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This is what the Lord says: “A flood is coming from the north to overflow the land. It will destroy the land and everything in it— cities and people alike. People will scream in terror, and everyone in the land will wail.
Jeremiah 47:2 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh says: “Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and will become an overflowing stream, and will overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and those who dwell therein. The men will cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
  • KJV Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
  • BSB This is what the LORD says: “See how the waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and its fullness, the cities and their inhabitants. The people will cry out, and all who dwell in the land will wail
  • NKJV Thus says the Lord: “Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
  • NASB This is what the Lord says: “Behold, waters are going to rise from the north And become an overflowing torrent, And overflow the land and everything that is in it, The city and those who live in it; And the people will cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

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

An overflowing flood from the north (an invading army) will engulf the Philistine land, and all will wail.

Overview

The advancing army is pictured as rising floodwaters sweeping over cities and inhabitants. The image conveys an unstoppable, drowning judgment that leaves the whole population crying out. As elsewhere in Scripture, overwhelming waters symbolize divine judgment, from which only the LORD can provide an ark of refuge, ultimately found in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Jer 1:14Then Yahweh said to me, “Out of the north, evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.
  • Jer 46:20“Egypt is a very beautiful heifer; but destruction out of the north has come. It has come.
  • Isa 15:2–5They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off.
  • Jer 8:16The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembles; for they have come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those who dwell therein.”
  • Isa 8:7–8now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.
  • Isa 22:1The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?
  • Isa 59:19So shall they fear Yahweh’s name from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which Yahweh’s breath drives.
  • Isa 14:31Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
  • Isa 28:17I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.
  • Isa 22:4–5Therefore I said, “Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
  • Dan 11:22The overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yes, also the prince of the covenant.
  • Amos 9:5–6For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.
  • Nah 1:8But with an overflowing flood, he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
  • Zeph 1:10–11In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
  • 1 Cor 10:26for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.”
  • 1 Cor 10:28But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
  • Jas 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
  • Ps 96:11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness!
  • Ps 98:7Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
  • Ps 24:1A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
  • Ps 50:12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
  • Rev 12:15–16The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.
  • Rev 17:1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,
  • Jer 46:6–8“Don’t let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. In the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.
  • Rev 17:15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
  • Jer 48:3–5The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!
  • Jer 48:39“How it is broken down! How they wail! How Moab has turned the back with shame! So shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all who are around him.”
  • Jer 46:13The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt.
  • Isa 15:8For the cry has gone around the borders of Moab; its wailing to Eglaim, and its wailing to Beer Elim.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 47:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 47:2 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.