A cry - i. e., the war-cry.

A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon,.... Of the inhabitants of it upon its being taken; which is said to denote the certainty of it, which was as sure as if the cry of the distressed was then heard:

and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans; that is, the report of a great destruction there, was, or would be, carried from thence, and spread all over the world.

The prophet in the spirit sees these destroyers as already come. A cry of anguish proceeds from Babylon, and great destruction; cf. Jeremiah 50:22, Jeremiah 50:46, and Jeremiah 48:3. For (Jeremiah 51:55) Jahveh lays waste Babylon, and destroys out of her קול גּדול, properly "the loud voice," i.e., the loud noise and bustle of the city. "Their waves," i.e., the surging masses of the conquering army, roar like many or great waters; cf. Isaiah 17:12. נתּן , lit., "there is given" (i.e., there sounds) "the noise of their voice," i.e., of the roaring of their waves. "For there comes on Babylon a destroyer, so that her heroes are made prisoners, and her bows (by synecdoche for weapons) broken in pieces." The Piel חתּתה has here an intransitive sense, "to break or shiver into pieces," like פּתּח, Isaiah 48:8; Isaiah 60:11. This must take place, for Jahveh is a God of retribution; cf. Jeremiah 51:24. This retribution He will execute in such a way as to make the princes, wise men, rulers, and heroes of Babylon sink down into an eternal sleep, by presenting to them the cup of wrath. On השׁכּרתּי and וישׁנוּ, cf. Jeremiah 51:39. On the enumeration of the different classes of leaders and supporters of the state, cf. Jeremiah 51:23 and Jeremiah 50:35; and on the designation of Jahveh as King, Jeremiah 48:15, with the remark there made.

A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

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.