Yeremia 46:5

46:5 What do I see?” ¹  says the Lord. ² 

“The soldiers ³  are terrified.

They are retreating.

They have been defeated.

They are overcome with terror; ⁴ 

they desert quickly

without looking back.

Yeremia 46:21

46:21 Even her mercenaries ⁵ 

will prove to be like pampered, ⁶  well-fed calves.

For they too will turn and run away.

They will not stand their ground

when ⁷  the time for them to be destroyed comes,

the time for them to be punished.

[46:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Why do I see?” The rendering is that of J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 685, 88) and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 301; TEV; NIV). The question is not asking for information but is expressing surprise or wonder (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 951).

[46:5]  sn The passage takes an unexpected turn at v. 5. After ironically summoning the Egyptian army to battle, the Lord rhetorically expresses his surprise that they are so completely routed and defeated.

[46:5]  ² tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.” This phrase, which is part of a messenger formula (i.e., that the words that are spoken are from him), are actually at the end of the verse. They have been put here for better poetic balance and to better identify the “I.”

[46:5]  ³ tn Heb “Their soldiers.” These words are actually at the midpoint of the stanza as the subject of the third of the five verbs. However, as G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 291) note, this is the subject of all five verbs “are terrified,” “are retreating,” “have been defeated,” “have run away,” and “have not looked back.” The subject is put at the front to avoid an unidentified “they.”

[46:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “terror is all around.”

[46:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “her hirelings in her midst.”

[46:21]  ⁶ tn The word “pampered” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to explain the probable meaning of the simile. The mercenaries were well cared for like stall-fed calves, but in the face of the danger they will prove no help because they will turn and run away without standing their ground. Some see the point of the simile to be that they too are fattened for slaughter. However, the next two lines do not fit that interpretation too well.

[46:21]  ⁷ tn The temporal use of the particle כִּי (ki; BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 2.a) seems more appropriate to the context than the causal use.