Jeremiah 51:30

30 Babylon's soldiers have quit fighting. They hide out in ruins and caves - Cowards who've given up without a fight, exposed as cowering milksops. Babylon's houses are going up in flames, the city gates torn off their hinges.

Jeremiah 51:30 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:30

The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight
Or, "ceased from fighting" ^F8 for it seems, upon Cyrus's first coming, the king of Babylon and his army gave him battle; but being overthrown, they retired to the city ^F9, and dared never fight more: they have remained in [their] holds;
in the towers and fortresses of Babylon, never daring to sally out of the city, or appear in the field of battle any more; even though Cyrus sent the king of Babylon a personal challenge, to end the quarrel by a single combat ^F11: their might hath failed;
their courage sunk and was gone; they had no heart to face their enemy: they became as women;
as weak as they, as the Targum; timorous and fearful, having no courage left in them, and behaved more like women than men: they have burnt her dwelling places;
that is, the enemy burnt their houses, when they entered into the city, to inject terror into them: her bars are broken;
the bars of the gates of the city, or of the palaces of the king and nobles, and of the houses of the people, by the soldiers, to get the plunder; see ( Isaiah 45:1 Isaiah 45:2 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (Mxlhl wldx) "cessaverunt a praelio", V. L. "desinent pugnare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "cessarunt pugnare", Schmidt. So Pagninus, Montanus.
F9 Xenophon, Cyropaedia, l. 5. c. 19. Herodot. l. 1. sive Clio. c. 190.
F11 Xenophon, ib. l. 5. c. 10.

Jeremiah 51:30 In-Context

28 Consecrate the nations for holy work against her - the king of the Medes, his leaders and people.

29 "The very land trembles in terror, writhes in pain, terrorized by my plans against Babylon, Plans to turn the country of Babylon into a lifeless moonscape - a wasteland.

30 Babylon's soldiers have quit fighting. They hide out in ruins and caves - Cowards who've given up without a fight, exposed as cowering milksops. Babylon's houses are going up in flames, the city gates torn off their hinges.

31 Runner after runner comes racing in, each on the heels of the last, Bringing reports to the king of Babylon that his city is a lost cause.

32 The fords of the rivers are all taken. Wildfire rages through the swamp grass. Soldiers desert left and right.