Jeremiah 46:6

⁴ Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!

⁵ Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.

“The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.

⁷ Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn?

⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers, boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy the cities and their people.’

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: “The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
KJV: Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.
WEB: “Don’t let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. In the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.
ASV: Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.
DARBY: Let not the swift flee away, neither let the mighty man escape! Toward the north, hard by the river Euphrates, they have stumbled and fallen.
BLB: “Swift cannot flee, and the mighty one cannot escape; in the north, alongside the River Euphrates, they stumble and fall.

ÅB: Den lette skal ikke undfly, og kjempen ikke undslippe; mot nord, ved bredden av elven Eufrat, snubler de og faller.
OTB: "Den raske kan ikke flykte, og krigeren kan ikke unnslippe. I nord ved Eufrat-elven har de snublet og falt.
B1930: Den lette skal ikke undfly, og kjempen ikke undslippe; mot nord, ved bredden av elven Eufrat, snubler de og faller.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Daniel 11:19
After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
Read in context
Jeremiah 46:12
The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
Read in context
Amos 9:1–3
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
Read in context
Jeremiah 46:16
They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
Read in context
Jeremiah 6:1
“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
Read in context
Jeremiah 4:6
Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.
Read in context
Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.
Read in context
Isaiah 8:15
Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
Read in context