New Living Translation
Jeremiah 46:23
23They will cut down her people like trees,” says the Lord, “for they are more numerous than locusts.
Jeremiah 46:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.
- New International Version (NIV)They will chop down her forest,” declares the Lord, “dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They shall cut down her forest, declares the Lord, though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“They shall cut down her forest,” says the Lord, “Though it cannot be searched, Because they are innumerable, And more numerous than grasshoppers.
Context of Jeremiah 46:23
21Egypt’s mercenaries have become like fattened calves. They, too, will turn and run, for it is a day of great disaster for Egypt, a time of great punishment. 22Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away. The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen. They will cut down her people like trees,” says the Lord, “for they are more numerous than locusts. 24Egypt will be humiliated; she will be handed over to people from the north.” 25The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other gods of Egypt. I will punish its rulers and Pharaoh, too, and all who trust in him.
Read all of Jeremiah 46Jeremiah 46:23 word by word
כָּרְת֤וּ יַעְרָהּ֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֖י לֹ֣א יֵֽחָקֵ֑ר כִּ֤י רַבּוּ֙ מֵֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְאֵ֥ין לָהֶ֖ם מִסְפָּֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- They shall cut downכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
- her forestיַ֫עַרya‛ar · woodH3293
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- though it cannot be searchedחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713
- because they are moreרָבַבrâbab · to multiplyH7231
- than the grasshoppersאַרְבֶּה'arbeh · locustH697
- innumerableמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
- innumerableאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
Cross-references for Jeremiah 46:23
- Isaiah 10:18The Lord will consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land; it will waste away like sick people in a plague.
- Ezekiel 20:46“Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev.
- Judges 6:5These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare.
- Judges 7:12The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore—too many to count!
- Joel 2:25The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
- Revelation 9:2When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 46:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23They shall cut down her forest - Supposed to mean her cities, of which Egypt had no fewer than one thousand and twenty.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Or, “They have cut down her forest, saith Yahweh, for it is impenetrable,” i. e., just as a pathless forest must be cleared to assist agriculture and the passage to and fro of men, so must the false worship and the material prosperity of Egypt be overthrown. Grasshoppers - The invading host advances as multitudinous as the locusts which consume the whole vegetation of the land on which they alight.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 46:23
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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