We are reminded again that the primary audience of this oracle against Babylon is not Babylon but the exiles in Babylon. The Lord calls on them to flee Babylon when the invasion comes. If they remain there, they too will face the consequences of the Lord’s judgment on Babylon. It seems almost shocking that the Lord has to urge his people to come out of Babylon. The attractions of Babylon are powerful (cf. Revelation 18:4).
1 The reality is that many of the Jews did not return to Judah. They ignored the call to flee, and they remained in Babylon (Ezra 1:5–6). Once again, we see that returning to the land involved repentance and returning to the Lord. Fleeing Babylon would have been outward evidence of this change of heart. Not all the exiles had this change of heart.
After the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562 BC, there was much political turmoil in Babylon leading up to the invasion by the Medes and Persians. This is probably what Jeremiah is referring to when he warns the exiles to not let your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler
(Jeremiah 51:46).2 The Lord will determine the fate of his people, not the political scheming of Babylon.
46 Que votre cœur ne se trouble point, et ne vous effrayez pas Des bruits qui se répandront dans le pays; Car cette année surviendra un bruit, Et l'année suivante un autre bruit, La violence régnera dans le pays, Et un dominateur s'élèvera contre un autre dominateur.