely related to the new covenant, in which God forgives iniquity and remembers sin no more (31:34), a promise Hebrews applies to the covenant mediated by Christ (Hebrews 8:12). Micah celebrates the God who pardons the surviving remnant of His people (Micah 7:18-19), and Paul identifies a remnant elected by grace (Romans 11:5). This forgiveness is certain and complete because it rests on the LORD’s own work.
- Jeremiah 50:20 (BSB)“In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.”In those days no guilt will be found in Israel or Judah, because the LORD pardons the survivors He keeps.
- Jeremiah 31:34 (BSB)“No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.””The new covenant promise includes God pardoning His people’s wrongdoing and no longer calling their sins to mind.
- Hebrews 8:12 (BSB)“For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.””Hebrews quotes this new covenant promise of forgiveness as fulfilled in Christ’s better covenant.
- Micah 7:18-19 (BSB)“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.”Micah praises God for pardoning the survivors of His people and hurling their sins into the deep sea.
- Romans 11:5 (BSB)“In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”Paul says that in his own day, too, God has kept a remnant, chosen by His grace.
General
Israel and Judah were held fast by captors who would not let them go. What does the LORD say about their Redeemer (Jeremiah 50:33-34)?
Answer: He is strong and will defend their cause against Babylon
The people of Israel and Judah were oppressed, and their captors held on to them and refused to release them (50:33). But their Redeemer, the one who rescues and defends them, is strong, and He bears the name the LORD of Hosts. He will argue their case with energy, giving rest to the world and unrest to the people of Babylon (50:34). The captors’ grip is no match for Him. Proverbs uses the same language about the fatherless, whose strong Redeemer takes up their case (Proverbs 23:10-11). Isaiah says Israel’s Redeemer bears the name LORD of Hosts and is Israel’s Holy One (Isaiah 47:4), and records His promise to act against Babylon for His people’s sake (Isaiah 43:14). In the next chapter the LORD again promises to plead their case (51:36).
- Jeremiah 50:33-34 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them. Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.”Israel and Judah are gripped by captors who will not free them, but their mighty Redeemer will take up their cause against Babylon.
- Proverbs 23:10-11 (BSB)“Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.”Proverbs uses the same title of a mighty Redeemer who defends the helpless.
- Isaiah 47:4 (BSB)“Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—is the Holy One of Israel.”Isaiah names Israel’s Redeemer as the LORD of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel, in his own oracle on Babylon.
- Isaiah 43:14 (BSB)“Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake, I will send to Babylon and bring them all as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.”The LORD as Redeemer promises to act against Babylon for His people’s sake.
- Jeremiah 51:36 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.”In the next chapter the LORD again promises to defend His people’s cause and avenge them.
Theological
What does 50:33-34 declare about Israel’s Redeemer when captors refuse to release them?
Answer: He is strong and will defend their cause against Babylon
Israel and Judah are oppressed by captors who hold them fast and refuse to let them go (50:33). Against that grip stands their Redeemer, mighty and named the LORD of Hosts, who will vigorously contend for them, giving rest to the world and unrest to Babylon’s inhabitants (50:34). Redemption here is God’s own powerful intervention as the defender of His covenant people. Proverbs applies the same title to the defender of the fatherless (Proverbs 23:10-11), Isaiah identifies the Redeemer as the LORD of Hosts and Israel’s Holy One (Isaiah 47:4), who acts against Babylon for His people’s sake (Isaiah 43:14), and the following chapter repeats the pledge to plead their cause (51:36). His people’s release rests on His strength, not theirs.
- Jeremiah 50:33-34 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them. Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.”Israel and Judah are gripped by captors who will not free them, but their mighty Redeemer will take up their cause against Babylon.
- Proverbs 23:10-11 (BSB)“Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.”Proverbs uses the same title of a mighty Redeemer who defends the helpless.
- Isaiah 47:4 (BSB)“Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—is the Holy One of Israel.”Isaiah names Israel’s Redeemer as the LORD of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel, in his own oracle on Babylon.
- Isaiah 43:14 (BSB)“Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake, I will send to Babylon and bring them all as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.”The LORD as Redeemer promises to act against Babylon for His people’s sake.
- Jeremiah 51:36 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.”In the next chapter the LORD again promises to defend His people’s cause and avenge them.