Text -- Jeremiah 12:12 (NET)

12:12 A destructive army will come marching over the hilltops in the desert. For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon against everyone from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jer 12:12

¹ tn Heb “destroyers.”

² tn Heb “It is the Lord’s consuming sword.”

³ tn Heb “For a sword of the Lord will devour.” The sword is often symbolic for destructive forces of all kinds. Here and in Isa 34:6; Jer 47:6 it is symbolic of the enemy armies that the Lord uses to carry out destructive punishment against his enemies, hence the translation “his destructive weapon.” A similar figure is use in Isa 10:5 where the figure is more clearly identified; Assyria is the rod/club that the Lord will use to discipline unfaithful Israel.

⁴ tn Heb “There is no peace to all flesh.”