Jeremiah 46
1 This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet
The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2 concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:
Of Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh-neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Deploy your shields, small and large; advance for battle!
Prepare ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4 Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!
Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets. Furbish the spears. Put on the coats of mail.
5 Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!”
Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. And their mighty ones are beaten down, and have fled apace, and do not look back. Terror is on every side, says Jehovah.
6 “The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. In the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen.
7 Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn?
Who is this that rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers, boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy the cities and their people.’
Egypt rises up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers. And he says, I will rise up. I will cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the inhabitants thereof.
9 Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots! Let the warriors come forth— Cush and Put carrying their shields, men of Lydia drawing the bow.
Go up, ye horses, and rage, ye chariots. And let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, who handle the shield, and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.
10 For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
For that day is a day of the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries. And the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood, for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead for balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you try many remedies, but for you there is no healing.
Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt. In vain do thou use many medicines; there is no healing for thee.
12 The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
The nations have heard of thy shame, and the earth is full of thy cry. For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; they are fallen, both of them together.
13 This is the word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
The word that Jehovah spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.
14 “Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. Say ye, Stand forth, and prepare thee, for the sword has devoured round about thee.
15 Why have your warriors been laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD has thrust them down.
Why are thy strong ones swept away? They stood not, because Jehovah drove them.
16 They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
He made many to stumble, yea, they fell one upon another. And they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17 There they will cry out: ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he has let the appointed time pass him by.’
They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise. He has let the appointed time pass by.
18 As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.
As I live, says the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19 Pack your bags for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt! For Memphis will be laid waste, destroyed and uninhabited.
O thou daughter who dwells in Egypt, prepare thyself to go into captivity. For Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.
Egypt is a very fair heifer, but destruction out of the north has come, it has come.
21 Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them— the time of their punishment.
Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall, for they also are turned back. They have fled away together. They did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their visitation.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.
The sound thereof shall go like the serpent, for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23 They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD, dense though it may be, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted.
They shall cut down her forest, says Jehovah, though it cannot be searched because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
24 The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame; she will be delivered into the hands of the people of the north.”
The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame. She shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25 The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.
Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, says, Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings, even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him.
26 I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the LORD.
And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, says Jehovah.
27 But you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
But fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel. For, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
28 And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, says Jehovah, for I am with thee. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven thee, but I will not make a full end of thee. But I will correct thee in measure, and will in no way leave thee unpunished.
