“‘I will rebuke
The locust
For you.
Thus,
It will not destroy
The produce
Of your soil.
Your vine
In the field
Shall not be barren.’
Says Yahweh of hosts.”
Yahweh, via Malachi, said that he was going to hold back the locusts from them. These locusts would not destroy the products that they planted. In fact, their vineyards would not be barren, but fruitful.
“There the fire
Will devour you.
The sword
Will cut you off.
It will devour you
Like the locusts.
Multiply yourselves
Like the locusts!
Multiply yourselves
Like the grasshoppers!
You increased
Your merchants
More than the stars
Of the heavens.
The locust sheds its skin.
Then it flies away.
Your guards are
Like grasshoppers.
Your scribes are
Like swarms of locusts,
Settling on the fences,
On a day of cold,
When the sun rises,
They fly away.
No one knows
Where they have gone.”
A fire would destroy Nineveh, while the sword would chase people away. The city would be decimated, as if a swarm of locusts had come through there. They would have to multiply themselves like grasshoppers or locusts, as their merchants had done in the past. These commercial envoys of Nineveh were as numerous as the stars. Just as the locust sheds its skin, so that it can fly away, the guards at Nineveh would be like grasshoppers, hip hopping away. Their scribes were like swarms of locusts sitting on a fence on a cold day. However, when the sun came up the next day, these scribes would fly off, where no one would know where they went. As this was going to happen to Nineveh, no one would know where in the world they went.
“Sharpen the arrows!
Fill the quivers!
Yahweh has stirred up
The spirit of the kings
Of the Medes.
His purpose concerning Babylon
Is to destroy it.
That is the vengeance of Yahweh,
That is the vengeance
For his temple.
Raise a standard
Against the walls of Babylon!
Make the watch strong!
Post sentinels!
Prepare the ambushes!
Yahweh has both planned
As well as done
What he spoke
Concerning the inhabitants
Of Babylon.
You who live
By mighty waters,
Rich in treasures,
Your end has come.
The thread of your life
Is cut.
Yahweh of hosts
Has sworn by himself.
Surely I will fill you
With troops,
Like a swarm of locusts.
They shall raise
A shout of victory
Over you.”
Here there is a serious of commands from Yahweh, via Jeremiah. The warriors were to have their quivers ready full of arrows. Yahweh has stirred up the Medes, the people to the north of Babylon with the Persians. They were going to destroy Babylon because of Yahweh’s vengeance for what the Babylonians had done to his temple in Jerusalem. There was going to be an invasion of Babylon with wise watchmen and sentinels as well as strong ambushes. Yahweh had planned and carried out his word against Babylon, the land of mighty waters such as the Euphrates and the Tigris, with all their treasures. Their end has come. The thread of their life has been cut. There will be troops in Babylon, like swarms of locusts, shouting about victory.
“‘She makes a sound
Like a snake gliding away.
Her enemies march in force.
They come against her
With axes,
Like those who fell trees.
They shall cut down
Her forest.’
Says Yahweh.
‘Even though it is
Impenetrable,
Because they are
More numerous
Than locusts.
They are without number.
Daughter Egypt
Shall be put to shame.
She shall be handed over
To a people from the north.’”
The Egyptians will slitter away like a snake as her enemies shall attack her in full force. They are coming with axes to kill her, as if they were clearing a forest. This enemy is like a large swarm of locusts that is so numerous that cannot be measured. Good daughter Egypt will be put to shame, as she will be handed over to the people from the north.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 