John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 51:44

"And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall." — Jeremiah 51:44 (ASV)

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 ^F7 , Curtius ^F8 , and Pausanias ^F9 ; perhaps the same Herodian ^F11 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 has swallowedup ; 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 2 Chronicles 36:18) (Daniel 1:2) ; and which were restored by Cyrus, (Ezra 1:7Ezra 1:8) ; 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F7: Var. Hist. l. 13. c. 3.
• F8: Hist. l. 5. c. 1.
• F9: L. 1. sive Attica, p. 29.
• F11: Hist. l. 8. c. 7.