Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
Cut off the sower from Babylon. Babylon had the extent rather of a nation than of a city. Therefore grain was grown within the city wall sufficient to last for a long siege (Aristotle, 'Polemics,' 3: 2; Pliny, 18: 17). Conquerors usually spare agriculturists, but in this case all alike were to be "cut off."
For fear of the oppressing sword - because of the sword of the oppressor.
They shall turn every one to his people - from which they had been removed to Babylon from all quarters by the Chaldean conquerors (Jeremiah 51:9; Isaiah 13:14).