Jeremiah 46: Summary and Commentary

Verse 1

46:1–51:64 This series of messages is directed toward foreign nations (see 1:5, 10, and similar messages in Isa 13–23; Ezek 25–32; Amos 1:3–2:3). Through Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord was going to judge all the nations from the Euphrates River to Egypt for their rebellion and sins against him (cp. Lev 18:24-25). Ultimately, Babylon would also come under God’s judgment (Jer 50–51). These chapters were probably written while Jeremiah and Baruch were in hiding (36:27-32). Among the pronouncements of doom on the foreign nations for their sins are a few statements of hope for salvation. Collections of oracles against the nations are also found in Isaiah (Isa 13–23) and Ezekiel (Ezek 25–32). Although God used surrounding nations to punish his rebellious people, those nations were also held accountable for their actions. The Lord is not only the God of Israel; he is the God of the entire world.

Verse 2

46:2-12 Jeremiah used the results of a battle known to Jehoiakim to warn him and the people of Jerusalem that Egypt could not protect them from Babylon. Pharaoh Neco had thought that the time was ripe to become the dominant power in the ancient Near East, so he moved north in 609 BC. After Neco spent several years trying to help fragments of the Assyrian army stop the westward movements of the Babylonian army, he was soundly defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in 605 BC. Soon after that, the Babylonian army surrounded Jerusalem and forced Jehoiakim to become a vassal of Babylon.

Verse 3

46:3-4 Military commands such as these would have been issued when the soldiers were excited, well armed, and ready to fight.

Verse 7

46:7-8 In spite of Pharaoh Neco’s boasting and the imposing presence of his soldiers, his tactics did not confuse the enemy or win the battle (cp. 1 Kgs 20:11).

Verse 9

46:9-10 The Lord had decreed that Egypt would lose the battle, so allies would be of little help. The battle of Carchemish was pivotal to the rise of Babylon as the great empire of the area.

Verse 11

46:11 Gilead was known as a source of healing plants (cp. 8:22).

Verse 13

46:13-24 The defeat at Carchemish created chaos in Egypt and among its armies. The Lord was executing judgment on Egypt.

Verse 15

46:15-17 The Lord filled the Egyptian soldiers with fear, and no one could keep them in military order as they fled from Carchemish through Canaan to their Egyptian homes. Back in Egypt, they would become strong critics of Pharaoh Neco and say that he was a loudmouth.

Verse 18

46:18 Mount Tabor towers over the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley. Mount Carmel rises above the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

Verse 19

46:19 Memphis will be destroyed: This happened in 568–567 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt.

Verse 21

46:21 Egypt depended on hired mercenaries from other countries who had no interest in dying for Egypt. Under threat, they would turn and run.

Verse 22

46:22-23 The picture of a serpent gliding away illustrates the panic that gripped Egypt. The invaders would chop the people to pieces like woodsmen after swarming into the country like locusts.

Verse 25

46:25-26 Amon was a fertility god worshiped in Thebes, the capital of Southern Egypt. Amon’s idol, in the form of a ram, represented the sun. The Egyptians thought that this god was very powerful, but like all the other deities of Egypt, it would be destroyed by the all-powerful God of Israel. The Pharaoh, who claimed to be the son of the sun-god, would suffer the same fate. • the land will recover: In 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt, did great damage, and then withdrew. He invaded the land again in 568–567 BC (43:8-13; Ezek 29:19).

Verse 27

46:27 I will bring you home again: The exiles began returning to Judea in 538 BC. Israel was disciplined but not destroyed.

Verse 1

The first verse is the title of that part of this book, which relates to the neighbouring nations, and follows here. It is the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah against the Gentiles; for God is King and Judge of nations, knows and will call to an account those who know him not nor take any notice of him. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied against these nations that Jeremiah here has a separate saying to, and with reference to the same events. In the Old Testament we have the word of the Lord against the Gentiles; in the New Testament we have the word of the Lord for the Gentiles, that those who were afar off are made nigh.

He begins with Egypt, because they were of old Israel's oppressors and of late their deceivers, when they put confidence in them. In these verses he foretells the overthrow of the army of Pharaoh-necho, by Nebuchadnezzar, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was so complete a victory to the king of Babylon that thereby he recovered from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt, and so weakened him that he came not again any more out of his land (as we find, Kg2 24:7), and so made him pay dearly for his expedition against the king of Assyria four years before, in which he slew Josiah, Kg2 23:29. This is the event that is here foretold in lofty expressions of triumph over Egypt thus foiled, which Jeremiah would speak of with a particular pleasure, because the death of Josiah, which he had lamented, was now avenged on Pharaoh-necho. Now here,

I. The Egyptians are upbraided with the mighty preparations they made for this expedition, in which the prophet calls to them to do their utmost, for so they would: "Come then, order the buckler, let the weapons of war be got ready," Jer 46:3. Egypt was famous for horses - let them be harnessed and the cavalry well mounted: Get up, you horsemen, and stand forth, etc., Jer 46:4. See what preparations the children of men make, with abundance of care and trouble and at a vast expense, to kill one another, as if they did not die fast enough of themselves. He compares their marching out upon this expedition to the rising of their river Nile (Jer 46:7, Jer 46:8): Egypt now rises up like a flood, scorning to keep within its own banks and threatening to overflow all the neighbouring lands. It is a very formidable army that the Egyptians bring into the field upon this occasion. The prophet summons them (Jer 46:9): Come up, you horses; rage, you chariots. He challenges them to bring all their confederate troops together, the Ethiopians, that descended from the same stock with the Egyptians (Gen 10:6), and were their neighbours and allies, the Libyans and Lydians, both seated in Africa, to the west of Egypt, and from them the Egyptians fetched their auxiliary forces. Let them strengthen themselves with all the art and interest they have, yet it shall be all in vain; they shall be shamefully defeated notwithstanding, for God will fight against them, and against him there is no wisdom nor counsel, Pro 21:30, Pro 21:31. It concerns those that go forth to war not only to order the buckler, and harness the horses, but to repent of their sins, and pray to God for his presence with them, and that they may have it to keep themselves from every wicked thing.

II. They are upbraided with the great expectations they had from this expedition, which were quite contrary to what God intended in bringing them together. They knew their own thoughts, and God knew them, and sat in heaven and laughed at them,; but they knew not the thoughts of the Lord, for he gathers them as sheaves into the floor, Mic 4:11, Mic 4:12. Egypt saith (Jer 46:8): I will go up; I will cover the earth, and none shall hinder me; I will destroy the city, whatever city it is that stands in my way. Like Pharaoh of old, I will pursue, I will overtake. The Egyptians say that they shall have a day of it, but God saith that it shall be his day: The is the day of the Lord God of hosts (Jer 46:10), the day in which he will be exalted in the overthrow of the Egyptians. They meant one thing, but God meant another; they designed it for the advancement of their dignity and the enlargement of their dominion, but God designed it for the great abasement and weakening of their kingdom. It is a day of vengeance for Josiah's death; it is a day of sacrifice to divine justice, to which multitudes of the sinners of Egypt shall fall as victims. Note, When men think to magnify themselves by pushing on unrighteous enterprises, let them expect that God will glorify himself by blasting them and cutting them off.

III. They are upbraided with their cowardice and inglorious flight when they come to an engagement (Jer 46:5, Jer 46:6): "Wherefore have I seen them, notwithstanding all these mighty and vast preparations and all these expressions of bravery and resolution, when the Chaldean army faces them, dismayed, turned back, quite disheartened, and no spirit left in them." 1. They make a shameful retreat. Even their mighty ones, who, one would think, should have stood their ground, flee a flight, flee by consent, make the best of their way, flee in confusion and with the utmost precipitation; they have neither time nor heart to look back, but fear is round about them, for they apprehend it so. And yet, 2. They cannot make their escape. They have the shame of flying, and yet not the satisfaction of saving themselves by flight; they might as well have stood their ground and died upon the spot; for even the swift shall not flee away. The lightness of their heels shall fail them when it comes to the trial, as well as the stoutness of their hearts; the mighty shall not escape, nay, they are beaten down and broken to pieces. They shall stumble in their flight, and fall towards the north, towards their enemy's country; for such confusion were they in when they took to their feet that instead of making homeward, as men usually do in that case, they made forward. Note, The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Valiant men are not always victorious.

IV. They are upbraided with their utter inability ever to recover this blow, which should be fatal to their nation, Jer 46:11, Jer 46:12. The damsel, the daughter of Egypt, that lived in great pomp and state, is sorely wounded by this defeat. Let her now seek for balm in Gilead and physicians there; let her use all the medicines her wise men can prescribe for the healing of this hurt, and the repairing of the loss sustained by this defeat; but all in vain; no cure shall be to them; they shall never be able to bring such a powerful army as this into the field again. "The nations that rang of thy glory and strength have now heard of thy shame, how shamefully thou wast routed and how thou are weakened by it." It needs not be spread by the triumphs of the conquerors, the shrieks and outcries of the conquered will proclaim it: Thy cry hath filled the country about. For, when they fled several ways, one mighty man stumbled upon another and dashed against another, such confusion were they in, so that both together became a pray to the pursuers, an easy prey. A thousand such dreadful accidents there should be, which should fill the country with the cry of those that were overcome. Let not the mighty man therefore glory in his might, for the time may come when it will stand him in no stead.

Verse 13

In these verses we have,

I. Confusion and terror spoken to Egypt. The accomplishment of the prediction in the former part of the chapter disabled the Egyptians from making any attempts upon other nations; for what could they do when their army was routed? But still they remained strong at home, and none of their neighbours durst make any attempts upon them. Though the kings of Egypt came no more out of their land (Kg2 24:7), yet they kept safe and easy in their land; and what would they desire more than peaceably to enjoy their own? One would think all men should be content to do this, and not covet to invade their neighbours. But the measure of Egypt's iniquity is full, and now they shall not long enjoy their own; those that encroached on others shall not be themselves encroached on. The scope of the prophecy here is to show how the king of Babylon should shortly come and smite the land of Egypt, and bring the war into their own bosoms which they had formerly carried into his borders, Jer 46:13. This was fulfilled by the same hand with the former, even Nebuchadnezzar's, but many years after, twenty at least, and probably the prediction of it was long after the former prediction, and perhaps much about the same time with that other prediction of the same event which we had Jer 43:10.

1. Here is the alarm of war sounded in Egypt, to their great amazement (Jer 46:14), notice given to the country that the enemy is approaching, the sword is devouring round about in the neighbouring countries, and therefore it is time for the Egyptians to put themselves in a posture of defence, to prepare for war, that they may give the enemy a warm reception. This must be proclaimed in all parts of Egypt, particularly in Migdol, Noph, and Tahpanhes, because in these places especially the Jewish refugees, or fugitives rather, had planted themselves, in contempt of God's command (Jer 44:1), and let them hear what a sorry shelter Egypt is likely to be to them.

2. The retreat hereupon of the forces of other nations which the Egyptians had in their pay is here foretold. Some considerable number of those troops, it is probable, were posted upon the frontiers to guard them, where they were beaten off by the invaders and put to flights. Then were the valiant men swept away (Jer 46:15) as with a sweeping rain (it is the word that is used Pro 28:3); 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. He it was (Jer 46:16) that made many to fall, yea, when their day shall come to fall, the enemy needs not throw them down, they shall fall one upon another, every man shall be a stumbling-block to his fellow, to his follower; nay, if God please, they shall be made to fall upon one another, they shall be made to fall upon one another, every man's sword shall be against his fellow. Her hired men, the troops Egypt has in he service, are indeed in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, lusty men, able bodied and high spirited, who were likely for action and promised to make their part good against the enemy; but they are turned back; their hearts failed them, and, instead of fighting, they have fled away together. How could they withstand their fate when the day of their calamity had come, the day in which God will visit them in wrath? Some think they are compared to fatted bullocks for their luxury; they had wantoned in pleasures, so that they were very unfit for hardships, and therefore turned back and could not stand. In this consternation, (1.) They all made homeward towards their own country (Jer 46:16): They said, "Arise, and let us go again to our own people, where we may be safe from the oppressing sword of the Chaldeans, that bears down all before it." In times of exigence little confidence is to be put in mercenary troops, that fight purely for pay, and have no interest in theirs whom they fight for. (2.) They exclaimed vehemently against Pharaoh, to whose cowardice or bad management, it is probably, their defeat was owing. When he posted them there upon the borders of his country it is probably that he told them he would within such a time come himself with a gallant army of his own subjects to support them; but he failed them, and, when the enemy advanced, they found they had none to back them, so that they were perfectly abandoned to the fury of the invaders. No marvel then that they quitted their post and deserted the service, crying out, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise (Jer 46:17); he can hector, and talk big of the mighty things he would do, but that is all; he brings nothing to pass. All his promises to those in alliance with him, or that are employed for him, vanish into smoke. He brings not the succours he engaged to bring, or not till it is too late: He has passed the time appointed; he did not keep his word, nor keep his day, and therefore they bid him farewell, they will never serve under him any more. Note, Those that make most noise in any business are frequently but a noise. Great talkers are little doers.

3. The formidable power of the Chaldean army is here described as bearing down all before it. The King of kings, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and before whom the mightiest kings on earth, though gods to us, are but as grasshoppers, he hath said it, he hath sworn it, As I live, saith this king, as Tabor overtops the mountains and Carmel overlooks the sea, so shall the king of Babylon overpower all the force of Egypt, such a command shall he have, such a sway shall he bear, Jer 46:18. He and his army shall come against Egypt with axes, as hewers of wood (Jer 46:22), and the Egyptians shall be no more able to resist them than the tree is to resist the man that comes with an axe to cut it down; so that Egypt shall be felled as a forest is by the hewers of wood, which (if there by many of them, and those well provided with instruments for the purpose) will be done in a little time. Egypt is very populous, full of towns and cities, like a forest, the trees of which cannot be searched or numbered, and very rich, full of hidden treasures, many of which will escape the searching eye of the Chaldean soldiers; but they shall make a great spoil in the country, for they are more than the locusts, that come in vast swarms and overrun a country, devouring every green thing (Joe 1:6, Joe 1:7), so shall the Chaldeans do, for they are innumerable. Note, The Lord of hosts hath numberless hosts at his command.

4. The desolation of Egypt hereby is foretold, and the waste that should be made of that rich country. Egypt is now like a very fair heifer, or calf (Jer 46:20), fat and shining, and not accustomed to the yoke of subjection, wanton as a heifer that is well fed, and very sportful. Some think here is an allusion to Apis, the bull or calf which the Egyptians worshipped, from whom the children of Israel learned to worship the golden calf. Egypt is as fair as a goddess, and adores herself, but destruction comes; cutting up comes (so some read it); it comes out of the north; thence the Chaldean soldiers shall come, as so many butchers or sacrificers, to kill and cut up this fair heifer. (1.) The Egyptians shall be brought down, shall be tamed, and their tune changed: The daughters of Egypt shall be confounded (Jer 46:24), shall be filled with astonishment. Their voice shall go like a serpent, that is, it shall be very low and submissive; they shall not low like a fair heifer, that makes a great noise, but hiss out of their holes like serpents. They shall not dare to make loud complaints of the cruelty of the conquerors, but vent their griefs in silent murmurs. They shall not now, as they used to do, answer roughly, but, with the poor, use entreaties and beg for their lives. (2.) They shall be carried away prisoners into their enemy's land (Jer 46:19): "O thou daughter! dwelling securely and delicately in Egypt, that fruitful pleasant country, do not think this will last always, but furnish thyself to go into captivity; instead of rich clothes, which will but tempt the enemy to strip thee, get plain and warm clothes; instead of fine shoes, provide strong ones; and inure thyself to hardship, that thou mayest bear it the better." Note, It concerns us, among all our preparations, to prepare for trouble. We provide for the entertainment of our friends, let us not neglect to provide for the entertainment of our enemies, nor among all our furniture omit furniture for captivity. The Egyptians must prepare to flee; for their cities shall be evacuated. Noph particularly shall be desolate, without an inhabitant, so general shall the slaughter and the captivity be. There are some penalties which, we say, the king and the multitude are exempted from, but here even these are obnoxious: The multitude of No shall be punished: it is called populous No, Nah 3:8. Though hand join in hand, yet they shall not escape; nor can any think to go off in the crowd. Be they ever so many, they shall find God will be too many for them. Their kings and all their petty princes shall fall; and their gods too (Jer 43:12, Jer 43:13), their idols and their great men. Those which they call their tutelar deities shall be no protection to them. Pharaoh shall be brought down, and all those that trust in him (Jer 46:25), particularly the Jews that came to sojourn in his country, trusting in him rather than in God. All these shall be delivered into the hands of the northern nations (Jer 46:24), into the hand not only of Nebuchadnezzar that mighty potentate, but into the hands of his servants, according to the curse on Ham's posterity, of which the Egyptians were, that they should be the servants of servants. These seek their lives, and into their hands they shall be delivered.

5. An intimation is given that in process of time Egypt shall recover itself again (Jer 46:26): Afterwards it shall be inhabited, shall be peopled again, whereas by this destruction it was almost dispeopled. Ezekiel foretels that this should be at the end of forty years, Eze 29:13. See what changes the nations of the earth are subject to, how they are emptied and increased again; and let not nations that prosper be secure, nor those that for the present are in thraldom despair.

II. Comfort and peace are here spoken to the Israel of God, Jer 46:27, Jer 46:28. Some understand it of those whom the king of Egypt had carried into captivity with Jehoahaz, but we read not of any that were carried away captives with him; it may therefore rather refer to the captives in Babylon, whom God had mercy in store for, or, more generally, to all the people of God, designed for their encouragement in the most difficult times, when the judgments of God are abroad among the nations. We had these words of comfort before, Jer 30:10, Jer 30:11. 1. Let the wicked of the earth tremble, they have cause for it; but fear not thou, O my servant Jacob! and be not dismayed, O Israel! and again, Fear thou not, O Jacob! God would not have his people to be a timorous people. 2. The wicked of the earth shall be put away like dross, not be looked after any more; but God's people, in order to their being saved, shall be found out and gathered though they be far off, shall be redeemed though they be held fast in captivity, and shall return. 3. The wicked is like the troubled sea when it cannot rest; they flee when none pursues. But Jacob, being at home in God, shall be at rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid; for what time he is afraid he has a God to trust to. 4. The wicked God beholds afar off; but, wherever thou art, O Jacob! I am with thee, a very present help. 5. A full end shall be made of the nations that oppressed God's Israel, as Egypt and Babylon; but mercy shall be kept in store for the Israel of God: they shall be corrected, but not cast off; the correction shall be in measure, in respect of degree and continuance. Nations have their periods; the Jewish nation itself has come to an end as a nation; but the gospel church, God's spiritual Israel, still continues, and will to the end of time; in that this promise is to have its full accomplishment, that, though God correct it, he will never make a full end of it.

Verse 2

Inscription of the first prophecy.

Pharaoh-necho—He, when going against Carchemish (Cercusium, near the Euphrates), encountered Josiah, king of Judah (the ally of Assyria), at Megiddo, and slew him there (Kg2 23:29; Ch2 35:20-24); but he was four years subsequently overcome at Carchemish, by Nebuchadnezzar, as is foretold here; and lost all the territory which had been subject to the Pharaohs west of the Euphrates, and between it and the Nile. The prediction would mitigate the Jews' grief for Josiah, and show his death was not to be unavenged (Kg2 24:7). He is famed as having fitted out a fleet of discovery from the Red Sea, which doubled the Cape of Good Hope and returned to Egypt by the Mediterranean.

Verse 3

Derisive summons to battle. With all your mighty preparation for the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, when ye come to the encounter, ye shall be "dismayed" (Jer 46:5). Your mighty threats shall end in nothing.

buckler—smaller, and carried by the light-armed cavalry.

shield—of larger size, and carried by the heavily armed infantry.

Verse 4

Harness the horses—namely, to the war chariots, for which Egypt was famed (Exo 14:7; Exo 15:4).

get up, ye horsemen—get up into the chariots. MAURER, because of the parallel "horses," translates, "Mount the steeds." But it is rather describing the successive steps in equipping the war chariots; first harness the horses to them, then let the horsemen mount them.

brigandines—cuirasses, or coats of mail.

Verse 5

(See on Jer 46:3). The language of astonishment, that an army so well equipped should be driven back in "dismay." The prophet sees this in prophetic vision.

fled apace—literally, "fled a flight," that is, flee precipitately.

look not back—They do not even dare to look back at their pursuers.

Verse 6

Let not—equivalent to the strongest negation. Let not any of the Egyptian warriors think to escape by swiftness or by might.

toward the north—that is, in respect to Egypt or Judea. In the northward region, by the Euphrates (see Jer 46:2).

Verse 7

as a flood— (Jer 47:2; Isa 8:7-8; Dan 11:22). The figure is appropriate in addressing Egyptians, as the Nile, their great river, yearly overspreads their lands with a turbid, muddy flood. So their army, swelling with arrogance, shall overspread the region south of Euphrates; but it, like the Nile, shall retreat as fast as it advanced.

Verse 8

Answer to the question in Jer 46:7.

waters . . . moved like the rivers—The rise of the Nile is gentle; but at the mouth it, unlike most rivers, is much agitated, owing to the sandbanks impeding its course, and so it rushes into the sea like a cataract.

Verse 9

Ironical exhortation, as in Jer 46:3. The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary soldiers.

Ethiopians—Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia.

Libyans—Phut, Mauritania, west of Egypt (compare Gen 10:6).

shield—The Libyans borrowed from Egypt the use of the long shield extending to the feet [XENOPHON, CyropÃ&brvbrdia, 6 and 7].

Lydians—not the Lydians west of Asia Minor (Gen 10:22; Eze 30:5), but the Ludim, an African nation descended from Egypt (Mizraim) (Gen 10:13; Eze 30:5; Nah 3:9).

handle and bend the bow—The employment of two verbs expresses the manner of bending the bow, namely, the foot being pressed on the center, and the hands holding the ends of it.

Verse 10

vengeance—for the slaughter of Josiah (Kg2 23:29).

sword shall devour . . . be . . . drunk—poetical personification (Deu 32:42).

a sacrifice— (Isa 34:6; Eze 39:17). The slaughter of the Egyptians is represented as a sacrifice to satiate His righteous vengeance.

Verse 11

Gilead . . . balm—(See on Jer 8:22); namely, for curing the wounds; but no medicine will avail, so desperate shall be the slaughter.

virgin—Egypt is so called on account of her effeminate luxury, and as having never yet been brought under foreign yoke.

thou shalt not be cured—literally, "there shall be no cure for thee" (Jer 30:13; Eze 30:21). Not that the kingdom of Egypt should cease to exist, but it should not recover its former strength; the blow should be irretrievable.

Verse 12

mighty . . . stumbled against . . . mighty . . . fallen both together—Their very multitude shall prove an impediment in their confused flight, one treading on the other.

Verse 13

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; Eze. 30:1-31:18). The intestine commotions between Amasis and Pharaoh-hophra prepared his way (compare Note, see on Isa 19:1, &c.).

Verse 14

Declare . . . publish—as if giving sentence from a tribunal.

Migdol . . . Noph . . . Tahpanhes—east, south, and north. He mentions the three other quarters, but omits the west, because the Chaldeans did not advance thither. These cities, too, were the best known to the Jews, as being in their direction.

sword shall devour round about thee—namely, the Syrians, Jews, Moabites, and Ammonites (see on Jer 48:1). The exhortation is ironical, as in Jer 46:4, Jer 46:10, Jer 46:15.

Verse 15

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 (Psa 22:12). Cambyses in his invasion of Egypt destroyed the sacred bull.

drive them—(Compare Jer 46:5). The Hebrew word is used of a sweeping rain (Pro 28:3).

Verse 16

He—Jehovah.

made many to fall—literally, "multiplied the faller," that is, fallers.

one fell upon another— (Jer 46:6, Jer 46:12): even before the enemy strikes them (Lev 26:37).

let us go again to our own people—the language of the confederates and mercenaries, exhorting one another to desert the Egyptian standard, and return to their respective homes (Jer 46:9, Jer 46:21).

from the oppressing sword—from the cruel sword, namely, of the Chaldeans (compare Jer 25:38).

Verse 17

there—in their own country severally, the foreign soldiers (Jer 46:16) cry, "Pharaoh is," &c.

but a noise—He threatens great things, but when the need arises, he does nothing. His threats are mere "noise" (compare Co1 13:1). MAURER translates, "is ruined," literally (in appropriate abruptness of language), "Pharaoh, king . . . ruin." The context favors English Version. His vauntings of what he would do when the time of battle should come have proved to be empty sounds; he hath passed the time appointed (namely, for battle with the Chaldeans).

Verse 18

As the mountains Tabor and Carmel tower high above the other hills of Palestine, so Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 46:26) when he comes shall prove himself superior to all his foes. Carmel forms a bold promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean. Tabor is the higher of the two; therefore it is said to be "among the mountains"; and Carmel "by the sea."

the King . . . Lord of hosts— (Jer 48:15); in contrast to "Pharaoh king of Egypt . . . but a noise" (Jer 46:17). God the true "King . . . the Lord of hosts," shall cause Nebuchadnezzar to come. Whereas Pharaoh shall not come to battle at the time appointed, notwithstanding his boasts, Nebuchadnezzar shall come according to the prediction of the King, who has all hosts in His power, however ye Egyptians may despise the prediction.

Verse 19

furnish thyself—literally, "make for thyself vessels" (namely, to contain food and other necessaries for the journey) for captivity.

daughter—so in Jer 46:11.

dwelling in Egypt—that is, the inhabitants of Egypt, the Egyptians, represented as the daughter of Egypt (Jer 48:18; Kg2 19:21). "Dwelling" implies that they thought themselves to be securely fixed in their habitations beyond the reach of invasion.

Verse 20

heifer—wanton, like a fat, untamed heifer (Hos 10:11). Appropriate to Egypt, where Apis was worshipped under the form of a fair bull marked with spots.

destruction—that is, a destroyer: Nebuchadnezzar. Vulgate translates, "a goader," answering to the metaphor, "one who will goad the heifer" and tame her. The Arabic idiom favors this [ROSENMULLER].

cometh . . . cometh—The repetition implies, it cometh surely and quickly (Psa 96:13).

out of the north—(See on Jer 1:14; Jer 47:2).

Verse 21

Translate, "Also her hired men (mercenary soldiers, Jer 46:9, Jer 46:16), who are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, even they also are turned back," that is, shall turn their backs to flee. The same image, "heifer . . . bullocks" (Jer 46:20-21), is applied to Egypt's foreign mercenaries, as to herself. Pampered with the luxuries of Egypt, they become as enervated for battle as the natives themselves.

Verse 22

The cry of Egypt when invaded shall be like the hissing of a serpent roused by the woodcutters from its lair. No longer shall she loudly roar like a heifer, but with a low murmur of fear, as a serpent hissing.

with axes—the Scythian mode of armor. The Chaldeans shall come with such confidence as if not about to have to fight with soldiers, but merely to cut down trees offering no resistance.

Verse 23

her forest— (Isa 10:34).

though it cannot be searched—They cut down her forest, dense and unsearchable (Job 5:9; Job 9:10; Job 36:26) as it may seem: referring to the thickly set cities of Egypt, which were at that time a thousand and twenty. The Hebrew particle is properly, "for," "because."

because—the reason why the Chaldeans shall be able to cut down so dense a forest of cities as Egypt: they themselves are countless in numbers.

grasshoppers—locusts (Jdg 6:5).

Verse 25

multitude—Hebrew, "Amon" (Nah 3:8, Margin, "No-Ammon"), the same as Thebes or Diospolis in Upper Egypt, where Jupiter Ammon had his famous temple. In English Version, "multitude" answers to "populous No" (Nah 3:8; Eze 30:15). The reference to "their gods" which follows, makes the translation more likely, "Ammon of No," that is, No and her idol Ammon; so the Chaldee Version. So called either from Ham, the son of Noah; or, the "nourisher," as the word means.

their kings—the kings of the nations in league with Egypt.

Verse 26

afterward . . . inhabited—Under Cyrus forty years after the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, it threw off the Babylonian yoke but has never regained its former prowess (Jer 46:11; Eze 29:11-15).

Verse 27

Repeated from Jer 30:10-11. When the Church (and literal Israel) might seem utterly consumed, there still remains hidden hope, because God, as it were, raises His people from the dead (Rom 11:15). Whereas the godless "nations" are consumed even though they survive, as are the Egyptians after their overthrow; because they are radically accursed and doomed [CALVIN].

Next: Jeremiah Chapter 47