Jeremiah 51:42

“The sea is come up upon Babylon, etc.] A vast army, comparable to the great sea for the multitude thereof, even the army of the Medes and Persians under Cyrus; so the Targum, “a king with his armies, which are numerous like the waters of the sea, is come up against Babylon:” she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof; being surrounded, besieged, surprised, and seized upon by the multitude of soldiers in that army, which poured in upon it unawares. Some think here is a beautiful antithesis, between the inundation of Cyrus’s army and the draining of the river Euphrates, by which means he poured in his forces into Babylon.”

“The sea--the host of Median invaders. The image (compare Jer 47:2; Isa 8:7-8) is appropriately taken from the Euphrates, which, overflowing in spring, is like a "sea" near Babylon (Jer 51:13, Jer 51:32, Jer 51:36).”

“By a grand metaphor the invading army is compared to the sea. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The sea - A multitude of enemies. Jeremiah 51:44”

“51:42 The sea represents the armies that overwhelmed Babylon. The crashing waves symbolize the assault against the city.”

“Psa 18:4, Psa 18:16, Psa 42:7, Psa 65:7, Psa 93:3; Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8; Eze 27:26-34; Dan 9:26; Luk 21:25; Rev 17:15, Rev 17:16 Jeremiah 51:43”

“Description of the fall. The sea that has come over Babylon and covered it with its waves, was taken figuratively, even by the Chaldee paraphrasts, and understood as meaning the hostile army that overwhelms the land with its hosts. Only J. D. Michaelis was inclined to take the words in their proper meaning, and understood them as referring to the inundation of Babylon by the Euphrates in August and in winter. But however true it may be, that, in consequence of the destruction or decay of the great river-walls built by Nebuchadnezzar, the Euphrates may inundate the city of Babylon when it wells into a flood, yet the literal acceptation of the words is unwarranted, for the simple reason that…”