Jeremiah 46:8

8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers ¹whose waters surge. He said, 'I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.'

Jeremiah 46:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 46:8

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.

Jeremiah 46:8 In-Context

6 "The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.

7 "Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge?

8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, 'I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.'

9 Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

10 That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Cross References

• 1. [See ver. 7 above]