“Now, O sword of the Lord, when will you be at rest again? Go back into your sheath; rest and be still.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’
- KJV O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
- BSB ‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’
- NKJV “O you sword of the Lord, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still!
- NASB “Ah, sword of the Lord, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Rest and stay still.
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
The land cries out for the LORD's sword to stop and return to its sheath.
Overview
In poignant personification, the anguished people plead for the sword of judgment to rest and be still. The cry expresses the longing for the war to end, but it cannot dictate God's timing. It reminds readers that judgment proceeds at the LORD's command, and true rest is found only when His justice is satisfied, fully accomplished at the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 21:3–5Tell the land of Israel, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.
- Jer 12:12Destroyers have come on all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Yahweh devours from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land. No flesh has peace.
- John 18:11Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
- Ezek 21:30Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.
- Jer 12:4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell therein, the animals are consumed, and the birds; because they said, “He shall not see our latter end.”
- Jer 4:21How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
- Deut 32:41–42if I sharpen my glittering sword, my hand grasps it in judgment; I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will repay those who hate me.
- 2 Sam 2:26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Don’t you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to return from following their brothers?”
- 1 Chr 21:27Then Yahweh commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
- 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.
- Isa 10:5Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
- Jer 15:3“I will appoint over them four kinds,” says Yahweh: “the sword to kill, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the earth, to devour and to destroy.
- Ezek 14:17“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and animal;’
- Jer 25:27“You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”’
- Ps 17:13Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
- 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.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 47:6 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.