Jeremiah 47:6
in Jeremiah 47‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O thou sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still.
KJV
O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
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This verse in Jeremiah 47
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe calls Nebuchadnezzar "the sword of the Lord," for he does those things by God's permission, and the impious pay the penalty for their ungodliness at one another's hands.
This site's exposition
The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning
on Jeremiah 47:5-7
Shaved heads and gashed skin were mourning rites the law forbade Israel (Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1), and the text records them in Gaza and Ashkelon. The cry asking the sword of the LORD to rest is answered that it cannot rest while the LORD has commanded it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They were considerably humbled in David's time, but, it seems they had got head again and were a considerable people till Nebuchadnezzar cut them off with their neighbours, which is the event here foretold. The date of this prophecy is observable; it was before Pharaoh smote Gaza.
): O thou sword of the Lord! how long will it be ere thou be quiet? He begs it would put up itself into the scabbard, would devour no more flesh, drink no more blood. This expresses the prophet's earnest desire to see an end of the war, looking with compassion, as became a man, even upon the Philistines themselves, when their country was made desolate by the sword.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
O thou sword of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
O thou sword of the Lord - This is a most grand prosopopoeia - a dialogue between the sword of the Lord and the prophet. Nothing can be imagined more sublime. Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still - Shed no more blood, destroy no more lives, erase no more cities, desolate no more countries. Rest: - hast thou not been long enough at this work of judgment? O be still: - let wars and desolations cease for ever.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jeremiah, in the person of the Philistines afflicting themselves (Jer 47:5), apostrophizes the "sword of the Lord," entreating mercy (compare De 32:41; Eze 21:3-5, 9, 10). up thyself--Hebrew, "Gather thyself," that is, retire or return.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
sword of the Lord Which the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings to the world.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֗וֹי | ho | alas! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| חֶ֚רֶב | cherev | O sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אָ֖נָה | ʾanah | when? | H575 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁקֹ֑טִי | tishkoti | you will be inactive | H8252 → | 41 times |
| הֵאָֽסְפִי֙ | heasefi | gather yourself | H622 → | 200 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תַּעְרֵ֔ךְ | ta'rekh | sheath your | H8593 → | |
| הֵרָגְעִ֖י | heragei | rest | H7280 → | 13 times |
| וָדֹֽמִּי׃ | vadomi | and be still | H1826 → | 30 times |
ה֗וֹיalas!
hoH1945 →51 times
חֶ֚רֶבO sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הof Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אָ֖נָהwhen?
ʾanahH575 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁקֹ֑טִיyou will be inactive
tishkotiH8252 →41 times
הֵאָֽסְפִי֙gather yourself
heasefiH622 →200 times
אַל־to
ʾal-H413 →5510 times
תַּעְרֵ֔ךְsheath your
ta'rekhH8593 →
הֵרָגְעִ֖יrest
herageiH7280 →13 times
וָדֹֽמִּי׃and be still
vadomiH1826 →30 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
John 18:11“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
it leads to
- Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- Matthew 20:22
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.
- John 20:17
“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God…
- John 12:27–28
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
- Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand…
- Matthew 26:39
Through
Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Isaiah 14:25
I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
Through
Jeremiah 12:12Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the earth to the other. No flesh has peace.
it leads to
- Amos 9:4
Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
- Amos 9:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.