John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 51:20-23

"Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin; and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke [of oxen]; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies." — Jeremiah 51:20-23 (ASV)

The Prophet here addresses the doubts of many. Because he had spoken of the destruction of Babylon, it could have easily been objected that the monarchy, fortified with so many defenses and having subjugated all neighboring nations, was impregnable. Therefore, the Prophet here shows that the power and wealth of Babylon were no hindrance to God destroying it whenever He pleased, for this is an argument derived from the contrary.

We have previously seen that God roots up what He has planted (Jeremiah 45:4), and we have also seen the metaphor of the potter and his vessels. When the Prophet went down to the potter, he saw a vessel formed and then broken at the will and pleasure of the potter (Jeremiah 18:2–4). So also now, God shows that its destruction was, as it were, in His hand, because the Chaldeans had not risen to eminence through their own power, but He had raised them and employed them for His own purpose. In short, the Prophet compares the Babylonians in this passage to a formed vessel, and God makes Himself the potter:

“I am He who has raised Babylon to so great a height; it therefore belongs to Me to pull it down whenever it pleases Me.”

We now understand the purpose of this passage, though the Prophet uses different words.

He says that Babylon was a hammer and weapons of war to break in pieces the nations. The verb נפף, nuphets, means to break in pieces, to scatter carelessly here and there, and also to scatter violently. He then says, “I have by you scattered the nations, and by you have destroyed kingdoms.” But as the Chaldeans had enjoyed so many victories and had subjugated so many nations, he adds, I have by you broken in pieces the horse and his rider; the chariot and its rider; and then, I have broken in pieces men and women, old men and children, the young men and the maidens, the shepherds and also their flocks. He enumerates here almost all kinds of men.

He then mentions husbandmen and yokes of oxen, or of horses; and lastly, He mentions captains and rulers. All these things are said by way of concession. Yet the Prophet reminds us that no difficulty would prevent God from destroying Babylon, because Babylon in itself was nothing. In this sense, then, it is called a hammer.

In short, the Prophet removes the false opinion that might have otherwise disturbed weak minds, namely, that Babylon was wholly invincible. He shows at the same time that God executed His judgments on all nations by means of Babylon.

Thus the faithful could have been confirmed. Otherwise, they would have necessarily been cast down when they considered the formidable power of Babylon. But when they heard that it was only a hammer, and that they would not have been broken in pieces by the Babylonians had they not been armed from Heaven, or rather, had they not been driven on by a heavenly power, it then became clear that the calamity the Jews had suffered was nothing more than a punishment inflicted by God’s hand.

When, therefore, they heard this, it was no small consolation; it kept them from succumbing to their miseries and from being swallowed up by sorrow and despair.