Jeremiah 46
1 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
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.
2 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.
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.
3 Make ready buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
Pick up both your small and large shields, and advance ready for battle!
4 Harness the horses, and mount, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail.
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!
5 Wherefore do I see them dismayed and turned backward? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and they are fled apace, and look not back; terror is on every side, saith the LORD.
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.
6 The swift cannot flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.
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.
7 Who is this like the Nile that riseth up, like the rivers whose waters toss themselves?
Who is this that's coming, rising like the Nile, like swirling rivers whose waters flood?
8 Egypt is like the Nile that riseth up, and like the rivers whose waters toss themselves; and he saith: 'I will rise up, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.'
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.”
9 Prance, ye horses, and rush madly, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield, and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow.
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.
10 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall have on that day a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of His adversaries; and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall be made drunk with their blood; for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
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.
11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt; in vain dost thou use many medicines; there is no cure for thee.
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.
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and the earth is full of thy cry; for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, they are fallen both of them together.
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.
13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.
This is the message that the Lord gave to Jeremiah the prophet about the attack by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon on Egypt:
14 Declare ye in Egypt, and announce in Migdol, and announce in Noph and in Tahpanhes; say ye: 'Stand forth, and prepare thee, for the sword hath devoured round about thee.'
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.
15 Why is thy strong one overthrown? He stood not, because the LORD did thrust him down.
Why did Apis your bull god run away? He couldn't stand his ground because the Lord has knocked him down.
16 He made many to stumble; yea, they fell one upon another, and said: 'Arise, and let us return to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from the oppressing sword.'
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.”
17 They cried there: 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the appointed time pass by.'
When they get there they'll say about Pharaoh king of Egypt, “He just makes a lot of noise. He wasted his opportunity.”
18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
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.
19 O thou daughter that dwellest in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Noph shall become a desolation, and shall be laid waste, without inhabitant.
Pack your bags ready for exile, daughter living in Egypt! Memphis is going to be destroyed, an empty place where no one lives.
20 Egypt is a very fair heifer; but the gadfly out of the north is come, it is come.
Egypt is a beautiful young cow, but a stinging insect from the north is coming to attack her.
21 Also her mercenaries in the midst of her are like calves of the stall, for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand; for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation.
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.
22 The sound thereof shall go like the serpent's; for they march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
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.
23 They cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
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.
24 The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
The people of Egypt will be humiliated. They will be handed over to the people of the north.
25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and them that trust in him;
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.
26 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 afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.
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.
27 But fear not thou, O Jacob My servant, neither be dismayed, O Israel; for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall again be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
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.
28 Fear not thou, 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; and I will correct thee in measure, but will not utterly destroy thee.
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.
