Jeremiah 46

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles,

The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;

2 about Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was beside the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, struck down, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:

Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho 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 “‘Prepare the heavy and the light shield, and advance to war!

Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

4 Harness the horses, and let the horsemen climb upon them! Stand forth with helmets! Sharpen the lances! Clothe yourselves in armor!’

Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with [your] helmets; furbish the spears, [and] put on the brigandines.

5 And what is next? I have seen them terrified, and turning their backs, their strong ones cut down. They have fled in disorder and have not looked back. Terror on every side, says the Lord.

Wherefore have I seen them dismayed [and] turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: [for] fear [was] round about, saith the LORD.

6 Let not the swift take flight; let not the strong ones think to save themselves. They have been conquered and ruined, toward the north, near the river Euphrates.

Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

7 Who is this, who ascends like a flood, and whose streams swell up, like those of the rivers?

Who [is] this [that] cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

8 Egypt ascends in the form of a river, and its waves will be moved like those of a river. And he will say: ‘I will ascend and cover the earth! I will perish the city and its inhabitants!’

Egypt riseth up like a flood, and [his] waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, [and] will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

9 Mount the horses, and exult upon chariots, and let the strong ones advance: the Ethiopians, and the Libyans, who hold the heavy shield, and the Lydians, who grasp and shoot arrows.

Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle [and] bend the bow.

10 For this is the day of the Lord, the God of hosts, a day of vengeance, so that he may vindicate himself of his enemies. The sword will devour, and be satiated, and be inebriated with their blood. For there is a victim of the Lord, the God of hosts, in the land of the north, beside the river Euphrates.

For this [is] the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

11 Ascend to Gilead, and take its balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! It is in vain that you multiply medicines; there will be no health for you!

Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; [for] thou shalt not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of your disgrace, and your wailing has filled the earth. For the strong have stumbled against the strong, and both have fallen together.”

The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, [and] they are fallen both together.

13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning how Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would arrive and strike the land of Egypt:

The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come [and] smite the land of Egypt.

14 “Announce it to Egypt, and make it heard in Migdol, and let it resonate in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. Say this: Stand and prepare yourself! For the sword will devour everything around you.

Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.

15 Why have your strong ones decayed? They have not stood firm, because the Lord has overthrown them.

Why are thy valiant [men] swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.

16 He has multiplied those in ruin, and each man has fallen beside his neighbor. And they will say: ‘Rise up, and let us return to our own people and to the land of our nativity, away from the face of the sword of the dove.

He made many to fall, yea, one fell 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 Call the name of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: ‘Time has brought tumult.’

They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt [is but] a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

18 As I live, says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, just as Tabor is among the mountains, and just as Carmel is beside the sea, so will he come.

[As] I live, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor [is] among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, [so] shall he come.

19 Equip yourself for the transmigration, O daughter who inhabits Egypt. For Memphis will be in desolation, and it will be deserted and uninhabited.

O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

20 Egypt is like a stately and finely-formed calf. The one who will goad her will come from the north.

Egypt [is like] a very fair heifer, [but] destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

21 Her hired hands also, who move within her midst, like fatted calves have been turned back, and they have fled at the same time, and they are not able to stand firm. For the day of their passing away has overwhelmed them; it is the time of their visitation.

Also her hired men [are] in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, [and] are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, [and] the time of their visitation.

22 Her voice will sound out like brass. For they will rush forward with an army, and with axes they will come against her, like those who chop wood.

The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

23 They have cut down her forest, says the Lord, which was not able to be counted. They have been multiplied more than locusts, and they are without number.

They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.

24 The daughter of Egypt has been confounded, and she has been delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: Behold, I will visit against the tumult of Alexandria, and against Pharaoh, and against Egypt, and against her gods, and against her kings, and against Pharaoh, and against those who trust in him.

The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and [all] them that trust in him:

26 And I will give them over to the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And after this, it shall be inhabited, just as in the former days, says the Lord.

And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.

27 And as for you, my servant Jacob, you should not be afraid, and you should not dread, O Israel. For behold, I will bring your salvation from afar, and your offspring from the land of your captivity. And Jacob will return and have rest, and he will prosper. And there will be no one who may terrify him.

But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make [him] afraid.

28 And as for you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid, says the Lord. For I am with you. For I will consume all the nations to which I have cast you out. Yet truly, I will not consume you. Instead, I will chastise you in judgment, but neither will I spare you, as if you were innocent.”

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.