New International Version
Jeremiah 46:22
22Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees.
Jeremiah 46:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Her noise shall go like a serpent, For they shall march with an army And come against her with axes, Like those who chop wood.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away. The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen.
Context of Jeremiah 46:22
20“Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north. 21The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them, the time for them to be punished. Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees. 23They will chop down her forest,” declares the Lord, “dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted. 24Daughter Egypt will be put to shame, given into the hands of the people of the north.”
Read all of Jeremiah 46Jeremiah 46:22 word by word
קוֹלָ֖הּ כַּנָּחָ֣שׁ יֵלֵ֑ךְ כִּֽי־בְחַ֣יִל יֵלֵ֔כוּ וּבְקַרְדֻּמּוֹת֙ בָּ֣אוּ לָ֔הּ כְּחֹטְבֵ֖י עֵצִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
- thereof shall goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- like a serpentנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
- with an armyחַ֫יִלchayil · armyH2428
- and comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- against her with axesקַרְדֹּםqardôm · axeH7134
- as hewersחָטַבchâţab · to chopH2404
- of woodעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
Cross-references for Jeremiah 46:22
- Isaiah 29:4Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.
- Micah 1:8Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.
- Micah 7:16Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf.
- Jeremiah 51:20“You are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms,
- Isaiah 10:15Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
- Isaiah 14:8Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”
- Isaiah 37:24By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest heights, the finest of its forests.
- Zechariah 11:2Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; the stately trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan; the dense forest has been cut down!
Commentaries on Jeremiah 46:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22The voice - shall go like a serpent - See Isaiah 29:4; (note), and the note there.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22The voice thereof - Her voice, i. e., the voice of Egypt. The word here probably means the busy sound of life and activity in the towns of Egypt, the tramping of her hosts, and the turmoil of camp and city. All this at the approach of the Chaldaean army shall depart, as the snake flees away when disturbed in its haunts by the wood-cutters. March with an army - Advance with might. With axes - The comparison of the Chaldaean warriors to woodcutters arose…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-28Verses 13-28 Those who encroached on others, shall now be themselves encroached on. Egypt is now like a very fair heifer, not accustomed to the yoke of subjection; but destruction comes out of the north: the Chaldeans shall come. Comfort and peace are spoken to the Israel of God, designed to encourage them when the judgments of God were abroad among the nations. He will be with them, and only correct them in measure; and will not punish them with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-23The image of a serpent slithering away shows the fear that took over Egypt. The invaders attacked the people fiercely, like woodsmen chopping wood, after entering the country like a swarm of locusts.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2613-26. Prophecy of the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which took place sixteen years after the taking of Jerusalem. Having spent thirteen years in the siege of Tyre, and having obtained nothing for his pains, he is promised by God Egypt for his reward in humbling Tyre (Eze 29:17-20; 30:1-31:18). The intestine commotions between Amasis and Pharaoh-hophra prepared his way (compare Note, see on Is 19:1, &c.).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 46:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 46
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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