Jeremiah 46:8

It begins with a general title to prophecies in this and the five following chapters, Jeremiah 46:1; then follows a particular prophecy of the route of Pharaoh's army; of the place where, and time when, Jeremiah 46:2; the preparations of the Egyptians for the battle, with a variety of warlike instruments, Jeremiah 46:3; the consternation, flight, and destruction of them, Jeremiah 46:5; notwithstanding their confidence of getting the victory, Jeremiah 46:7; the reason of it, because it was the day of the Lord's vengeance on them, and therefore their ruin was inevitable, Jeremiah 46:10; the consequence of which was shame and confusion, Jeremiah 46:12; next follows another prophecy of the destruction of the land itself by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 46:13; the places that should be destroyed, Jeremiah 46:14; the multitude that should be slain, Jeremiah 46:15; a description of the calamity; the instrument, manner, and consequence of it, Jeremiah 46:20; the certainty of it, Jeremiah 46:18; and the whole is closed with a promise of the return of the Jews, and of their salvation; though they should not be without divine corrections, Jeremiah 46:27. Ver. 1. The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles.

46:1-12 The whole word of God is against those who obey not the gospel of Christ; but it is for those, even of the Gentiles, who turn to Him. The prophecy begins with Egypt. Let them strengthen themselves with all the art and interest they have, yet it shall be all in vain. The wounds God inflicts on his enemies, cannot be healed by medicines. Power and prosperity soon pass from one to another in this changing world.

Egypt riseth up as a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers,.... This is the answer to the above question; that it was Egypt that was seen; the king of Egypt, as the Syriac version; he with his army, as the Targum; and which was so numerous, that it seemed as if the whole country of Egypt, all the inhabitants of it, were come along with him; these rose up like the Nile, and moved like the several sluices of it, with great velocity and force, as if they would carry all before them: and he saith, I will go up; Pharaohnecho king of Egypt said, I will go up from my own land to the north, to meet the king of Babylon: and will cover the earth; with his army: even all, the north country, the whole Babylonish empire; which he affected to be master of, grasping at, universal monarchy: I will destroy the city, and the inhabitants thereof; which Abarbinel restrains to the city Carchemish, where his army was smitten: but it is better to interpret, the singular by the plural, as the Targum does, "I will destroy cities"; since it was not a single city he came up to take, nor would this satisfy his ambitious temper.

8 . and his waters toss themselves like the rivers ] The LXX omit, but, as the v . stands in MT., this clause is wanted for the parallelism. he saith ] viz. Pharaoh, addressing his army. the city and ] Unless, with LXX, we omit these words, we should probably understand the Hebrew substantive collectively, cities .

In Jeremiah 46:3-6 we saw only a mighty army marshalling for battle, and its hasty flight. In Jeremiah 46:7-12 the prophet tells us at whose defeat we have been present. A flood - the Nile. The metaphor describing the advance of the Egyptian army is naturally drawn from the annual overflow of their own sacred stream. Whose waters are moved ... - literally, his waters toss to and fro as the rivers, the natural branches of the Nile in Lower Egypt.

The prophet compareth the Egyptians, fleshed with their former victory obtained against Josiah at Megiddo, and now preparing to another expedition, to a flood, (with allusion probably to the river Nilus, whose waters used to rise to a great height,) both for the multitude of their soldiers, and for their rage; they were resolved to carry such numbers as should cover the earth, and to take Carchemish, or some other city which their design was against. It should seem both by this text, and that Exodus 15:9,10 , that the Egyptians were a people much given to vaunt and boast of the great things they would do, boasting when they were putting on their harness as if they were putting it off, not considering how uncertain the events of war were, nor yet that wherein they talked proudly there was one that could be above them.

brings the answer to the question of astonishment: "Egypt approaches, its hosts cover the land like the waves of the Nile, to destroy cities and men." On the form אבידה (with א contracted from אא), cf. Ewald, 192, d; Gesenius, 68, Rem. 1. עיר is used in an indefinite general sense, "cities," as in Jeremiah 8:16 . - In Jeremiah 46:9 , the imperat. stands as in Jeremiah 46:3 .: "Let the formidable army approach, - cavalry, chariots, and infantry, with all their splendidly equipped auxiliaries, - nevertheless it shall perish." עלוּ הסּוּסים does not here mean "Mount the steeds," which is against the parallelism, but "Get up (i.e., prance), ye horses;" this meaning is guaranteed by the Hiphil מעלה, as used in Nahum 3:3 . התהללוּ הרכב is an imitation of Nahum 2:5 . As auxiliaries, and very brave ones too (גבּורים), are mentioned "Cush," i.e., the Ethiopians; "Phut," the Libyans; and "Ludim," i.e., Hamitic, African Lydians, as in Ezekiel 30:5 . On the double construct in תּפשׂי דר, "holding, bending bows," cf. Ew. 280, c.

spread … before the sun, &c.—retribution in kind. The very objects which received their idolatries shall unconcernedly witness their dishonor. loved … served … after … walked … sought … worshipped —Words are accumulated, as if enough could not be said fully to express the mad fervor of their idolatry to the heavenly host (2 Kings 23:5). nor … buried —(Jeremiah 22:19). dung —(Jeremiah 9:22; Psalms 83:10). 3. The survivors shall be still worse off than the dead (Job 3:21, 22; Revelation 9:6). which remain in all the places —"in all places of them that remain, whither I … that is, in all places whither I have driven them that remain [M AURER ]. 4. "Is it not a natural instinct, that if one falls, he rises again; if one turns away (that is, wanders from the way), he will return to the point from which he wandered? Why then does not Jerusalem do so?" He plays on the double sense of return; literal and metaphorical (Jeremiah 3:12; 4:1). 5. slidden … backsliding —rather, as the Hebrew is the same as in Jeremiah 8:4, to which this verse refers, " turned away with a perpetual turning away. " perpetual —in contrast to the "arise" ("rise again," Jeremiah 8:4). refuse to return —in contrast to, "shall he … not return" (Jeremiah 8:4; Jeremiah 5:3). 6. spake not aright —that is, not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare what follows.

He mentions "the throne of David, " lest they should think that, because David's kingdom was to be perpetual, no severe, though temporary, chastisements could interpose (Psalms 89:29-36). 17. vile figs — Hebrew, "horrible," or nauseous, from a root, "to regard with loathing" (see Jeremiah 24:8, 10). 18. removed to all … kingdoms —(Jeremiah 15:4; Deuteronomy 28:25). curse, &c.—(Jeremiah 29:6; 18:16; 19:8). 21. Zedekiah —brother of Zephaniah (Jeremiah 29:25), both being sons of Maaseiah; probably of the same family as the false prophet under Ahab in Israel (1 Kings 22:11, 24). 22. shall be taken … a curse —that is, a formula of imprecation. Lord make thee like Zedekiah —(Compare Genesis 48:20; Isaiah 65:15). roasted in the fire —a Chaldean punishment (Daniel 3:6). 23. villainy —literally, "sinful folly" (Isaiah 32:6). 24-32. A second communication which Jeremiah sent to Babylon, after the messenger who carried his first letter had brought a letter from the false prophet Shemaiah to Zephaniah, &c., condemning Jeremiah and reproving the authorities for not having apprehended him. Nehelamite —a name derived either from his father or from a place: alluding at the same time to the Hebrew meaning, "a dreamer" (compare Jeremiah 29:8). 25. in thy name —without sanction of "the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel," which words stand in antithesis to "thy name" (John 5:43). Zephaniah —the second priest, or substitute ( Sagan ) of the high priest.