Jeremiah 50:43

43 The king of Babylonia has heard reports about them. His hands can't help him. He is in great pain. It is like the pain of a woman having a baby.

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.

---

FOOTNOTES:

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

Jeremiah 50:43 In-Context

41 "Look! An army is coming from the north. I am stirring up a great nation and many kings. They are coming from a land that is very far away.

42 Their soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are mean. They do not show any mercy at all. They come riding in on their horses. They sound like the roaring ocean. They are lined up for battle. They are coming to attack you, city of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylonia has heard reports about them. His hands can't help him. He is in great pain. It is like the pain of a woman having a baby.

44 I will be like a lion coming up from the bushes by the Jordan River. I will hunt in rich grasslands. I will chase the people of Babylon from their land in an instant. What nation will I choose to do it? Which one will I appoint? Is anyone like me? Who would dare to argue with me? What leader can stand against me?"

45 So listen to what the LORD has planned against Babylon. Hear what he has planned against the land of the Babylonians. Their young people will be dragged away. The LORD will completely destroy their grasslands because of them.