Jeremiah 48:14

¹² Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him wanderers, who will pour him out. They will empty his vessels and shatter his jars.

¹³ Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.

How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?

¹⁵ Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁶ Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.

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: How can you say, ‘We are warriors, mighty men ready for battle’?
KJV: How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war?
WEB: “How do you say, ‘We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war’?
ASV: How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
DARBY: How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?
BLB: How can you⁺ say, ‘We [are] Mighty, and men of strength for battle’?

ÅB: Hvordan kan dere si: Vi er helter og djerve krigsmenn?
OTB: Hvordan kan dere påstå, ‘Vi er krigere, menn tapre i kamp’?
B1930: Hvorledes kan I si: Vi er helter og djerve krigsmenn?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 33:16
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:16
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:13
For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.
Read in context
Isaiah 16:6
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his overflowing arrogance. But his boasting is empty.
Read in context
Ecclesiastes 9:11
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
Read in context
Zephaniah 2:10
This they shall have in return for their pride, for taunting and mocking the people of the LORD of Hosts.
Read in context
Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
Read in context
Jeremiah 8:8
How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?
Read in context