Jeremiah 46
1 In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah the prophet about foreign nations.
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles,
2 This concerns Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt and the Egyptian army which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
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:
3 Pick up both your small and large shields, and advance ready for battle!
“‘Prepare the heavy and the light shield, and advance to war!
4 Put the harnesses on the horses and get into your chariots; take your positions with your helmets on! Sharpen your spears; put on your armor!
Harness the horses, and let the horsemen climb upon them! Stand forth with helmets! Sharpen the lances! Clothe yourselves in armor!’
5 Why do I see their lines broken and retreating? Their soldiers are defeated. They run away so quickly they don't even look back because they're so terrified by what's happening around them, declares the Lord.
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.
6 Even the fastest of them can't get away; the soldiers can't escape. There in the north beside the Euphrates they fall and die.
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.
7 Who is this that's coming, rising like the Nile, like swirling rivers whose waters flood?
Who is this, who ascends like a flood, and whose streams swell up, like those of the rivers?
8 Egypt is rising like the Nile; its waters swirl like flooding rivers, boasting, “I will rise and sweep over the earth; I will destroy towns and the people in them.”
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!’
9 Horses, charge in! Chariots, drive like crazy! Have the infantry advance: soldiers from Ethiopia and Put carrying their shields, archers from Lydia with their bows.
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.
10 But this is the day of the Lord God Almighty, a day of retribution when he takes vengeance on his enemies. The sword will destroy until it is satisfied, until it's had enough of their blood. The Lord God Almighty is having a sacrifice in the north country beside the Euphrates.
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.
11 Go and find some healing ointment in Gilead, Virgin Daughter of Egypt! But whatever you use to help you will fail, because there's nothing that will heal you.
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!
12 The other nations have heard how you were humiliated in defeat. Everyone can hear your cries of pain. Soldiers fall over each other, and die together.
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.”
13 This is the message that the Lord gave to Jeremiah the prophet about the attack by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon on Egypt:
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:
14 Shout a warning in Egypt! Tell everyone in Migdol, and in Memphis and Tahpanhes: Get ready to defend yourselves, because war is destroying everything around you.
“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.
15 Why did Apis your bull god run away? He couldn't stand his ground because the Lord has knocked him down.
Why have your strong ones decayed? They have not stood firm, because the Lord has overthrown them.
16 Many soldiers trip and fall over one another and say, “Come on! Let's get back home to our people where we were born, otherwise we're going to be killed.”
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.
17 When they get there they'll say about Pharaoh king of Egypt, “He just makes a lot of noise. He wasted his opportunity.”
Call the name of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: ‘Time has brought tumult.’
18 As I live, declares the King who has the name “the Lord Almighty,” the king of Babylon will come. He is like Mount Tabor that stands out from the other mountains, like Mount Carmel high above the sea.
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.
19 Pack your bags ready for exile, daughter living in Egypt! Memphis is going to be destroyed, an empty place where no one lives.
Equip yourself for the transmigration, O daughter who inhabits Egypt. For Memphis will be in desolation, and it will be deserted and uninhabited.
20 Egypt is a beautiful young cow, but a stinging insect from the north is coming to attack her.
Egypt is like a stately and finely-formed calf. The one who will goad her will come from the north.
21 The soldiers that Egypt hired are like calves made fat for slaughter. They will also retreat. They won't stand and fight—they will all run away. Their day of destruction is coming; the time when they'll be punished.
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.
22 The Egyptians will retreat with a rustle like a snake sliding away, because the enemy will attack them with axes, coming at them like wood-cutters chopping down trees.
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.
23 They will cut them down like a thick forest, declares the Lord, because the invaders are like a swarm of locusts—there's so many of them that they can't be counted.
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.
24 The people of Egypt will be humiliated. They will be handed over to the people of the north.
The daughter of Egypt has been confounded, and she has been delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Watch, because I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and Pharaoh. I will punish the people of Egypt with their gods and kings, and everyone who trusts in Pharaoh.
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.
26 I'm going to hand them over to those who want to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after all this happens, people will live in Egypt as they used to, declares the Lord.
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.
27 But you, descendants of Jacob my servant, you don't have to be fearful. Israelites, you don't need to be discouraged. I promise to rescue you from your distant places of exile, your descendants from the countries where they're being held captive. You will go home to a quiet and comfortable life, free from any threats.
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.
28 You descendants of Jacob, don't be afraid! declares the Lord, for I will be with you. I will completely destroy all the nations where I've scattered you, I won't completely destroy you. However, I will discipline you as you deserve, and you can be sure I won't leave you unpunished.
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.”
