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“You used to boast, ‘We are heroes, mighty men of war.’
Jeremiah 48:14 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB “How do you say, ‘We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?’
  • KJV How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
  • BSB How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
  • NKJV “How can you say, ‘We are mighty And strong men for the war’?
  • NASB “How can you say, ‘We are warriors, And men competent for battle’?

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

God challenges Moab's boast that her men are mighty warriors fit for battle.

Overview

The LORD mocks Moab's self-assured claim to military strength on the eve of her defeat. Human boasting in prowess is exposed as empty before God's judgment. Scripture consistently teaches that no strength of arms can stand against the LORD, and that boasting belongs only in Him and His saving work.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Ps 33:16There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
  • Isa 10:16Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.
  • Isa 10:13For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.
  • Jer 9:23Yahweh says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.
  • Eccl 9:11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
  • Ezek 30:6Yahweh says: They also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: they shall fall by the sword in it from the tower of Seveneh, says the Lord Yahweh.
  • Jer 49:16As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
  • Zeph 2:10This they will have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of Armies.
  • Jer 8:8“‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has worked falsely.
  • Isa 16:6We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing.
  • Ps 11:1For the Chief Musician. By David. In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”
  • Isa 36:4–5Rabshakeh said to them, “Now tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What confidence is this in which you trust?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 48:14YouTube · 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 48:14 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.