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Jeremiah 47:2

in Jeremiah 47

This is what the LORD says: “See how the waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and its fullness, the cities and their inhabitants. The people will cry out, and all who dwell in the land will wail

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and them that dwell therein; and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.

KJV

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.

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This verse in Jeremiah 47

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

ON JEREMIAH 9:47 · Written before 458.

Now he directs his prophecy against foreigners. He calls the inhabitants of Ashkelon, Gaza, Azotus, Gath and Ekron "foreigners." He says that the prediction took place before Pharaoh struck Gaza, and he likens the army of the Babylonians to a flooding river swollen by rain …

This site's exposition

about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza

on Jeremiah 47:1-2

The heading dates the oracle “before Pharaoh struck down Gaza,” and Keil and Henry leave open whether this Pharaoh was Neco or Hophra. Verse 2 pictures the invader as waters “rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent,” the flood image Egypt used in 46:7-8.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The Chaldean army shall overflow the land like a deluge. Probably this happened before the destruction of Jerusalem, for it should seem that in Gedaliah's time, which was just after, the army of the Chaldeans was quite withdrawn out of those parts. The country of the Philistines was but of small extent, so that it would soon be overwhelmed by so vast an army.
Thus saith the Lord, behold, waters rise up out of the north,.... Meaning an army of men, which should come in great numbers, and with great force and rapidity, like an overflowing flood.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Waters rise up out of the north - Waters is a common prophetic image for a multitude of people. The north here, as in other places of this prophecy, means Chaldea.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The Chaldeans from the north are compared to the overwhelming waters of their own Euphrates. The smiting of Gaza was to be only the prelude of a greater disaster to the Philistines. Nebuzara-dan was left by Nebuchadnezzar, after he had taken Jerusalem, to subdue the rest of the adjoining cities and country.
Waters rise up - A metaphor for the assembling of an army (compare the marginal references). Out of the north - The Chaldaean army must cross the Euphrates at Carchemish. An overflowing flood - Or, “torrent.” To understand the metaphors of the Bible we must keep the natural phenomena of the country in mind. In Palestine rivers are torrents, dashing furiously along in the rainy seasons, and dry, or nearly so, in the summer. All that is therein - The marginal rendering contrasts the wealth of Egypt, which forms its fullness, and the inhabitants.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

the stamping Heb. שעטת. There is no similar [word in Scripture]. And Jonathan rendered it: from the steps.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Jeremiah 47:3:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 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.

  • כֹּ֣ה׀thus

    kohH3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֣רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָ֗הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • הִנֵּה־here!

    hineh-H2009 →843 times

  • מַ֜יִםwaters

    mayimH4325 →581 times

  • עֹלִ֤ים[are] rising

    ʾolimH5927 →890 times

  • מִצָּפוֹן֙from [the] north

    mitzafonH6828 →153 times

  • וְהָיוּ֙and they will become

    vehayuH1961 →3559 times

  • לְנַ֣חַל<into> a torrent

    lenachalH5158 →141 times

  • שׁוֹטֵ֔ףoverflowing

    shotefH7857 →31 times

  • וְיִשְׁטְפוּ֙and they may overflow

    veyishtefuH7857 →31 times

  • אֶ֣רֶץa land

    ʾeretzH776 →2504 times

  • וּמְלוֹאָ֔הּand what fills it

    umeloahH4393 →

  • עִ֖ירa city

    ʾirH5892 →1090 times

  • וְיֹ֣שְׁבֵיand [those who] dwell

    veyosheveiH3427 →1079 times

  • בָ֑הּin <the> it

    vah

  • וְזָֽעֲקוּ֙and they will cry out

    vezaakuH2199 →73 times

  • הָֽאָדָ֔ם<the> everyone

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • וְהֵילִ֕לand he will wail

    veheililH3213 →30 times

  • כֹּ֖לevery

    kolH3605 →5413 times

  • יוֹשֵׁ֥ב<the> inhabitant of

    yoshevH3427 →1079 times

  • הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land

    haaretzH776 →2504 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.

Jeremiah 46:7Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn?5 worksJeremiah 46:20Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.4 worksIsaiah 15:2–5Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.3 worksJeremiah 8:16The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it.3 worksJeremiah 1:14Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.3 worksIsaiah 8:7–8the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 12:15–16Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.2 worksIsaiah 22:4–5Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”2 worksJeremiah 48:39“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”2 worksIsaiah 22:1This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,2 worksPsalms 98:7Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it.2 works1 Corinthians 10:26for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”2 worksIsaiah 28:17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.2 worksRevelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.2 worksRevelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.2 worksIsaiah 15:8For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; it is heard in Beer-elim.2 worksJeremiah 46:13This is the word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:2 worksZephaniah 1:10–11On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.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

    Jeremiah 46:20

    Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.

    it leads to

    • Hosea 10:11

      Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 8:16

    The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city…

    it leads to

    • Judges 5:22

      Then the hooves of horses thundered—the mad galloping of his stallions.

    • Judges 18:29

      They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

    • 1 Corinthians 10:28

      But if someone tells you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience—

    • Jeremiah 4:15–16

      For a voice resounds from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 1:14

    Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 4:6

      Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.

    • Jeremiah 10:22

      Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a haunt for jackals.

    • Jeremiah 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.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

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 47 →

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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, ON JEREMIAH 9:47.

Read on in Jeremiah 47 →