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Jeremiah 5:16

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 5:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
Jeremiah 5:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14Wherefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
15Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, [which] thy sons and thy daughters should eat; they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword.
18But even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you.
19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
← Jeremiah 5:15Jeremiah 5:17 →
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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
“Their quiver is an open sepulchre, etc.] The Chaldeans used bows and arrows in fighting; and the quiver is a case for arrows; and the phrase denotes, that their arrows would do great execution, and be very mortal; so that a quiver of them would be as devouring as an open grave, into which many dead are cast. The Septuagint and Arabic versions have not this clause; and the Syriac version renders it, “whose throats are as open sepulchres”; (see <450313>Romans 3:13): they are all mighty men; strong in body, of bold and courageous spirits, expert in war, and ever victorious; so that there was no hope of being delivered out of their hands.”
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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
“open sepulchre--(Compare Psa 5:9). Their quiver is all-devouring, as the grave opened to receive the dead: as many as are the arrows, so many are the deaths.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Their quiver - See Jeremiah 4:29, note. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“5:16-17 The soldiers of the well-trained and well-equipped Babylonian army treated their victims viciously and destroyed everything of value in the lands they conquered (cp. Hab 1:6-10).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Psa 5:9; Isa 5:28; Rom 3:13 Jeremiah 5:17”
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Related study paths

Read Jeremiah 5 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification