Jeremiah 46:4

4 Join ye horses, and ascend, ye knights; stand ye in helmets, polish ye spears, clothe ye you in habergeons. (Join ye up the horses, and ye horsemen go upon them; stand ye in helmets, polish ye the spears, clothe ye yourselves with breastplates.)

Jeremiah 46:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 46:4

Harness the horses
Put on their bridles and saddles and gird them: or, "bind the horses" F18; that is, to the chariots; put them to, as we commonly express it: Egypt abounded in horses, and so no doubt brought a large cavalry, and a multitude of chariots, into the field of battle: and get up, ye horsemen;
upon the horses, or into the chariots, and so be ready to receive the enemy, or to attack him: and stand forth with [your] helmets;
present themselves on horseback, or in their chariots, with their helmets on their heads, to cover them in the day of battle: furbish the spears;
that they may be sharp and piercing, and look bright and glittering, and strike terror in the enemy: [and] put on the brigandines;
coats of mail, to cover the whole body, which were made of iron, consisting of rings, as Kimchi observes.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Myowoh wroa) "ligate equos", Montanus, Calvin; "alligate", Schmidt.

Jeremiah 46:4 In-Context

2 to Egypt, against the host of Pharaohnecho, king of Egypt, that was beside the flood [of] Euphrates, in Carchemish, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah. (about Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, who was by the Euphrates River, in Carchemish, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, struck, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah.)
3 Make ye ready shield and target, and go ye forth to battle.
4 Join ye horses, and ascend, ye knights; stand ye in helmets, polish ye spears, clothe ye you in habergeons. (Join ye up the horses, and ye horsemen go upon them; stand ye in helmets, polish ye the spears, clothe ye yourselves with breastplates.)
5 What therefore? I saw them dreadful, either afeared, and turning the(ir) backs, the strong men of them (be) slain; and they fled swiftly, and beheld not; dread was on each side, saith the Lord. (But what did I see? I saw them fearful, or afraid, and turning their backs, for their strong men be killed; and the rest swiftly fled away, and beheld not; fear was on all sides, saith the Lord.)
6 A swift man shall not flee, and a strong man guess not himself to be saved; at the north, beside the flood [of] Euphrates, they were overcome, and fell down. (But the swift shall not be able to flee away, and the strong shall not be able to save themselves; in the north, by the Euphrates River, they were overcome, and fell down.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.