Jeremiah 46:15
in Jeremiah 46Why have your warriors been laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD has thrust them down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Why are thy strong ones swept away? they stood not, because Jehovah did drive them.
KJV
Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them.
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This verse in Jeremiah 46
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhy are thy valiant men swept away?.... As with a mighty torrent, or a sweeping rain; so the word is used in Pro 28:3; to which the Chaldean army may be compared; which came with such irresistible force as to drive the Egyptians from their posts, so that they could not stand their ground.
This site's exposition
about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt
on Jeremiah 46:13-19
This second oracle foretells Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt. It names Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes, the towns where the Jews of 44:1 had settled, so the judgment reaches the refuge they chose. The invader comes “like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea,” landmarks seen from far off.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
) as with a sweeping rain (it is the word that is used Prov. xxviii. 3 ); they can none of them stand their ground, because the Lord drives them from their respective posts; he drives them by his terrors; he drives them by enabling the Chaldeans to drive them. It is not possible that those should fix whom the wrath of God chases.
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The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Translate it: “Why is thy mighty one cast down? He stood not, because Yahweh thrust him down.” The “mighty one” is explained by the Septuagint to be the bull Apis. Thus: (1) the chief deity of Egypt Jer 46:15; (2) the army of mercenaries Jer 46:16; (3) the king, Pharaoh Jer 46:17, are the three upon whom the Egyptians trusted.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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;
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A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thy valiant men--manuscripts, the Septuagint, and Vulgate read, "thy valiant one," Apis, the bull-shaped Egyptian idol worshipped at Noph or Memphis. The contrast thus is between the palpable impotence of the idol and the might attributed to it by the worshippers. The Hebrew term, "strong," or "valiant," is applied to bulls (Ps 22:12).
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They stood not, because the Lord did drive them - The Lord panic-struck them, and drove them back.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“Stand fast and prepare yourself” for the war. והכן means “and prepare.”
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
8 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַדּ֖וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| נִסְחַ֣ף | nischaf | will he be prostrated | H5502 → | |
| אַבִּירֶ֑יךָ | ʾabireikha | mighty [ones] your | H47 → | 17 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָמַ֔ד | ʾamad | he will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֲדָפֽוֹ׃ | hadafo | he will push him | H1920 → |
מַדּ֖וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
נִסְחַ֣ףwill he be prostrated
nischafH5502 →
אַבִּירֶ֑יךָmighty [ones] your
ʾabireikhaH47 →17 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָמַ֔דhe will stand
ʾamadH5975 →521 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֲדָפֽוֹ׃he will push him
hadafoH1920 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Psalms 18:39You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:40–41
You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
- Psalms 18:32
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
- Ephesians 1:22
And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
- 1 Corinthians 15:25–28
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
- Isaiah 45:14
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…
- 2 Samuel 22:40–41
Through
Psalms 68:2As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
it leads to
- Micah 1:4
The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Micah 1:4
Through
Psalms 18:14He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
it leads to
- Psalms 144:6
Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.
- Psalms 144:6
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.