59 The message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah , the grandson of Mahseiah , when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign . (Now Seraiah was quartermaster e .) 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon , that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon . 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah , "As soon as you come to Babylon , then see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say , 'You, O Lord , have promised concerning this place to cut it off , so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast , but it will be a perpetual desolation .' 63 "And as soon as you finish reading this scroll , you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates , 64 and say , 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because e of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted .' " Thus far are the words of Jeremiah .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 51:59-64
Commentary on Jeremiah 51:59-64
(Read Jeremiah 51:59-64)
This prophecy is sent to Babylon, to the captives there, by Seraiah, who is to read it to his countrymen in captivity. Let them with faith see the end of these threatening powers, and comfort themselves herewith. When we see what this world is, how glittering its shows, and how flattering its proposals, let us read in the book of the Lord that it shall shortly be desolate. The book must be thrown into the river Euphrates. The fall of the New Testament Babylon is thus represented, Revelation 18:21. Those that sink under the weight of God's wrath and curse, sink for ever. Babylon, and every antichrist, will soon sink and rise no more for ever. Let us hope in God's word, and quietly wait for his salvation; then we shall see, but shall not share, the destruction of the wicked.