Jeremiah 46

1 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations.

The word which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2 Of Egypt: about the army of Pharaoh-neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, overcame in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

Of Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho, the king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

3 Get out the breastplate and body-cover, and come together to the fight.

Prepare ye the buckler and shield, And move on to battle!

4 Make the horses ready, and get up, you horsemen, and take your places with your head-dresses; make the spears sharp and put on the breastplates.

Harness the horses, and mount, ye riders! Stand forth in your helmets; Make bright the spears, And put on the coats of mail!

5 What have I seen? they are overcome with fear and turned back; their men of war are broken and have gone in flight, not looking back: fear is on every side, says the Lord.

Wherefore do I see them dismayed, and turned back? Even their mighty ones are smitten; They flee apace; they look not back. Terror is on every side, saith Jehovah.

6 Let not the quick-footed go in flight, or the man of war get away; on the north, by the river Euphrates, they are slipping and falling.

Let not the swift attempt to flee away, Nor the mighty man to escape; Toward the North by the river Euphrates shall they stumble and fall.

7 Who is this coming up like the Nile, whose waters are lifting their heads like the rivers?

Who is he that riseth up like the Nile, Whose waters swell like floods?

8 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 riseth up like the Nile, And like floods do his waters swell. He saith, “I will arise, I will cover the land, I will destroy the city, and them that dwell therein.”

9 Go up, you horses; go rushing on, you carriages of war; go out, you men of war: Cush and Put, gripping the body-cover, and the Ludim, with bent bows.

Come up, ye horses, and rage, ye chariots! And let the mighty men go forth, The Ethiopians, and the Libyans, that bear the shield, And the Lydians, that bear and bend the bow!

10 But that day is the day of the Lord, the Lord of armies, a day of punishment when he will take payment from his haters: and the sword will have all its desire, drinking their blood in full measure: for there is an offering to the Lord, the Lord of armies, in the north country by the river Euphrates.

This is the day of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, A day of vengeance, to avenge himself of his enemies; And the sword shall devour, and satiate itself, And it shall be made drunk with their blood. For Jehovah of hosts hath a sacrifice In the North country, by the river Euphrates.

11 Go up to Gilead and take sweet oil, O virgin daughter of Egypt: there is no help in all your medical arts; nothing will make you well.

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou use many medicines; There is no cure for thee!

12 Your shame has come to the ears of the nations, and the earth is full of your cry: for the strong man is falling against the strong, they have come down together.

The nations have heard of thy shame, And thy cry hath filled the earth; For they have stumbled, the mighty against the mighty, And they are fallen both together.

13 The word which the Lord said to Jeremiah the prophet, of how Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, would come and make war on the land of Egypt.

The word which Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt.

14 Give the news in Migdol, make it public in Noph: say, Take up your positions and make yourselves ready; for on every side of you the sword has made destruction.

Declare ye in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim ye also in Noph and Tahpanhes! Say ye, “Stand fast and prepare thyself, For the sword shall devour round about thee!”

15 Why has Apis, your strong one, gone in flight? he was not able to keep his place, because the Lord was forcing him down with strength.

Wherefore are thy mighty ones overthrown? They stood not, because Jehovah cast them down.

16 ... are stopped in their going, they are falling; and they say one to another, Let us get up and go back to our people, to the land of our birth, away from the cruel sword.

He caused many to fall; one fell upon another; And they said, “Arise, and let us go to our own people, And to the land of our nativity, from the overpowering sword.”

17 Give a name to Pharaoh, king of Egypt: A noise who has let the time go by.

There they cry, “Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is undone! He hath let pass the appointed time.”

18 By my life, says the King, whose name is the Lord of armies, truly, like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea, so will he come.

As I live, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts: Like Tabor among the mountains, And like Carmel by the sea, he cometh! Prepare thyself travelling equipage,

19 O daughter living in Egypt, make ready the vessels of a prisoner: for Noph will become a waste, it will be burned up and become unpeopled.

Thou who dwellest in Egypt! For Noph shall become waste, Yea, desolate without an inhabitant.

20 Egypt is a fair young cow; but a biting insect has come on her out of the north.

Egypt is a fair heifer, But destruction cometh; it cometh from the North.

21 And those who were her fighters for payment are like fat oxen; for they are turned back, they have gone in flight together, they do not keep their place: for the day of their fate has come on them, the time of their punishment.

Her mercenaries also in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; Yet they also turn back; they flee together; they stand not; For the day of their calamity is come upon them, And the time of their punishment.

22 She makes a sound like the hiss of a snake when they come on with strength; they go against her with axes, like wood-cutters.

Her voice shall be heard like that of a serpent, When they shall march against her with their forces, And come against her with axes like fellers of trees.

23 They will be cutting down her woods, for they may not be searched out; because they are like locusts, more than may be numbered.

They shall cut down her forest, though it be impenetrable; For they exceed the locusts in multitude, And are innumerable.

24 The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame; she will be given up into the hands of the people of the north.

The daughter of Egypt is brought to shame; She is given into the hand of the people of the North.

25 The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, I will send punishment on Amon of No and on Pharaoh and on those who put their faith in him;

Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Ammon of No, And Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings; Even Pharaoh and all that trust in him.

26 And I will give them up into the hands of those who will take their lives, and into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hands of his servants: and later, it will be peopled as in the past, says the Lord.

And I will deliver them into the hands of those that seek their lives, And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants. But after this it shall be inhabited, As in the days of old, saith Jehovah.

27 But have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, and do not be troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back, and will be quiet and in peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.

But fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, And be not thou dismayed, O Israel! For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar, And thy posterity from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall return and be at rest, Yea, he shall be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

28 Have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, says the Lord; for I am with you: for I will put an end to all the nations where I have sent you, but I will not put an end to you completely: though with wise purpose I will put right your errors, and will not let you go quite without punishment.

Fear thou not, O Jacob, my servant, saith Jehovah, For I will be with thee; When I shall make a full end of all the nations Whither I have dispersed thee, Yet will I not make a full end of thee; I will correct thee in measure; Yet must I not leave thee wholly unpunished.