Jeremiah 51:30

30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting. They stay in their protected cities. Their strength is gone, and they have become like frightened women. Babylon's houses are burning. The bars of her gates are broken.

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 Get the nations ready for battle against Babylon -- the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officers, and all the countries they rule.

29 The land shakes and moves in pain, because the Lord will do what he has planned to Babylon. He will make Babylon an empty desert, where no one will live.

30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting. They stay in their protected cities. Their strength is gone, and they have become like frightened women. Babylon's houses are burning. The bars of her gates are broken.

31 One messenger follows another; messenger follows messenger. that his whole city has been captured.

32 The river crossings have been captured, and the swamplands are burning. All of Babylon's soldiers are terribly afraid."