22 With thee alſo will I break in pieces man and woman, and with thee will I break in pieces old and young, and with thee will I breakin pieces the young man, and the maid.
23 I will alſo breakiin pieces with thee the ſhepherd, and his flock, and with thee will I break in pieces the
I break in pieces captains and, rulers f.
f The ſenſe of all theſe three Verſes is the ſame, viz. That God had made uſe, and was itill making uſe of the Babylmians to waſte and to deſtroy many Nations, to ſpoil and impoveriſh much Peo- ple, waſting their Goods, routing their Armies, killing all ſortz of their Inhabitants.
24 And I will render unto Babylon, and to all the inhabitancs of Chaldea, all their evil that they have dons 1 Zion, in your ſight, ſaith the LORD g.
£ The Particle in the front of rhis Verſe which our Tranſlators | ( underſtanding the four former Verſes of Cyr ) render and in a Ccopulative ſenſe, muſt be rendred now or but, if the four former Verſes be underſtood of Babylon, and the ſenſe isthis, Though | have hitherto made uſe of Babylon, and ſhall yet for a time make uſe of the Chalaeans and Babylonians to deſtoy ſeveral other Nations, ' yet now rhe time is come, thatI will punith them, and zecompence .fo them all the miſchief they have done to the Jews and ſome of the Jews ſhall live to ſes ir.
25 Behold, I aw againſt thee, O deſtroying moun- tain, faith the LORD, which deſtroyelt all the earth b, and I will ſtretch our my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks 5, and will make thee a burnt mountain &.
h Babylonis not here called a Mountain becauſe it was ſituated upon any Hills or Mountains, for it appears ftom Ger. 11. 2. that it was ſicuated in a Plain, and we read Yerſe. 13 that it dwelt upon man Water: ; but becauſe it was very highfor its Power, and Greatneſs, {;and had very high Walls and Towers, that it looked at a diſtance { Iike an high rocky Mountain, and as ſome ſay ( being a very large | City ) was full of Trees. They had deſtroyed many People ofthe ; Earth that lay near to them. # God threatens to deſtroy them not
withſtanding their Towers, and great Fortifications, as many times
they threw down MalefaQors from high Rocks, Mountains, and
Precipices. k And tro make them like Rena or Yeſuvins, or like ſome | other Mountains of Sulphur, or other biruminous matter fired, whichare always burning, or elſe he threatneth that their Cities and Towers which appeared like a Mountain ſhould be burnt.
\ >. 29
{ 26 And they ſhal not take ofchee a ſtone for a corner, nor a ſtone for foundations, but thou ſhalt bet deſolate + Heb; everlaſiing I God threatneth to Babylon an utter ruine and deſolation, ſo as deſolstionse
for ever ſaith the LORD IU.
they ſhould not have a ſtone left fir to lay a foundation, or to
make a corner ſtone : or, as ſome others interpret it, That City
ſhould never be built again, there ſhould never from the Rubbith
of it be taken a ſtone to lay the foundation, nor to lay upon the , Corners of new Houſes, new Walls, new Towers in that place, Foundation ſtones, and corner ſtones,are principal ſtones in Buildings. 5 gg ſhall be left in Babylon of any worth, value or conſiderable« neſs.
27 Set yeup a ſtandar1in the land, blow the trumpet among[t the nations mz, prepare the nations againſt her, call together againſt her the kingdoms of Aratat », Minni, and Aſhchenaz o, appoint a captain againſt her p, cauſe the horſes to come up as the rough caterpil- lars 9.
m Theſe former words of this Verſe are expounded by thoſe that follow, ſetting up of Standards and blowings of Trumpets, are preparatory to bring Armies together. The ſetting up of Standards, and blowing of Trumpets. are Military ſigns of the Will of thoſe Princes or Captains General, whoſe thoſe Standards are, and to whom thoſe Trumpets belong, that thoſe Soldiers who are under their Command ſhould gather themſelves together to the places where thoſe Standards are 1et up, and thoſe Trumpets blown. » What this Kingdom of Ararat was. o And thoſe of Mrmni and Aſbchenaz is very hard to determine, we read of a Mountain called Ararat, where the Ark reſted afrer the Flood, Geneſis 8. 4. Of Minni we read no where elſe; moſt Writers think theſe were two Kingdoms within Armenia. Aſbchenaz de= ſcended from Noah by Faphat, Geneſis 10. 3- certain it is that the Emperour of the Medes had the Dominion of theſe places, from whence it is very probable that either Cyr#s or Darizs, or both drew out Soldiers to help them to conquer the Chaldeans. p Affeer Peopleare gathered together for War, the firſt thing to be done is to put them into Military Order, conſtituting a Captain General. q Let the Horſes come up like the rough Caterpisar. Others read it like the waſting Caterpillar, or like the horrible afcighting Cas rerpillar. Great Diſputes there are amongſt critical Interpreters what Caterpillars are here meant, the Caterpillars being generally
ſmooth ; but as we know not the complexion of Inf:Cts over ew ng
husbandman, and his yoke of oxen, and with thee will -
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the World, ſfoevzn amongſt us, we ſez ſore Caterpillars that look 2 little rough ; that which alone we are here to attend is, why the Median Horſes are compared to theſe Inſe&s ; undoubtedly it is either x. With reſpe& to their Numbers, for Caterpillars in thoſe Ceun- tries uſed to come in vaſte numbers. 2:Or in regard of the horror, and trembling cauſed by them in People when they came, being a great Plague to the places which they infeſted. EO 28 Prepare againſt her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion r.
+ Here the Prophet declares thoſe particular Princes, and Nati- ons that ſhould be God's Inſtruments to deſtroy Babylon, viz. Cyrus and Darius the Emperours of the Medes, with all the Forces under their Command, and People under their Dominion.
29 And the land ſhall tremble and ſorrow /; for. every purpoſe of the LORD ſhall be performed againſt Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a deſolation
without an inhabitant r.
\ That is, Babylon, or the Land of Chaldea ſhall tremble and ſors row. #t For God hath determined to deſtroy it, and to leave ic wholly deſolate, ſo as none ſhould dwell in it.