Matthew Poole and continuators on Jeremiah 51:7

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORDS hand, that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunken of her wine, therefore the nations are mad .

A golden Cup, be[illegible: 1 letter]ause of her great riches and plenty, God hitherto had made use of Babylon, as a rod in his hand, and had given her riches and power, and prosperity proportioned to the service he had for her to do, what she did she did by commission from God, therefore this golden cup is said to have been in the Lords hand, she had made all the nations about her drunken with the Lords fury.

Conquering them all, and making them mad through the misery and smart they felt from her. Babylon in Daniel is compared to an head of Gold, and Rev. 17.4, She is said to have had a golden cup in her hand, but the meaning is no more then this. That God had raised up Babylon to great degrees of dignity and splendor intending to make use of her to execute his vengeance upon many other people, and he did accordingly so use her, to give the cup of his fury to many Nations to the enraging of divers people, but now the course of his Providence toward her was altering, &c.

Marginal references: Rev. 14.8. and 17.4.