Bible Strands
Jeremiah 5:15
Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses the house of Israel, announcing imminent judgment following their defiance and the warning given in the preceding verse.
The words — הִנְנִי (hi./Ni) means "here/ I" and מֵבִיא (me.Vi') means "[am] about to bring," framing the declaration as an immediate divine action. מִמֶּרְחָק (mi./mer.Chak) translates literally as "from a distance," emphasizing the foreign origin of the invading force.
The thread — This motif of a distant, unknown nation executing judgment appears in Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 4:16, and Isaiah 5:26.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine judgment arrives through unexpected, historically sovereign means rather than familiar or predictable channels.
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
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Jeremiah 4:16 Warn the nations now! Proclaim to Jerusalem: “A besieging army comes from a distant land; they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
- Isaiah 5:26 He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
- Isaiah 28:11 Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people
- Isaiah 33:19 You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Jeremiah 1:15 For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.
- Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
- Jeremiah 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 6:22 This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.