What Does Jeremiah 46:15 Mean in the King James?
Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The mighty are swept from their footing because strength cannot make them stand when the LORD drives them.
THE MEANING
The strength you count on can be swept away. Even the powerful lose their footing when the LORD drives them back; the verse names divine force as the cause of their collapse.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that strength or status can make anyone untouchable before the LORD.
THE ROOT
אֲבִירֶיךָ
ʾabbîreḵā
GROWS FROM
אבר
Strength or vigor; this word family also names a wing or pinion.
“valiant men” in this verse is ʾabbîreḵā. The word for the valiant belongs to a family that also names a wing or pinion, giving strength an image of force in motion. Yet here even that strength cannot keep its footing.
ALSO GROWS
ʾabbîr: A mighty one, a strong one.
אַבִּיר
This is the word used for the men whose strength fails to hold them in place.
ʾēver: Wing or pinion.
אֵבֶר
The shared word family links might with the force of a wing, while the verse shows that power cannot guarantee stability.
עָמַד
ʿāmad
GROWS FROM
עמד
To stand, remain in place, or take one’s position.
The root behind “stood not” also forms מַעֲמָד, a standing place or station. The verse describes more than failing to fight: their position gives way under the LORD’s driving force.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāmad: To stand or remain in place.
עָמַד
This is the verb Jeremiah uses for the mighty men who cannot hold their ground.
maʿămād: A standing place, station, or position.
מַעֲמָד
This noun makes the lost footing in the verse concrete: their place cannot be secured by strength alone.
THE PATTERN
Human strength cannot secure a lasting footing when the LORD overturns it.
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.THE THREAD
If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?Jeremiah says the mighty do not stand when the LORD drives them; Psalm 130 uses the same Hebrew root, עמד, to ask who can stand before the LORD. The shared verb opens the verse beyond military defeat: human footing is never self-secured.
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