Jeremiah 6:23

Jeremiah 6:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
• New International Version (NIV)They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

Context of Jeremiah 6:23

21So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will send troubles to make these people fall down. Fathers and their children will all fall to the ground. Their friends and their neighbours will die.’ 22This is what the Lord says: ‘Look! An army is coming from the north. A great nation is preparing to attack you from a place that is far away. Its soldiers carry bows and spears as their weapons. They are always cruel and they are never kind. They ride into the battle on their horses, and it sounds like the noise of the sea. They are ready to attack you, people of Jerusalem.’ 24The people say, ‘We have heard news about them, and we are very frightened. We feel too weak to fight. We are afraid and in pain, like a woman who is giving birth. 25Do not go out into the fields. Do not travel on the roads. Our enemies are everywhere. They have their swords ready to attack us. Danger is all around us.’

Jeremiah 6:23 word by word

קֶ֣שֶׁת וְכִיד֞וֹן יַחֲזִ֗יקוּ אַכְזָרִ֥י הוּא֙ וְלֹ֣א יְרַחֵ֔מוּ קוֹלָם֙ כַּיָּ֣ם יֶהֱמֶ֔ה וְעַל־סוּסִ֖ים יִרְכָּ֑בוּ עָר֗וּךְ כְּאִישׁ֙ לַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה עָלַ֖יִךְ בַּת־צִיּֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They shall lay holdחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: holdH2388
• on bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
• and spearכִּידוֹןkîydôn · javelinH3591
• cruelאַכְזָרִי'akzârîy · cruelH394
• and have no mercyרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355
• their voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
• roarethהָמָהhâmâh · to roarH1993
• like the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• and they rideרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
• upon horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• set in arrayעָרַךְ‛ârak · to arrangeH6186
• as menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• for warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• against thee, O daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726

Cross-references for Jeremiah 6:23

• Jeremiah 5:16They are all brave soldiers. They shoot arrows that will kill you.
• Jeremiah 50:42Its soldiers carry bows and spears as their weapons. They are always cruel and they are never kind. They ride into the battle on their horses, and it sounds like the noise of the sea. They are ready to attack you, people of Babylon!
• Isaiah 13:18Their arrows will kill Babylon's young men. They will not let babies or children go free.
• Ezekiel 23:22So this is what the Almighty Lord says to you, Oholibah: “Listen to me! I will cause your lovers to become angry with you. The lovers that you turned away from will come to attack you. I will bring them from every direction to attack you.
• Habakkuk 1:6I will give more power to the Babylonians. They are a cruel nation with brave soldiers. They march across the whole earth. They take cities that do not belong to them.
• Jeremiah 30:14All your friends have turned away from you. They do not want to help you in your troubles. I have hurt you, in the way that an enemy might attack you. You have lived in a very wicked way, and you are guilty of many sins. So I had to punish you, to teach you what is right.
• Isaiah 19:4I will cause a cruel master to have power over Egypt. A powerful king will rule over its people.’ That is what the Lord, the Almighty Lord.
• Jeremiah 4:13Look! The enemy army is coming like dark clouds! Their chariots make the noise of a storm. Their horses move faster than eagles in the sky. Terrible trouble has come. We will all die!
• Isaiah 5:26The Lord will send a message to foreign nations to come and attack. He calls to nations that are far away, and now they are already coming! Their armies march quickly to Jerusalem.
• Luke 21:25‘You will see strange things happen to the sun and to the moon and to the stars. Down on earth, things that happen will make people in many countries very afraid. The sea will move up and down and make a lot of noise. There will be great storms.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 6:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23They shall lay hold on bow and spear - Still pointing out the Chaldeans: or according to Dahler, the Scythians, who had before their invasion of Palestine overrun many parts of Asia, and had spread consternation wherever their name was heard.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-30Verses 18-30 God rejects their outward services, as worthless to atone for their sins. Sacrifice and incense were to direct them to a Mediator; but when offered to purchase a license to go on in sin, they provoke God. The sins of God's professing people make them an easy prey to their enemies. They dare not show themselves. Saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise: sinners must mourn for fear of God's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-23The Lord reminded the people that the coming invasion was real. The soldiers had actual bows and spears (Isaiah 13:18). roars like the sea: The noise from thousands of soldiers with horses and chariots must have been terrifying (Isaiah 5:27–30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. like the sea--(Is 5:30). as men for war--not that they were like warriors, for they were warriors; but "arrayed most perfectly as warriors" [Maurer].Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Cruel
• Mount
• Reprobate
• Wallow
• Armor; Arms
• Cruel; Cruelty
• Jeremiah (2)
• Sheshach

Commentaries on Jeremiah 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings