Jeremiah 50:43

43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands fall helpless. Distress has seized him- pain, like a woman in labor.^[a]

Jeremiah 50:43 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:43

The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them
Belshazzar, as Kimchi; he had the report brought him of the invasion of his land by them; of their approach to Babylon, and design upon it; and of their number, character, and force: and his hands waxed feeble;
as they did when he saw the handwriting upon the wall, ( Daniel 5:6 ) ; anguish took hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail;
a sudden panic seized him, and he was quite dispirited at once, as a woman in childbirth, when her pains come upon her, and there is no avoiding them; though when those who were with Gobrias and Gadates rushed in upon him, they found him standing up with his sword drawn {z}, but unable to defend himself against such a posse as came in upon him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 23.

Jeremiah 50:43 In-Context

41 Look! A people comes from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the remote regions of the earth.

42 They grasp bow and javelin. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, lined up like men in battle formation against you, Daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands fall helpless. Distress has seized him- pain, like a woman in labor.

44 "Look, it will be like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to the perennially watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Babylon away from her [land] in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"

45 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock's little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jr 6:22-24