Her noise shall go like a serpent, For they shall march with an army And come against her with axes, Like those who chop wood.
Parallel translations
- WEB It’s sound will go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as wood cutters.
- KJV The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
- BSB Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.
- NASB “Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
- NLT Egypt flees, silent as a serpent gliding away. The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Egypt, once mighty, hisses and retreats like a fleeing serpent as Babylon's army advances against her with axes.
Overview
In the oracle against Egypt, the once-proud nation is reduced to a snake slithering away, while invaders come like woodcutters to fell her. The image conveys how thoroughly the LORD humbles human power. It anticipates the gospel truth that every earthly kingdom falls before God's purposes, while Christ's kingdom alone endures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 14:8Yes, the cypress trees rejoice with you, with the cedars of Lebanon, saying, “Since you are humbled, no lumberjack has come up against us.”
- Isa 29:4You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust.
- Isa 10:15Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
- Mic 1:8For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will howl like the jackals, and moan like the daughters of owls.
- Isa 37:24By your servants, have you defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
- Zech 11:2Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the stately ones are destroyed. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down.
- Jer 51:20–23“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms.
- Isa 10:33–34Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low.
- Mic 7:16The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will lay their hand on their mouth. Their ears will be deaf.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 46:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.