Jeremiah 6:22
in Jeremiah 6This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
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This verse in Jeremiah 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThus saith the Lord, behold, a people cometh from the north country,.... The Assyrians from Babylon, which lay north of Judea, as in Jer 1:14, and a great nation shall be raised; that is, by the Lord, who would stir them up to this undertaking. The Targum is, "many people shall come openly:'' from the sides of the earth; afar off, as Babylon was, Jer 5:15.
This site's exposition
an army is coming from the land of the north
on Jeremiah 6:22-26
The invader from the north named at 1:14 and 4:6 is given a face, “cruel and merciless”, riding “against you, O Daughter of Zion”. The report breaks the city's nerve, “our hands hang limp”. Mourning “as you would for an only son” was the sharpest grief the culture knew.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 22, 23.) Thus says the Lord: Behold, a people comes from the land of the north, and a great nation will rise from the ends of the earth. They will take hold of the bow and shield (or javelin); they are cruel (or shameless) and will not show mercy. Their voice will sound like the sea, and they will ride on horses, prepared like a man for battle against you, daughter of Zion.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God to bring this desolating judgment upon them.
No nation had yet brought into the field a better cavalry that the Chaldeans. (3.) It is a barbarous people. They are cruel and have no mercy, being greedy of prey and flushed with victory.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
north . . . sides of the earth--The ancients were little acquainted with the north; therefore it is called the remotest regions (as the Hebrew for "sides" ought to be translated, see on Isa 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant (Jer 1:15;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Raised - Or, awakened, to undertake distant expeditions. The sides of the earth - Or ends, the most distant regions (see Jer 25:32).
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִנֵּ֛ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| עַ֥ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בָּ֖א | ba' | [is] about to come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| צָפ֑וֹן | tzafon | [the] north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| וְג֣וֹי | vegoy | and a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| גָּד֔וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| יֵע֖וֹר | yeor | it will be roused | H5782 → | 80 times |
| מִיַּרְכְּתֵי־ | miyarketei- | from [the] remotest parts of | H3411 → | 28 times |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִנֵּ֛הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
עַ֥םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
בָּ֖א[is] about to come
ba'H935 →2568 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom a land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
צָפ֑וֹן[the] north
tzafonH6828 →153 times
וְג֣וֹיand a nation
vegoyH1471 →561 times
גָּד֔וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
יֵע֖וֹרit will be roused
yeorH5782 →80 times
מִיַּרְכְּתֵי־from [the] remotest parts of
miyarketei-H3411 →28 times
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 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
Jeremiah 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,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:15
For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 13:3
I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
- Jeremiah 18:16
They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- Ezekiel 29:18–20
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from…
- Habakkuk 1:6–10
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
- Jeremiah 1:15
Through
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.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:14
The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- Joshua 18:21–28
These were the cities of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin:
- Nehemiah 3:14
Through
Jeremiah 10:22Listen! 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:11
“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
- Jeremiah 9:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 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; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.