Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. It is with this context that Daniel the prophet takes up the theme and relates Gods dealings with Babylon to His ultimate purpose of bringing all nations into subjection unto the Son of God. He, inDeuteronomy 28:49-58, tells of sending people into exile if they disobey Him, which Israel did. You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! Apart from a reference to a Babylonish garment in Joshua 7:21, there is no Biblical reference to Babylon after Genesis 11 until the great prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel unfolded Gods plan for the ancient city. The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet: Declare and proclaim among the nations.Proclaim it and lift up a standard.Do not conceal it but say,Babylon has been captured,Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered. For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever. The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea As windstorms in the Negev sweep on, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land. https://www.learnreligions.com/history-of-babylon-3867031 (accessed March 4, 2023). So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouthIf I do not remember you,If I do not exalt JerusalemAbove my chief joy. Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 'This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The captain of the guard also took away the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. They said, Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.. In it, the king saw a great, bright image with a head of fine gold, chest, and arms of silver, middle and thighs of bronze, iron legs, and feet mixed with iron and clay. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. But you have been cast out of your tombLike a rejected branch,Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword,Who go down to the stones of the pitLike a trampled corpse. Who destroys the whole earth, declares the. The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 'Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.' Nebuchadrezzar: the builder king of Babylon The Bible depicts Nebuchadrezzar II and his city as doomed, but to his own people, he restored Babylon to glory. To God? Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!read more.In those days and at that time, declares the Lord, the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the Lord their God they will seek. City of mystery, history, prophecy. Prior to this event, the Babylonian Empire had already fallen on evil days. After the downfall of Assyria, Babylon became Nebuchadnezzar's capital. How the hammer of the whole earthHas been cut off and broken!How Babylon has becomeAn object of horror among the nations! Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. Those who see you will gaze at you,They will ponder over you, saying,Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wildernessAnd overthrew its cities,Who did not allow his prisoners to go home? All the kings of the nations lie in glory,Each in his own tomb. 238 city: 'Babylon is the Greek spelling of the name which in Hebrew is uniform-ly 'Babel' [ and] refers to an ancient city on the eastern bank of the Eu-phrates about twenty miles south of Bagdad, near the modern village of Hilla May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. Two centuries later, Alexander the Great planned to make Babylon the jewel of his Asian empire, but ended up dying in the city in 323 B.C.E. None remained except the poorest people of the land. This "strong voice" is characteristic of the heavenly utterances (cf. As rulers, their judges exacted punishments that make even the most hard-hearted person squeamish. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. In the end, God determines the outcome of all things and raises up nations and destroys them just as easily (Job 12:23; Proverbs 21:1). Here a prediction of Babylons utter humiliation is given, and the foreview seems to relate primarily to the capture of Babylon by the Medes and the Persians. Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. As we learned from Jonahs experiencesGod cares about wicked people too. Now. then wrote Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues, the judges and the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.. Babylon the Great is a symbol. Babylon is referenced 280 times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. She also is a member of BRRC. And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning. When United States forces invaded Iraq in 2003, they constructed a military base on top of the ruins, destroying many artifacts in the process and making future digs even more difficult. You will not be united with them in burial. It was rebuilt by Esarhaddon, and was finally wrested from Assyria around 625 b.c. For in one hour your judgment has come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths None remained except the poorest people of the land. A prominent theme of Jeremiahs prophecies were predictions against Egypt in which he anticipated that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Egypt. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. O you who dwell by many waters,Abundant in treasures,Your end has come,The measure of your end. It has no more relevance to prophecy than has China, Japan, Mexico or Canada. You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. Her final appearance in the narrative comes in Revelation 17. and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,Hallelujah! Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced. "I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he performed, because they acted for Me," declares the Lord GOD. As a traditional enemy of Israel, Egypt was thus to experience Gods judgment in the form of coming under the power of Babylon. Those who see you will gaze at you,They will ponder over you, saying,Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wildernessAnd overthrew its cities,Who did not allow his prisoners to go home? All the kings of the nations lie in glory,Each in his own tomb. "You shall also say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Flee from the Chaldeans!Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this,Send it out to the end of the earth;Say, The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.. And they went by way of the Arabah. How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones. Babylon was the center of a powerful empire that continually sought to expand its power, which often led to imperial wars with other nations. Babylon was represented in the great image by the head of gold, and Daniel recognized the importance of Nebuchadnezzar: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it." Lisa and her husband, Stephen, a pastor, live in a small Ohio village with their crazy cat, Lewis. Then Jeremiah said to them, "You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city. So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king's mother and the king's wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ', and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and. It has its parallel in the fall of symbolic Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion. You are wearied with your many counsels;Let now the astrologers,Those who prophesy by the stars,Those who predict by the new moons,Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. Even if literal Babylon is not rebuilt as a city in the last days and subjected to the sudden destruction described in Revelation 18, Babylon as an influence for evil politically and religiously will not be terminated until Jesus Christ comes in power and glory to reign. A great bridge some 660 feet long and 30 feet wide bridged the Euphrates River and connected the eastern and western halves of the city. So I will give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword. For this reason my loins are full of anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor. The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. For there our captors demanded of us songs,And our tormentors mirth, saying,Sing us one of the songs of Zion.read more.How can we sing the Lords songIn a foreign land? She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I. and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced. The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. "I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts. He will even oppose the Prince of princes. 'I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction. So arrogant was Nebuchadnezzar that he had a 90-foot tall gold statue built of himself and commanded everyone to worship it. Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths None remained except the poorest people of the land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city. A stone (cut by no human hands) struck the image on its feet and broke them into pieces, followed by the whole image becoming as chaff and blown by the wind. Surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive. Setting siege to the large city of Babylon, the Medes had dug a canal diverting the water that flowed under the city wall. With the recompense with which you have repaid us. A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. The city proper measured four square miles, on both banks of the Euphrates. Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar figure prominently in the Old Testament, as it was Babylon that invaded Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and carried off many Jews to Babylon as exiles. Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the kings name, and seal it with the kings signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the kings signet ring may not be revoked.. Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. Understanding Revelation: Babylon = Jerusalem In The Revelation that Jesus gave to John, he says that he would be coming soon, to pour out his wrath on a great city that he calls "Babylon". At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Interpretation has been made more difficult by the varied meanings of Babylon itself. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they should be ready for this day. Babylon in the Bible is named six times in the book of Revelation, the hotbed of end-times discussions (along with the books of Daniel and Ezekiel). Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and captured the city. They served idols, concerning which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this thing." He said to him, Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place., Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed., Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persiain order to fulfill the word of the, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the, Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. They must not arise and take possession of the earth, And fill the face of the world with cities., I will rise up against them, declares the, I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, declares the. O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you. You felt secure in your wickedness and said,No one sees me,Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;For you have said in your heart,I am, and there is no one besides me.. The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. In 729 b.c. Why the Name Babylon? So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. And a second time they said, Hallelujah! Now this was their number: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 duplicates; 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind and 1,000 other articles. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. "But you have been cast out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse. "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. Cult and temple prostitutes were common. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. Hallelujah! So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah. "You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have slain your people. It is quite hard to identify an original Babylonian god, other than perhaps Marduk or Nabu. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. If Herodotus can be believed, the walls were indeed formidable being 350 feet high and 87 feet thick. A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!For it is a land of idols,And they are mad over fearsome idols. Babel (Hebrew), or Babylon (Greek), was one of the cities of an ancient kingdom established by Nimrod early in mankind's history ( Genesis 10:10 ). The Babylonian exile was a period in the history of ancient Israel. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the kings choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the kings personal service. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the. Babylon is an example for us to learn how notto live. 'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. And the second pillar was like these with network. The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lordthe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. Babylon is referenced 280 times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. Behold, the land of the Chaldeansthis is the people which was not; They said, Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say, and from where have they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country, from Babylon.read more.He said, What have they seen in your house? So Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream, which Daniel interpreted (giving all glory to God for the interpretation). Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. In the Old Testament, Babylon was responsible for the destruction of the Temple in . In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. "You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman in childbirth! read more. Babylon in the Bible was an important city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (the southern part of modern Iraq). All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon. A sword against their horses and against their chariotsAnd against all the foreigners who are in the midst of her,And they will become women!A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered! Nebuchadnezzar was ready then to give praise to God as he does in Daniel 4:2, 3, 34-37. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slew all the nobles of Judah. Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. In the period from 1100 to 625 b.c. All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. The city of Babylon continued to flourish after the Medes conquered it, and though its glory dwindled, especially after the control of the Medes and Persians ended in 323 b.c., the city continued in some form or substance until a.d. 1000 and did not experience a sudden termination such as is anticipated in this prophecy. The sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the LORD their God. Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes. The fall of Babylon is a historical event that occurred in 539 BC. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.). And do according to all that I have commanded you. Debated is the conclusion that the city itself will have a physical revival to become the capital of the world at the end of the age. The place according to Genesis 11:9 was called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. It seems probable that the name given to the city in Genesis 10:10 actually supplanted the original name at this time, and this incident contributes to the long history of Babylon as a center of religious significance, and as a source of false religion and rebellion against the true God. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74. The satanic power behind Babylon addressed as "Lucifer, son of the morning" (14:12) is portrayed both in his original rebellion against God and in his ultimate judgment. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder. Babylon, then, controls the government/s it represents. for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste! And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?.