Jeremiah 6:23
in Jeremiah 6They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Zion.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion.
KJV
They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
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This verse in Jeremiah 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThey shall lay hold on bow and spear,.... That is, everyone of them should be furnished with both these pieces of armour, that they might be able to fight near and afar off; they had bows to shoot arrows at a distance, and spears to strike with when near. The Targum renders it bows and shields.
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.
This site's exposition
They grasp the bow and spear
Gill notes each man carried both, the bow for shooting at a distance and the spear for thrusting at close range. Barnes calls the spear a javelin, and he reads cruel and merciless beside Assyrian monuments showing captives impaled. The whole army is lined up against the Daughter of Zion.
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
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Spear - Properly, a javelin for hurling at the enemy (see 1Sa 17:6 note): an ordinary weapon of the Babylonians. Cruel - ruthless, inhuman. In the Assyrian monuments warriors put the vanquished to death; rows of impaled victims hang round the walls of the besieged towns; and men collect in heaps hands cut from the vanquished. Horses, set in array - A full stop should be put after horses. It - the whole army, and not the cavalry only - is “set in array.” As men for war against thee - Rather, as a warrior for battle “against thee.”
They shall lay hold on bow and spear - Still pointing out the Chaldeans: or according to Dahler, the Scythians, who had before their invasion of Palestine overrun many parts of Asia, and had spread consternation wherever their name was heard.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קֶ֣שֶׁת | keshet | bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| וְכִיד֞וֹן | vekhidon | and javelin | H3591 → | |
| יַחֲזִ֗יקוּ | yachaziku | they take hold of | H2388 → | 291 times |
| אַכְזָרִ֥י | ʾakhzari | [is] cruel | H394 → | 8 times |
| הוּא֙ | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְרַחֵ֔מוּ | yerachemu | they have mercy | H7355 → | 47 times |
| קוֹלָם֙ | kolam | sound their | H6963 → | 506 times |
| כַּיָּ֣ם | kaiyam | [is] like the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| יֶהֱמֶ֔ה | yehemeh | [which] it roars | H1993 → | 34 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| סוּסִ֖ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| יִרְכָּ֑בוּ | yirkavu | they ride | H7392 → | 78 times |
| עָר֗וּךְ | ʾarukh | arranged | H6186 → | 74 times |
| כְּאִישׁ֙ | keish | like a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה | lamilchamah | for <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| עָלַ֖יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | O daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִיּֽוֹן׃ | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
קֶ֣שֶׁתbow
keshetH7198 →76 times
וְכִיד֞וֹןand javelin
vekhidonH3591 →
יַחֲזִ֗יקוּthey take hold of
yachazikuH2388 →291 times
אַכְזָרִ֥י[is] cruel
ʾakhzariH394 →8 times
הוּא֙it
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְרַחֵ֔מוּthey have mercy
yerachemuH7355 →47 times
קוֹלָם֙sound their
kolamH6963 →506 times
כַּיָּ֣ם[is] like the sea
kaiyamH3220 →396 times
יֶהֱמֶ֔ה[which] it roars
yehemehH1993 →34 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
סוּסִ֖יםhorses
susimH5483 →140 times
יִרְכָּ֑בוּthey ride
yirkavuH7392 →78 times
עָר֗וּךְarranged
ʾarukhH6186 →74 times
כְּאִישׁ֙like a man
keishH376 →1663 times
לַמִּלְחָמָ֔הfor <the> battle
lamilchamahH4421 →320 times
עָלַ֖יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
בַּת־O daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
צִיּֽוֹן׃Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 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
Isaiah 13:18Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:12
“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword,…
- 2 Chronicles 36:17
So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God…
- Ezekiel 9:10
But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.”
- Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- 2 Kings 8:12
Through
Jeremiah 5:16Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty men.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:28
Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
- Psalms 5:9
For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Isaiah 5:28
Through
Jeremiah 50:42They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:30
In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. If one looks over the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be obscured by clouds.
- Jeremiah 47:3
at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.
- Isaiah 5:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.