Jeremiah 46:21
in Jeremiah 46Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them—the time of their punishment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand: for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation.
KJV
Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.
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This verse in Jeremiah 46
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rather, “Also her hirelings in the midst of her are like calves of the stall.” The mercenaries of Egypt - Nubians, Moors, and Lydians Jer 46:9 - were destroyed at the battle of Carchemish, and their place was taken by hirelings from Asia Minor, Carians, and Ionians, whom Hophra took into his pay to the number of 30,000 men. These he settled in the midst of Egypt, in the fertile lands above Bubastis, in the Delta, where, well paid and fed and with great privileges, they became as calves of the stall. Their mutiny cost Hophra his crown.
This site's exposition
Egypt is a beautiful heifer
on Jeremiah 46:20-26
“Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her,” and her mercenaries “are like fattened calves” who flee. The LORD will punish “Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh,” yet verse 26 ends, “Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
All her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks,.... Or, "bullocks of the stall" (k); soldiers of other countries, that were hired into the service of Egypt, and lived so deliciously there, that they were unfit for war, and were like fatted beasts prepared for the slaughter.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Translate, "Also her hired men (mercenary soldiers, Jer 46:9, 16), who are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, even they also are turned back," that is, shall turn their backs to flee.
Are fled away together - Perhaps there is a reference here to the case of a cow stung with gnats. She runs hither and thither not knowing where to go; so shall it be with this scattered people.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| שְׂכִרֶ֤יהָ | sekhireiha | hired soldiers its | H7916 → | |
| בְקִרְבָּהּ֙ | vekirbah | in midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| כְּעֶגְלֵ֣י | keeglei | [are] like calves of | H5695 → | 35 times |
| מַרְבֵּ֔ק | marbek | [the] stall | H4770 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גַם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| הֵ֧מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הִפְנ֛וּ | hifnu | they will turn | H6437 → | 135 times |
| נָ֥סוּ | nasu | they will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| יַחְדָּ֖יו | yachdav | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָמָ֑דוּ | ʾamadu | they will stand their ground | H5975 → | 521 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| י֥וֹם | yom | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֵידָ֛ם | ʾeidam | disaster their | H343 → | 24 times |
| בָּ֥א | ba' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵ֥ת | ʾet | [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| פְּקֻדָּתָֽם׃ | pekudatam | punishment their | H6486 → | 32 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
שְׂכִרֶ֤יהָhired soldiers its
sekhireihaH7916 →
בְקִרְבָּהּ֙in midst its
vekirbahH7130 →227 times
כְּעֶגְלֵ֣י[are] like calves of
keegleiH5695 →35 times
מַרְבֵּ֔ק[the] stall
marbekH4770 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גַם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
הֵ֧מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
הִפְנ֛וּthey will turn
hifnuH6437 →135 times
נָ֥סוּthey will flee
nasuH5127 →159 times
יַחְדָּ֖יוtogether
yachdavH3162 →141 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָמָ֑דוּthey will stand their ground
ʾamaduH5975 →521 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
י֥וֹם[the] day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
אֵידָ֛םdisaster their
ʾeidamH343 →24 times
בָּ֥אit will come
ba'H935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֖םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
עֵ֥ת[the] time of
ʾetH6256 →296 times
פְּקֻדָּתָֽם׃punishment their
pekudatamH6486 →32 times
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
2 Kings 7:6For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 5:24
As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp…
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- 1 Kings 10:29
A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to…
- Revelation 9:9
They also had thoraxes like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
- 2 Samuel 5:24
Through
Jeremiah 46:5Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:29
They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’
- Jeremiah 6:25
Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
- Jeremiah 49:29
Through
Amos 6:4You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
it leads to
- Amos 3:12
This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having…
- Amos 3:12
Through
Isaiah 34:7And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:22
God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
- Numbers 23:22
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah

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