Jeremiah 46:16

16 They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.’

Jeremiah 46:16 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
English Standard Version (ESV)
16 He made many stumble, and they fell, and they said one to another, 'Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.'
New Living Translation (NLT)
16 They stumble and fall over each other and say among themselves, ‘Come, let’s go back to our people, to the land of our birth. Let’s get away from the sword of the enemy!’
The Message Bible (MSG)
16 Your ragtag army will fall to pieces. The word is passing through the ranks, 'Let's get out of here while we still can. Let's head for home and save our skins.'
American Standard Version (ASV)
16 He made many to stumble, yea, they fell one upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
16 They have repeatedly stumbled, and now they have fallen. They say to each other, 'Get up! Let's go back to our people, to the land where we were born, and escape our enemy's sword.'
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
16 He continues to stumble. Indeed, each falls over the other. They say: Get up! Let's return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword that oppresses.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
16 They will trip again and again. They will fall over one another. They will say, 'Get up. Let's go back home. Let's return to our own people and our own lands. Let's get away from the swords that will bring us great harm.'

Jeremiah 46:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 46:16

He made many to fall
That is, the Lord, by the hand of the Chaldeans, by whose sword multitudes fell in battle: yea, one fell upon another;
they fell in heaps, denoting the multitude of the slain; or rather they fell in flight one upon another; one fell, and then another upon him, as usually they do, when men are frightened and flee precipitantly, as in ( Jeremiah 46:12 ) ; and they said, arise:
not those that fell, which may seem at first sight; but either the strangers in the land of Egypt, as Kimchi, such as the Jews were; who, perceiving the destruction that was coming on Egypt, exhort one another to arise, and get out of it; or rather the auxiliaries of the Egyptians, as the Ethiopians, Lybians, and Lydians, ( Jeremiah 46:9 ) ; who finding the enemy too strong for them, and they themselves deserted or unsupported by Pharaoh's army, advise one another to quit his service, and provide for their own safety: and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our
nativity;
their own country, where they were born, and their friends and relations lived; that so they might be safe from the oppressing sword;
the sword of the Chaldeans. The Septuagint version is a very bad one, followed by the Arabic, which renders it, "from the Grecian sword"; and so is the Vulgate Latin version, "from the face of the dove"; to countenance which it is said, that the Chaldeans and Assyrians had a dove in their ensigns; (See Gill on Jeremiah 25:38); and so a most ancient Saxon translation in the library of Christ's Church in Oxford, "from the face of the sword of the culver" F11, or "dove"; that is, from their sword, who display their banners in the field with the ensign of a dove; meaning the Chaldeans. The Targum is,

``from the sword of the enemy, which is as wine inebriating;''
which sense is followed by Jarchi.
FOOTNOTES:

F11 Apud Gregory's Posthuma, p. 236.

Jeremiah 46:16 In-Context

14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty, “one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea.

Cross References 4

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