John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 51:37

"And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant." — Jeremiah 51:37 (ASV)

He confirms what he had said: that when God raised His hand against Babylon, its destruction would be such that the splendor, which previously astonished all nations, would be reduced to nothing. He says that all the wealth of Babylon shall perish—its towers and its walls shall fall, and its people shall disappear. In short, it shall become heaps of stones, just as he said previously that it would become a mountain of burning.

It is for the same purpose, then, that he now says it would become heaps. But we must remember what we observed yesterday: that it would become such heaps that they would not be suitable for cornerstones, nor could they be used in foundations, because the ruins would be entirely useless for any new building.

He says that it would become an astonishment and a hissing. Moses also used these words when he threatened the people with punishment if they transgressed the law of God (Deuteronomy 28:37). But these threats extend to all the ungodly and the despisers of God. Thus, God fulfilled for the Babylonians what He had denounced through Moses against all the despisers of His law.