Jeremiah 50:24

24 I will set traps for you, Babylon. You will be caught, but you won't know it. You will be found and captured because you have opposed the LORD.

Jeremiah 50:24 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:24

I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O
Babylon
Retorting to the stratagem that Cyrus used, in draining the river Euphrates, and marching his army up through it into the midst of the city of Babylon, and took it by surprise, while the inhabitants at night were feasting and revelling: this is said to be a snare laid by the Lord, because it was according to the counsel of his will, and through his directing and overruling providence: and thou wast not aware;
of what the enemy had done, of his march into the city, and taking of it; for, as Herodotus and Aristotle report, one part of the city was seized and taken before the other knew anything of it: thou art found, and also caught;
as wild beasts in a net, or birds in a snare. The Targum is,

``thy sins are sought, and are found, and also thou art taken:''

because thou hast striven against the Lord;
as persons litigate a point with each other in courts of judicature, or as warriors strive against each other in battle; she sinned against the Lord, and offended him, not only by her idolatry and luxury, but by her oppression of his people, and profaning the vessels of his house; as Belshazzar did, the night Babylon was taken. The Targum is,

``for with the people of the Lord thou hast strove.''

Jeremiah 50:24 In-Context

22 The noise of battle and great destruction fills the land.

23 The hammer of the whole earth is broken and shattered. See how desolate Babylon is of all the nations!

24 I will set traps for you, Babylon. You will be caught, but you won't know it. You will be found and captured because you have opposed the LORD.

25 The LORD will open his armory and bring out the weapons of his fury, because the Almighty LORD of Armies has a job to do in the land of the Babylonians.

26 Attack them from a distance, open their storehouses, pile up their corpses like piles of grain, claim them for me by destroying them, and don't leave anyone behind.