Jeremiah 51:31

31 One messenger after another comes to the king of Babylonia. All of them announce that his entire city is captured.

Jeremiah 51:31 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:31

One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet
another
That is, one post should be after another, and one messenger after another, post upon post, and messenger upon messenger, as fast as they could run; when one had been with his message, and delivered it, and returned, he meets another; or they met one another, coming from different places: to show the king of Babylon his city is taken at [one] end;
or, "at the end" ^F12; we render it "one end", as Kimchi does; at the end where Cyrus's army first landed, when they came up the channel of the river Euphrates they had drained. And so Herodotus ^F13 says, that when the Babylonians, which inhabited the "extreme parts" of the city, were taken, they that were in the middle of it were not sensible of it, because of the greatness of the city; and the rather, because they were engaged that night in feasting and dancing. Nay, Aristotle ^F14 says, it was reported that one part of the city was taken three days before the other end knew it, it being more like a country than a city; which does not seem credible, nor is it consistent with the Scripture account of it; however, it was taken by surprise, and some parts of it before the king was aware of it; who very probably had his palace in the middle of it, whither these messengers ran one after another, or from different parts, to acquaint him with it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (huqm) "a fine", Montanus; "ab extremitate", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, De Dieu, Schmidt.
F13 L. 1. sive Clio, c. 191.
F14 Politic. l. 3. c. 3.

Jeremiah 51:31 In-Context

29 The Babylonians tremble and shake with fear. My plans against them stand firm. I plan to destroy their land completely. Then no one will live there.

30 Babylon's soldiers have stopped fighting. They remain in their forts. Their strength is all gone. They have become like weak women. Their buildings are set on fire. The heavy metal bars on their gates are broken.

31 One messenger after another comes to the king of Babylonia. All of them announce that his entire city is captured.

32 The places where people go across the Euphrates River have been captured. The swamps have been set on fire. And the soldiers are terrified."

33 The LORD who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "The city of Babylon is like a threshing floor when cattle are walking on it. The time to destroy it will soon come."