New English Translation
Jeremiah 51:31
31One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon. One messenger after another will come bringing news. They will bring news to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.
Jeremiah 51:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
- New International Version (NIV)One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured,
- English Standard Version (ESV)One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side;
- New King James Version (NKJV)One runner will run to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides;
Context of Jeremiah 51:31
29The earth will tremble and writhe in agony. For the Lord will carry out his plan. He plans to make the land of Babylonia a wasteland where no one lives. 30The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting. They will remain in their fortified cities. They will lose their strength to do battle. They will be as frightened as women. The houses in her cities will be set on fire. The gates of her cities will be broken down. One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon. One messenger after another will come bringing news. They will bring news to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured. 32They will report that the fords have been captured, the reed marshes have been burned, the soldiers are terrified. 33For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Fair Babylon will be like a threshing floor which has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested will come very soon.’
Read all of Jeremiah 51Jeremiah 51:31 word by word
רָ֤ץ לִקְרַאת־רָץ֙ יָר֔וּץ וּמַגִּ֖יד לִקְרַ֣את מַגִּ֑יד לְהַגִּיד֙ לְמֶ֣לֶךְ בָּבֶ֔ל כִּֽי־נִלְכְּדָ֥ה עִיר֖וֹ מִקָּצֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:31
- Jeremiah 4:20I see one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our tents suddenly destroyed, their curtains torn down in a mere instant.
- Jeremiah 50:24I set a trap for you, Babylon; you were caught before you knew it. You fought against me. So you were found and captured.
- 1 Samuel 4:12On that day a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head.
- 2 Samuel 18:19Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and give the king the good news that the Lord has vindicated him before his enemies.”
- 2 Chronicles 30:6Messengers delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. This royal edict read: “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.
- Esther 3:13Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.
- Esther 8:10Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.
- Job 9:25“My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.
- Jeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Isaiah 21:3For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
- Isaiah 47:11Disaster will overtake you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to appease it. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you recognize it.
- Daniel 5:2While under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the temple in Jerusalem – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31One post shall run to meet another - As the city was taken by surprise, in the manner already related, so now messengers, one after another, were dispatched to give the king information of what was done; viz., that the city was taken at one end. Herodotus tells us that the extreme parts of the city were taken, before those of the center knew any thing of the invasion. Herodot. lib. 1 c. 191.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31The royal palace was a strong fortification in the heart of the city. The messengers thus met one another. At one end - Rather, from all sides, entirely, completely.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31The king was Nabonidus. At that time, he was in Borsippa, north of Babylon. His son, Belshazzar, was the regent in Babylon. See Daniel 5:1–30.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. (See on Jr 50:24). One post--One courier after another shall announce the capture of the city. The couriers despatched from the walls, where Cyrus enters, shall "meet" those sent by the king. Their confused running to and fro would result from the sudden panic at the entrance of Cyrus into the city, which he had so long besieged ineffectually; the Babylonians had laughed at his attempts and were feasting at the time without fear. taken at one…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 51:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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