Jeremiah 51:31

New Century Version

One messenger follows another; messenger follows messenger. They announce to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Messenger races to meet messenger,and herald to meet herald,to announce to the king of Babylonthat his city has been capturedfrom end to end.

Hebrew Names Version
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Bavel that his city is taken on every quarter:

King James Version
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,

English Standard Version
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 American Standard Bible
One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

Amplified Bible
One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

World English Bible
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

Geneva Bible (1587)
A post shall runne to meete the post, and a messenger to meete the messenger, to shew the King of Babel, that his citie is taken on a side thereof,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

Legacy Standard Bible
One runner runs to meet another,And one messenger to meet another,To give a message to the king of BabylonThat his city has been captured from end to end;

Berean Standard Bible
One courier races to meet another, and messenger follows messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.

Contemporary English Version
One messenger after another announces to the king, "Babylon has been captured!

Complete Jewish Bible
One runner runs to meet another, messenger to meet messenger, to report to the king of Bavel that every part of his city is taken,

Darby Translation
Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;

Easy-to-Read Version
One messenger follows another. Messenger follows messenger. They announce to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.

George Lamsa Translation
One courier shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from every side,

Good News Translation
Messenger after messenger runs to tell the king of Babylonia that his city has been broken into from every side.

Lexham English Bible
one runner runs to meet another runner, and one messenger to meet another messenger, to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured, from end to end.

Literal Translation
A runner shall run to meet a runner, and a herald to meet a herald, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is captured from end to end ,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
One purseuaunt shal mete another, yee one poste shal come by another, to bringe the kinge of Babilon tydinges: that his cite is taken in on euery syde,

American Standard Version
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

Bible in Basic English
One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
One post runneth to meet another, and one messenger to meet an other, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter;

King James Version (1611)
One poste shall runne to meet another, and one messenger to meete another, to shew the king of Babylon that his citie is taken at one end,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
One purseuaunt shall meete another, yea one poste shall come by another, to bryng the kyng of Babylon tidinges that his citie is taken on euery syde,

English Revised Version
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A rennere schal come ayens a rennere, and a messanger ayens a messanger, to telle to the kyng of Babiloyne, that his citee is takun fro the toon ende `til to the tother ende;

Update Bible Version
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

Webster's Bible Translation
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at [one] end,

New English Translation
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.

New King James Version
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;

New Living Translation
The news is passed from one runner to the next as the messengers hurry to tell the king that his city has been captured.

New Life Bible
One man with news runs to meet another, and he runs to meet another. They run to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been taken from end to end.

New Revised Standard
One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Runner to meet runner, shall they run, And teller to meet teller,-To tell the king of Babylon, That captured is his city at the end!

Douay-Rheims Bible
One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet messenger: to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one end to the other:

Revised Standard Version
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;

Young's Literal Translation
Runner to meet runner doth run, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For, captured hath been his city -- at the extremity.

Contextual Overview

¹ This is what the Lord says: "I will soon cause a destroying wind to blow against Babylon and the Babylonian people. ² I will send foreign people to destroy Babylon like a wind that blows chaff away. They will destroy the land. Armies will surround the city when the day of disaster comes upon her. ³ Don't let the Babylonian soldiers prepare their bows to shoot. Don't even let them put on their armor. Don't feel sorry for the young men of Babylon, but completely destroy her army. ⁴ They will be killed in the land of the Babylonians and will die in her streets. ⁵ The Lord God All-Powerful did not leave Israel and Judah, even though they were completely guilty in the presence of the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ "Run away from Babylon and save your lives! Don't stay and be killed because of Babylon's sins. It is time for the Lord to punish Babylon; he will give Babylon the punishment she deserves. ⁷ Babylon was like a gold cup in the Lord 's hand that made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank Babylon's wine, so they went crazy. ⁸ Babylon has suddenly fallen and been broken. Cry for her! Get balm for her pain, and maybe she can be healed. ⁹ "Foreigners in Babylon say, ‘We tried to heal Babylon, but she cannot be healed. So let us leave her and each go to his own country. Babylon's punishment is as high as the sky; it reaches to the clouds.' ¹⁰ "The people of Judah say, ‘The Lord has shown us to be right. Come, let us tell in Jerusalem what the Lord our God has done.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

post: Jeremiah 4:20, Jeremiah 50:24, 1 Samuel 4:12-18, 2 Samuel 18:19-31, 2 Chronicles 30:6, Esther 3:13-15, Esther 8:10, Esther 8:14, Job 9:25

to show: Jeremiah 50:43, Isaiah 21:3-9, Isaiah 47:11-13, Daniel 5:2-5, Daniel 5:30

Reciprocal: Job 1:14 - messenger Job 1:18 - there came Psalms 127:1 - the watchman

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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" l; 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 m 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 n 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.

l מקצה "a fine", Montanus; "ab extremitate", Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, De Dieu, Schmidt. m L. 1. sive Clio, c. 191. n Politic. l. 3. c. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The 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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 51:31. One 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 despatched 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 centre knew any thing of the invasion. Herodot. lib. i. c. 191.