Jeremiah 46:6-7

46:6 But even the swiftest cannot get away.

Even the strongest cannot escape. ¹ 

There in the north by the Euphrates River

they stumble and fall in defeat. ² 

46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like its streams ³  turbulent at flood stage?

[46:6]  ¹ tn The translation assumes that the adjectives with the article are functioning as superlatives in this context (cf. GKC 431 §133.g). It also assumes that אַל (’al) with the jussive is expressing here an emphatic negative rather than a negative wish (cf. GKC 317 §107.p and compare the usage in Ps 50:3).

[46:6]  ² tn Heb “they stumble and fall.” However, the verbs here are used of a fatal fall, of a violent death in battle (see BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל Qal.2.a), and a literal translation might not be understood by some readers.

[46:7]  ³ tn The word translated “streams” here refers to the streams of the Nile (cf. Exod 7:19; 8:1) for parallel usage.