Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, August 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

New King James Version

Jeremiah 46:23

"They shall cut down her forest," says the LORD, "Though it cannot be searched, Because they are innumerable, And more numerous than grasshoppers.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Locust;   Thompson Chain Reference - Forests;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Egypt;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Grasshopper;   Locust;   Nebuchadnezzar;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jeremiah;   Nebuchadnezzar;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Caterpillar;   Insects;   Jeremiah;   Locust;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Forest;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Locust;   Nebuchadrezzar;   Obadiah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Locust;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Egypt;   Jeremiah (2);   Locust;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Locust,;   Nebuchadnez'zar,;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Rasshopper;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Locust;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Forest;   Locust;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Nebuchadnezzar;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They will cut down her forest—
Hebrew Names Version
They shall cut down her forest, says the LORD, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
King James Version
They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord , though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.
English Standard Version
They shall cut down her forest, declares the Lord , though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number.
New American Standard Bible
"They have cut down her forest," declares the LORD; "Certainly it will no longer be found, Even though they are more numerous than locusts And are without number.
New Century Version
They will chop down Egypt's army as if it were a great forest," says the Lord . "There are more enemy soldiers than locusts; there are too many to count.
Amplified Bible
"They have cut down her forest," says the LORD; "Certainly it will no longer be found, Because they (the invaders) are more numerous than locusts And cannot be counted.
World English Bible
They shall cut down her forest, says Yahweh, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Geneva Bible (1587)
They shall cut downe her forest, saith the Lord: for they cannot be counted, because they are moe then ye grashoppers, & are innumerable.
Legacy Standard Bible
They have cut down her forest," declares Yahweh;"Surely it will no longer be searched out,Even though they are now more numerous than locustsAnd are without number.
Berean Standard Bible
They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD, dense though it may be, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted.
Contemporary English Version
when men with axes start chopping down trees. It can only hiss and try to escape.
Complete Jewish Bible
They cut down her forest," says Adonai , "for they cannot be numbered; yes, there are more of them than locusts, far too many to count.
Darby Translation
They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it be impenetrable; for they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Easy-to-Read Version
This is what the Lord says: "They will chop down Egypt's forest. There are many trees in that forest, but they will all be cut down. There are more enemy soldiers than locusts. There are so many soldiers that no one can count them.
George Lamsa Translation
Cut down her forests, says the LORD, for they are limitless; they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Good News Translation
and destroying a thick forest. Their soldiers are too many to count; they outnumber the locusts.
Lexham English Bible
They will cut down her forest," declares Yahweh, "for it is impenetrable. Yes, they are more numerous than locusts, and they are without number.
Literal Translation
They have cut down her forest, says Jehovah, though it cannot be searched, because they are more than the locusts, and there is no number to them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they shall cut downe hir wod (saieth the LORDE) with out eny discrecion. For they shal be mo in nobre then the greshoppers, so that no man shalbe able to tell the.
American Standard Version
They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Bible in Basic English
They will be cutting down her woods, for they may not be searched out; because they are like locusts, more than may be numbered.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
They cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
King James Version (1611)
They shall cut downe her forrest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched, because they are more then the grashoppers, and are innumerable.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they shall cut downe her wood saith the Lorde, they shalbe innumerable: for they shalbe mo in number then the grashoppers, so that no man shalbe able to tell them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
046
English Revised Version
They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
seith the Lord, which mai not be noumbrid; thei ben multiplied ouer locustis, and no noumbre is in hem.
Update Bible Version
They shall cut down her forest, says Yahweh, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Webster's Bible Translation
They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
New English Translation
The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord , affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count.
New Living Translation
They will cut down her people like trees," says the Lord , "for they are more numerous than locusts.
New Life Bible
They will cut down all her trees," says the Lord, "even though there are so many. There are more trees than locusts, too many to number.
New Revised Standard
They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord , though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They have cut down her forest Declareth Yahweh, Surely he cannot be searched out, - For they have outnumbered locusts, and cannot be counted.
Douay-Rheims Bible
They have cut down her forest, saith the Lord, which cannot be counted: they are multiplied above locusts, and are without number.
Revised Standard Version
They shall cut down her forest, says the LORD, though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number.
Young's Literal Translation
They have cut down her forest, An affirmation of Jehovah -- for it is not searched, For they have been more than the grasshopper, And they have no numbering.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"They have cut down her forest," declares the LORD; "Surely it will no more be found, Even though they are now more numerous than locusts And are without number.

Contextual Overview

12 The nations have heard of your shame, And your cry has filled the land; For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; They both have fallen together." 13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and strike the land of Egypt. 14 "Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;Proclaim in Noph [fn] and in Tahpanhes;Say, 'Stand fast and prepare yourselves,For the sword devours all around you.' 15 Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand Because the LORD drove them away. 16 He made many fall; Yes, one fell upon another. And they said, "Arise! Let us go back to our own people And to the land of our nativity From the oppressing sword.' 17 They cried there, "Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!' 18 "As I live," says the King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts, "Surely as Tabor is among the mountains And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come. 19 O you daughter dwelling in Egypt,Prepare yourself to go into captivity!For Noph [fn] shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant. 20 "Egypt is a very pretty heifer, But destruction comes, it comes from the north. 21 Also her mercenaries are in her midst like fat bulls, For they also are turned back, They have fled away together. They did not stand, For the day of their calamity had come upon them, The time of their punishment.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cut: Isaiah 10:18, Ezekiel 20:46

because: Judges 6:5, Judges 7:12, Joel 2:25, Revelation 9:2-10

Reciprocal: Psalms 74:5 - General Isaiah 10:34 - cut down Jeremiah 51:14 - as with Jeremiah 51:27 - cause

Cross-References

Genesis 30:6
Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan. [fn]
Genesis 35:25
the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;
Genesis 46:16
The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Numbers 26:15">[fn] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Numbers 26:16">[fn] Eri, Arodi, Numbers 26:17">[fn] and Areli.
Genesis 46:17
The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.
Numbers 1:12
from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;
Numbers 10:25
Then the standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
Deuteronomy 33:22
And of Dan he said: "Dan is a lion's whelp; He shall leap from Bashan."
1 Chronicles 2:2
Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
1 Chronicles 7:12
Shuppim and Huppim Numbers 26:39">[fn] were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher.
1 Chronicles 12:35
of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thousand six hundred;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord,.... The land of Egypt, compared to a forest, for the multitude of its cities and towns, and the inhabitants of them; which should be destroyed by the Chaldeans, as a forest is cut down by hewers of wood; the metaphor is here continued. The Targum interprets this of the princes of Egypt, and the destruction of them;

though it cannot be searched; either the forest of Egypt, which was so thick of trees; that is, the land was so full of towns and cities, that they could not be searched and numbered; and though the way through it seemed impassable, yet was made passable by the hewers of wood: or its destruction would be so general, "that it cannot be searched" o; or found out, where this forest was, where those trees grew, not one of them standing: or else this is to be understood of the Chaldean army, which was so great, that it could not be numbered:

because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable; which creatures come in large numbers, and eat up every green tree and herb; and so the Chaldean army, being alike numerous, would easily cut down the trees of this forest, though they were so many.

o כי לא יחקר "ut non investigetur", Calvin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Or, “They have cut down her forest, saith Yahweh, for it is impenetrable,” i. e., just as a pathless forest must be cleared to assist agriculture and the passage to and fro of men, so must the false worship and the material prosperity of Egypt be overthrown.

Grasshoppers - The invading host advances as multitudinous as the locusts which consume the whole vegetation of the land on which they alight.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 46:23. They shall cut down her forest — Supposed to mean her cities, of which Egypt had no fewer than one thousand and twenty.


 
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