Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Egypt riseth up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers: and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and the inhabitants thereof.

Egypt riseth up like a hood, and the waves thereof shall be moved as rivers, and he shall say: I will go up and will cover the earth: I will destroy the city, and its inhabitants.

It is Egypt that riseth up as the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers; and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.

Egypt, as a flood cometh up, And as rivers the waters shake themselves. And he saith, I go up; I cover the land, I destroy the city and the inhabitants in it.

Egypt rises up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he said, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Egypt is coming up like the Nile, and his waters are lifting their heads like the rivers, and he says, I will go up, covering the earth; I will send destruction on the town and its people.

Egypt is like the Nile that riseth up, And like the rivers whose waters toss themselves; And he saith: 'I will rise up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.'

Egypt ascends in the form of a river, and its waves will be moved like those of a river. And he will say: 'I will ascend and cover the earth! I will perish the city and its inhabitants!'

Aegyptus tanquam lacus ascendit (ascendet, ad verbum, sed significat continuum actum,) et tanquam fluvii sese movent aquae: dixit enim, Ascendam et operiam terram; perdam urbem et qui habitant in ea.

Egypt riseth up as a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers,.... This is the answer to the above question; that it was Egypt that was seen; the king of Egypt, as the Syriac version; he with his army, as the Targum; and which was so numerous, that it seemed as if the whole country of Egypt, all the inhabitants of it, were come along with him; these rose up like the Nile, and moved like the several sluices of it, with great velocity and force, as if they would carry all before them:
and he saith, I will go up; Pharaohnecho king of Egypt said, I will go up from my own land to the north, to meet the king of Babylon:
and will cover the earth; with his army: even all, the north country, the whole Babylonish empire; which he affected to be master of, grasping at, universal monarchy:
I will destroy the city, and the inhabitants thereof; which Abarbinel restrains to the city Carchemish, where his army was smitten: but it is better to interpret, the singular by the plural, as the Targum does, "I will destroy cities"; since it was not a single city he came up to take, nor would this satisfy his ambitious temper.

Answer to the question in Jeremiah 46:7.
waters . . . moved like the rivers--The rise of the Nile is gentle; but at the mouth it, unlike most rivers, is much agitated, owing to the sandbanks impeding its course, and so it rushes into the sea like a cataract.

brings the answer to the question of astonishment: "Egypt approaches, its hosts cover the land like the waves of the Nile, to destroy cities and men." On the form אבידה (with א contracted from אא), cf. Ewald, 192, d; Gesenius, 68, Rem. 1. עיר is used in an indefinite general sense, "cities," as in Jeremiah 8:16. - In Jeremiah 46:9, the imperat. stands as in Jeremiah 46:3.: "Let the formidable army approach, - cavalry, chariots, and infantry, with all their splendidly equipped auxiliaries, - nevertheless it shall perish." עלוּ הסּוּסים does not here mean "Mount the steeds," which is against the parallelism, but "Get up (i.e., prance), ye horses;" this meaning is guaranteed by the Hiphil מעלה, as used in Nahum 3:3. התהללוּ הרכב is an imitation of Nahum 2:5. As auxiliaries, and very brave ones too (גבּורים), are mentioned "Cush," i.e., the Ethiopians; "Phut," the Libyans; and "Ludim," i.e., Hamitic, African Lydians, as in Ezekiel 30:5. On the double construct in תּפשׂי דר, "holding, bending bows," cf. Ew. 280, c.