Isa 14:4, Jer 51:7, Rev 18:16 | JFB | STEP | 4. proverb-- The Orientals, having few books, embodied their thoughts in weighty, figurative, briefly expressed gnomes. Here a taunting song of triumph ( ; ). the king-- the ideal representative of Babylon; perhaps Belshazzar ( ). The mystical Babylon is ultimately meant. golden city-- rather, "the exactress of gold" [Maurer]. But the old translators read differently in the Hebrew, "oppression," which the parallelism favors (compare ).

‏ Isaiah 14:4

4. proverb--The Orientals, having few books, embodied their thoughts in weighty, figurative, briefly expressed gnomes. Here a taunting song of triumph (Mi 2:4; Ha 2:6).

the king--the ideal representative of Babylon; perhaps Belshazzar (Da 5:1-31). The mystical Babylon is ultimately meant.

golden city--rather, "the exactress of gold" [Maurer]. But the old translators read differently in the Hebrew, "oppression," which the parallelism favors (compare Is 3:5).

‏ Jeremiah 51:7

7. Babylon is compared to a cup, because she was the vessel in the hand of God, to make drunken with His vengeance the other peoples (Jr 13:12; 25:15, 16). Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Re 14:8; 17:4. The cup is termed "golden," to express the splendor and opulence of Babylon; whence also in the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Da 2:38) the head representing Babylon is of gold (compare Is 14:4).

‏ Revelation of John 18:16

16. And--so Vulgate and Andreas. But A, B, and C omit.

decked--literally, "glided."

stones ... pearls--Greek, "stone ... pearl." B and Andreas read "pearls." But A and C, "pearl."