The sacred vessels plundered from Jerusalem, and laid up in the very temple of Bel, should be restored; the men and women dragged from other lands to people the city, released; and its wall falling would show the insignificance to which it should be reduced.

I will punish Bel in Babylon - Bel or Belus was their supreme deity.

That which he hath swallowed up - The sacred vessels of the temple of Jerusalem, which were taken thence by Nebuchadnezzar, and dedicated to him in his temple at Babylon.

The wall of Babylon shall fall - It shall cease to be a defense; and shall moulder away until, in process of time, it shall not be discernible.

And I will punish Bel in Babylon,.... The idol of the Babylonians, who had a temple in Babylon, where he was worshipped: the same is called Belus by Aelianus (g), Curtius (h), and Pausanias (i); perhaps the same Herodian (k) calls Belis, and says some take him to be Apollo; for more of him; see Gill on Isaiah 46:1; and See Gill on Jeremiah 50:2; who was punished when his temple was demolished, and plundered of its wealth; this golden image of Belus was broke to pieces, and the gold of it carried away. The Targum is,

"I will visit or punish them that worship Bel in Babylon:''

and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; the rich offerings made to him when victories were obtained; all success being ascribed to him; and the spoils of conquered enemies, which were brought and laid up in his temple, particularly the vessels of the sanctuary at Jerusalem, which were deposited there; see 2 Chronicles 36:7; and which were restored by Cyrus, Ezra 1:7; which restoration of them greatly fulfilled this prophecy; and was a refunding of what was lodged with him, or a vomiting what he had swallowed up; compare with this the story of "Bel and the dragon":

and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him; either to worship him, or bring their presents to him, to ingratiate themselves with the king of Babylon:

yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall; which Bel was not able to defend; and therefore should be deserted by his worshippers. The Targum renders it in the plural, the walls of Babylon; of which; see Gill on Jeremiah 51:58. Some think that not the wall of the city is here meant: but the temple of Bel, which was as a wall or fortress to the city; but now should fall, and be so no more; since it is not easy to give a reason why mention here should be made of the fall of the walls of the city; and seeing express mention is made of this afterwards.

(g) Var. Hist. l. 13. c. 3.((h) Hist. l. 5. c. 1.((i) L. 1. sive Attica, p. 29. (k) Hist. l. 8. c. 7.

With the conquest of Babylon, Bel, the chief deity of the Babylonians (see on Jeremiah 50:2), is punished; and not only is his prey torn from him, but his fame also, which attracted the nations, is destroyed. Under the prey which Bel has swallowed, and which is to be torn out of his mouth, we must include not merely the sacred vessels which had been deposited in the temple of Belus (Daniel 1:3), and the voluntary offerings presented him (Hitzig), but all the property which Babylon had taken as spoil from the nations; and the nations themselves, with life and property, Babylon has swallowed (see 34 and Jeremiah 50:17). All this is now to be torn out of his jaws. Bel falls with the fall of Babylon (cf. Isaiah 46:1), so that nations no longer come in streams to him, to dedicate their goods and treasures to him. The description ends with the sentence, "the wall of Babylon also is fallen," which Hitzig and Graf wrongly suspect, on the ground that it is insipid. Ewald, on the contrary, perceives in the very same expression a brief and emphatic conclusion; because the famous wall of Babylon, strong in every part, was the main defence of this great city of the world. For explaining this sentence, therefore, it is unnecessary to assume that the walls of Babylon seem to have been regarded as sacred to Bel, as Ngelsbach is inclined to infer from the names which are said to be given to these walls in an inscription translated by Oppert.

(Note: Cf. J. Oppert, Expdition en Msopot. i. p. 227, where, on the strength of an inscription of Asarhaddon, which is read, "Imgur-Bel is its (Babylon's) chief wall, Ninivitti-Bel its rampart," the expressions found in the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar before the mention of the walls - viz. "Imgur-Bel" (may Bel-Dagon protect him) and "Ninivitti-Bel" (the abode of Bel) - have been explained by Rawlinson and Oppert as names of the first and second lines of fortification round Babylon.)

And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which {a} he hath swallowed: and the nations shall not flow together any more to him: even the wall of Babylon shall fall.

(a) That is, his gifts and presents which he had received as part of the spoil of other nations, and which the idolaters brought to him from all countries.

51:44 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.

44. Bel . swallowed-in allusion to the many sacrifices to the idol which its priests pretended it swallowed at night; or rather, the precious gifts taken from other nations and offered to it (which it is said to have "swallowed"; compare "devoured," "swallowed," Jer 51:34; Jer 50:17), which it should have to disgorge (compare Jer 51:13; Jer 50:37). Of these gifts were the vessels of Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem (2Ch 36:7; Da 1:2). The restoration of these, as foretold here, is recorded in Ezr 1:7-11.

flow-as a river; fitly depicting the influx of pilgrims of all "nations" to the idol.

51:1-58 The particulars of this prophecy are dispersed and interwoven, and the same things left and returned to again. Babylon is abundant in treasures, yet neither her waters nor her wealth shall secure her. Destruction comes when they did not think of it. Wherever we are, in the greatest depths, at the greatest distances, we are to remember the Lord our God; and in the times of the greatest fears and hopes, it is most needful to remember the Lord. The feeling excited by Babylon's fall is the same with the New Testament Babylon, Re 18:9,19. The ruin of all who support idolatry, infidelity, and superstition, is needful for the revival of true godliness; and the threatening prophecies of Scripture yield comfort in this view. The great seat of antichristian tyranny, idolatry, and superstition, the persecutor of true Christians, is as certainly doomed to destruction as ancient Babylon. Then will vast multitudes mourn for sin, and seek the Lord. Then will the lost sheep of the house of Israel be brought back to the fold of the good Shepherd, and stray no more. And the exact fulfilment of these ancient prophecies encourages us to faith in all the promises and prophecies of the sacred Scriptures.