Bible Strands
Jeremiah 46:21
Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them—the time of their punishment.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah delivers this oracle against Egypt as the northern army advances to execute divine judgment. The prophet addresses the nation’s military forces during this moment of impending collapse.
The words — עֶגְלֵי מַרְבֵּק ('eglei marbek) translates literally to fattened calves, applied to the mercenaries in her midst. The text states they are being prepared for slaughter rather than combat, highlighting their helpless condition.
The thread — The retreat of terrified warriors parallels Jeremiah 46:5, which notes they are defeated and fleeing in haste. The prohibition against exploiting such collapse echoes Obadiah 1:13, which forbids gloating over the day of their disaster.
Why it lands — The text records that hired fighters will abandon their posts and flee together when the day of calamity arrives. It demands a reader acknowledge that human military alliances cannot withstand appointed punishment.
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
Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- Jeremiah 46:5 Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
- Obadiah 1:13 You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster.
- 2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
- Psalms 37:13 but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- Isaiah 34:7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
- Jeremiah 50:27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Hosea 9:7 The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
- Amos 6:4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
- Micah 7:4 The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion.