Jeremiah 46:7

7 "Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers?

Jeremiah 46:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 46:7

Who [is] this [that] cometh up as a flood
These are either the words of the prophet, who having a vision in prophecy of the march of the Egyptian army from the south to the north, which he compares to a flood; in allusion to the river Nile, which used to overflow its banks, and spread itself over the land; because of the vast numbers of which it consisted; because of the noise it made, and, because of its rapidity and force, threatening to bear all down before it; as wondering, asks, who it was, whose army it was, and to whom it belonged? or they are the words of God, who puts this question, in order to, give an answer to it, and thereby upbraid the Egyptians with their arrogance, pride, and vanity; which would all come to nothing: whose waters are moved as the rivers?
whose numerous armies came with a great noise and force, like the openings of the Nile, the seven gates of it; which were very boisterous, especially in hard gales of wind: it is no unusual thing for large armies to be compared to floods and rivers, which move forcibly and swiftly, and make a large spread; see ( Isaiah 8:7 Isaiah 8:8 ) ( Ezekiel 26:3 Ezekiel 26:19 ) . The Targum is,

``who is this that comes up with his army as a cloud, and covers the earth, and as a fountain of water, whose waters are moved?''

Jeremiah 46:7 In-Context

5 Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down; They have speedily fled, And did not look back, For fear was all around," says the Lord.

6 "Do not let the swift flee away, Nor the mighty man escape; They will stumble and fall Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

7 "Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers?

8 Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, 'I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.'

9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men come forth: The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.