And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
Ver. 14. And it shall be as the chased roe.] Or, "She," that is, Babylon, "shall be," when drunk with security, that usher of destruction, she shall be suddenly surprised. So strong were her walls and bulwarks, that she feared no irruption of the enemy; and so bold she bore herself upon her twenty years' provision laid in beforehand that she feared no famine by the straitness of a long siege. Herodotus telleth us that when Babylon was taken by Cyrus, some part of the city knew not of their condition till the third day after: the suddenness of their surprise must needs be very dreadful. a
They shall every man,] i.e., All her confederates and presidiaries.
a Herod., lib. i.; Arist. Polit., lib. ill.