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Jeremiah 46:6

in Jeremiah 46

“The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.

KJV

Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

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This verse in Jeremiah 46

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty men escape,.... Those that were swift of foot, like Asahel, or carried but light armour, let not such trust to their swiftness or light carriage; nor let the mighty man think to escape by reason of his great strength, to make his way through the enemy, and get out of his hands.

This site's exposition

This is the word of the LORD about the nations

on Jeremiah 46:1-6

The heading opens the oracles about the nations, and Egypt comes first, the power Judah’s kings kept turning to. The date is Carchemish, where Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Neco “in the fourth year of Jehoiakim,” 605 BC. 2 Kings 24:7 records that Egypt did not march out of its land again.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

A prophecy of the descent which Nebuchadnezzar should make upon the land of Egypt, and his success in it, which was accomplished some years after the destruction of Jerusalem,

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Note, The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Valiant men are not always victorious. They are upbraided with their utter inability ever to recover this blow, which should be fatal to their nation,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Let not the swift flee away - Even the swiftest shall not be able to escape. They shall - fall toward the north - By the Euphrates, which was northward of Judea. Here the Egyptian army was routed with great slaughter.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Let not--equivalent to the strongest negation. Let not any of the Egyptian warriors think to escape by swiftness or by might. toward the north--that is, in respect to Egypt or Judea.
Translate it: “The swift shall not flee away, and the hero shall not escape: in the north on the bank of the river Euphrates they shall stumble and fall.”

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • יָנ֣וּסhe flee

    yanusH5127 →159 times

  • הַקַּ֔לthe swift [one]

    hakalH7031 →

  • וְאַל־and may not

    veal-H408 →724 times

  • יִמָּלֵ֖טhe escape

    yimaletH4422 →95 times

  • הַגִּבּ֑וֹרthe warrior

    hagiborH1368 →158 times

  • צָפ֙וֹנָה֙north -ward

    tzafonahH6828 →153 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • יַ֣ד[the] side of

    yadH3027 →1618 times

  • נְהַר־[the] river of

    nehar-H5104 →119 times

  • פְּרָ֔תEuphrates

    peratH6578 →19 times

  • כָּשְׁל֖וּthey will stumble

    kasheluH3782 →62 times

  • וְנָפָֽלוּ׃and they will fall

    venafaluH5307 →435 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ecclesiastes 9:11I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.8 worksDaniel 11:19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.5 worksJeremiah 46:12The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”4 worksAmos 9:1–3I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.3 worksJeremiah 46:10For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.3 worksJeremiah 46:20Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 46:16They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the oppressor.’2 worksIsaiah 8:15Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”2 worksAmos 2:14–15Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.2 worksJeremiah 1:14Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.2 worksJeremiah 6:1“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.2 worksJeremiah 25:9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.2 worksJudges 4:15–21And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.2 worksPsalms 147:10–11He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.2 worksPsalms 27:2When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.2 worksJeremiah 4:6Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.2 worksIsaiah 30:16–17“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.2 worksPsalms 33:16–17No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Daniel 11:19

    After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 26:21

      I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

    • Psalms 37:36

      yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

    • Psalms 27:2

      When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 46:10

    For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 32:42

      I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”

    • Joel 1:15

      Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

    • Jeremiah 46:2

      concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 46:12

    The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”

    it leads to

    • Nahum 3:8–10

      Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?

  • Through

    Jeremiah 46:16

    They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the…

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 26:36–37

      As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 46 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 46 →