Bible Strands
Jeremiah 5:16
Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty men.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Jeremiah to the house of Israel, announcing the immediate deployment of a distant, foreign nation to execute judgment. The words — כְּקֶבֶר פָּתוּחַ (ke-kever pa-tuach) translates literally as "like an open grave," applied to the invaders' quivers to emphasize lethal readiness. The thread — The phrase "open graves" appears in Psalms 5:9 and Romans 3:13 to describe deceitful speech, while Isaiah 5:28 describes armed threat through sharpened arrows and strung bows, with no textual overlap of grave imagery in the cited passages. Why it lands — The text demands recognition of an inescapable military threat and the futility of relying on fortified cities against a fully equipped enemy.
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
Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
Cross-references
- Psalms 5:9 For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Isaiah 5:28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
- Romans 3:13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”