What Does Jeremiah 46:3 Mean?

(3, 4) **Order ye the buckler and shield . . .**—The poem opens with a summons to the hosts of Nebuchadnezzar to prepare for their victory. First the foot-soldiers are called, then the horse, lastly the light-armed troops. **Put on the brigandines.**—The history of the word is not without interest. Light-armed skirmishers were known in Italian as “brigands” (*briganti—*literally, “quarrellers”); the light coat of mail worn by them was accordingly known as a “brigandine.” When the Italian word became synonymous with robbers by land or sea, the ship used by them was called a *brigantino, *and from this is derived our English “brig” (W. A. Wright: *Bible Word Book*)*. *The word “brigandine” is accordingly used by writers of the sixteenth century in both senses: by Spenser, for a ship— “Like as a warlike brigandine applied To fight;” and by Milton— “Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy helmet And brigandine or brass” (*Sams. Agonist., *1120)—in the same sense as here and in Jeremiah 51:3.