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Jeremiah 46:20

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 46:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Egypt is a very fair heifer; [but] destruction out of the north is come, it is come.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Egypt is a very fair heifer; [but] destruction out of the north is come, it is come.
Jeremiah 46:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 46

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the appointed time pass by.
18As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19O thou daughter that dwellest in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
20Egypt is a very fair heifer; [but] destruction out of the north is come, it is come.
21Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand: for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation.
22The sound thereof shall go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
← Jeremiah 46:19Jeremiah 46:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Egypt [is like] a very fair heifer, etc.] Like a heifer that has never been under a yoke, it having never been conquered, and brought under the power of another; and like a beautiful, fat, and well fed one, abounding in wealth and riches, in pleasures and delights, in wantonness and luxury, and fit for slaughter, and ready for it. The Targum is, “Egypt was a beautiful kingdom.” Some think there is an illusion to the gods of Egypt, Apis and Mnevis, which were heifers or oxen, very beautiful, that had fine spots and marks upon them. Apis was worshipped at Memphis, or Noph, before mentioned, as to be wasted; and Mnevis at Heliopolis, the city of the sun, the same with Bethshemesh, whose…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“heifer--wanton, like a fat, untamed heifer (Hos 10:11). Appropriate to Egypt, where Apis was worshipped under the form of a fair bull marked with spots. destruction--that is, a destroyer: Nebuchadnezzar. Vulgate translates, "a goader," answering to the metaphor, "one who will goad the heifer" and tame her. The Arabic idiom favors this [ROSENMULLER]. cometh . . . cometh--The repetition implies, it cometh surely and quickly (Psa 96:13). out of the north--(See on Jer 1:14; Jer 47:2).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Is like - Or, is. Her god was the steer Apis Jeremiah 46:15, and she is the spouse. But destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north - More probably, “a gadfly from the north has come upon her.” This is a sort of insect which stings the oxen and drives them to madness. Compare Isaiah 7:18. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“A serpent - Egypt is now like an heifer that makes a great bellowing, but the time shall come when she shall make a lesser noise like the hissing of a serpent. With axes - For the Chaldeans shall come with an army, armed with battle - axes, as if they came to fell wood in a forest. Jeremiah 46:23”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“a very: Jer 50:11; Hos 10:11 it cometh: Jer 46:6, Jer 46:10, Jer 1:14, Jer 25:9, Jer 47:2 Jeremiah 46:21”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification