Threshing floor - Babylon had been a threshing instrument, by which, and a threshing - floor in which God had threshed many other nations; God now intended to make it as a threshing - floor wherein he would thresh the Chaldeans. Tread her - So they used to prepare their threshing - floors against the time of harvest. The time - The harvest which the justice of God would have from the ruin of the Chaldeans.
Me - The prophet speaks this in the name of the Jews. Cast me out - As beasts of prey eat what they please of other beasts they have preyed upon, and leave the rest in the field.
Dry up - Alluding to what Cyrus did.
They - The Babylonians, upon the taking of their city.
Heat - When they shall grow hot with wine, I will make them a feast of another nature. Interpreters judge that Belshazzar, Dan 5:1, made a feast to a thousand of his Lords, when he and his wives, and concubines, drank wine in the vessels belonging to the temple, during which feast the city was taken. And not awake - While they were merry with their wine, they fell into a sleep which they never awoke out of.
Sheshach - A name given to the city of Babylon.
The sea - A multitude of enemies.
Bel - Bel was the principal Babylonian idol. Bring forth - All the vessels of the temple, 2Chron 36:7, and whatever gifts the Babylonians had presented to him. The wall - And the city of Babylon shall be also ruined.
Go out of her - At all hazards escape for your lives.
Then - All the creatures in heaven and earth shall rejoice at the vengeance which God shall take upon Babylon.
Of all the earth - This term must be understood in a restrained sense; the Chaldeans coming up from all parts of Chaldea to help Babylon, were slain there, as by the means of Babylon the Israelites were slain that came from all parts of Judea to help Jerusalem.
Ye - Ye Jews, leave Babylon as soon as liberty is proclaimed. Remember - And remember in Judea the great things both of justice and mercy which God hath done.
We - We Jews are ashamed to hear the enemies reproaching us, for our God, or for our religion. Strangers - Pagans that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, are come, not to worship, but to plunder, the sanctuaries of the Lord; even into the courts of the priests and of the Israelites; yea, into the most holy place.
Wherefore - For this profanation of my holy place, I will be revenged not only upon their idols, but upon the worshippers of them, and cause a groaning of wounded men over all the country of the Chaldeans.
The great voice - The noises caused from multitudes of people walking up and trafficking together. A noise - The noise of her enemies that shall break in upon her shall be like the roaring of the sea.
Because - Little more is said here than was before, only the words hint the taking of Babylon by a surprize when the king, and the inhabitants were not aware of it, which we had before also told us, ver.39,40. Requite - The wrongs done to his people.
Drunk - A plain allusion to the posture the king of Babylon, and the thousand of his lords were in, when their city was taken while they were drinking wine in the bowls that were brought from the temple at Jerusalem.
Weary - Though the people should labour to quench this fire, or to rebuild this city, yet it would be all lost labour.
In the fourth year - This circumstance lets us know that this prophecy was many years before Babylon was destroyed; for it was seven years before Jerusalem was taken; so as it must be above sixty years before it was fulfilled in the first degree.
Shalt read - Probably to the Jews, that were in Babylon.
Shalt say - Thou shalt testify that thou believest what thou hast read.
Weary - With that weight of judgment which shall be upon them. The words - The prophetical words of Jeremiah; for the matter of the next chapter is historical, and the book of Lamentations is not prophetical.
Zedekiah - It is generally thought that this chapter was not penned by Jeremiah, who, it is not probable, would have so largely repeated what he had related before; and could not historically relate what happened after his time, as some things did which are mentioned towards the end of the chapter. Probably it was penned by some of those in Babylon, and put in here as a preface to the book of Lamentations.
Three - It is probable there were more keepers of the door, but the captain of the guard took only three of the chief.
All the persons were four thousand and six hundred - How amazingly were the Jews diminished, that this handful was all who were carried captive!
All the days of his life - Here ends the history of the kingdom of Judah. I shall only observe the severe judgment of God upon this people, whose kingdom was made up of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and half the tribe of Manasseh. In the numbering of the persons belonging to these two tribes, Numb 1:27,35,37, (counting half of the number of the tribe of Manasseh) we find one hundred twenty - six thousand one hundred: Numb 26:22,34,41, we find of them one hundred forty - eight thousand four hundred and fifty. Here, ver.52:30, we find no more of them carried into captivity, than four thousand and six hundred. From whence we may judge what a multitude of them were slain by the sword, by the famine, and pestilence! It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, to mock his messengers, despise his words, and misuse his prophets, 'till there be no remedy, 2Chron 36:16.