Jeremiah 46:22

²⁰ Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

²¹ Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.

The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

²³ They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

²⁴ The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.
KJV: The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
WEB: Its sound will go like the serpent, for they will march with an army, and come against her with axes, as wood cutters.
ASV: The sound thereof shall go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
DARBY: Her voice shall go like a serpent's; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
BLB: Her noise [is] like a serpent [that] goes away, for with a force they go, and with axes they come against her, like those chopping down trees.

ÅB: Dets røst skal lyde som ormens; for med en hær drar de[^3] fram, og med økser kommer de mot det som tømmerhuggere.
OTB: Hennes lyd vil bevege seg som en flyktende slange når fienden rykker frem med makt; de vil komme mot henne med økser, som menn som feller trær.
B1930: Dets røst skal lyde som ormens; for med en hær drar de frem, og med økser kommer de mot det som tømmerhuggere. / < fiendene.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 29:4
And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Read in context
Isaiah 37:24
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.
Read in context
Jeremiah 51:20–23
Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Read in context
Isaiah 14:8
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
Read in context
Micah 1:8
Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:33–34
Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
Read in context
Micah 7:16
The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
Read in context