Jeremiah 12:12

12:12 A destructive army 1  will come marching

over the hilltops in the desert.

For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon 2 

against 3  everyone from one end of the land to the other.

No one will be safe. 4 

Jeremiah 46:22

46:22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, 5 

as the enemy comes marching up in force.

They will come against her with axes

as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees.

1 tn Heb “destroyers.”

2 tn Heb “It is the Lord’s consuming sword.”

3 tn Heb “For a sword of the Lord will devour.” The sword is often symbolic for destructive forces of all kinds. Here and in Isa 34:6; Jer 47:6 it is symbolic of the enemy armies that the Lord uses to carry out destructive punishment against his enemies, hence the translation “his destructive weapon.” A similar figure is use in Isa 10:5 where the figure is more clearly identified; Assyria is the rod/club that the Lord will use to discipline unfaithful Israel.

4 tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”

5 tn Or “Egypt will rustle away like a snake”; Heb “her sound goes like the snake,” or “her sound [is] like the snake [when] it goes.” The meaning of the simile is debated. Some see a reference to the impotent hiss of a fleeing serpent (F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 382), others the sound of a serpent stealthily crawling away when it is disturbed (H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 297-98). The translation follows the former interpretation because of the irony involved.

sn Several commentators point out the irony of the snake slithering away (or hissing away) in retreat. The coiled serpent was a part of the royal insignia, signifying its readiness to strike. Pharaoh had boasted of great things (v. 8) but was just a big noise (v. 17); now all he could do was hiss as he beat his retreat (v. 22).