Bible Strands
Jeremiah 46:10
For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces this oracle concerning the Egyptian army defeated at Carchemish. The prophet declares that the impending battle is a divinely appointed moment of judgment rather than a mere political conflict.
The words — The Hebrew term נְקָמָה (neqāmāh) denotes a day of vengeance, while לְהִנָּקֵם (lehinnāqēm) conveys the active process of avenging oneself. These terms frame the military defeat as a deliberate act of divine retribution.
The thread — This motif of a divinely appointed day of vengeance appears in Joel 1:15 and Deuteronomy 32:42. Both passages describe the Lord’s sword devouring flesh and drinking blood as instruments of judgment.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that historical military events operate under sovereign divine authority. It requires readers to accept that national defeat is a calculated execution of justice, not a random catastrophe.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
- Jeremiah 46:2 concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:
- Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Jeremiah 46:6 “The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
- Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
- 2 Kings 24:7 Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isaiah 34:5 When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
- Isaiah 63:4 For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
- Jeremiah 50:15 Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.