Jeremiah 26
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,
In the beginning of the reign of king Sedekias, there came this word concerning Aelam.
2 Thus hath said the Lord, Place thyself in the court of the house of the Lord, and speak against all of the cities of Judah, who come to prostrate themselves in the house of the Lord, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them: omit not a word [thereof];
FOR EGYPT, AGAINST THE POWER OF PHARAO NECHAO KING OF EGYPT, who was by the river Euphrates in Charmis, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Joakim king of Juda.
3 Perhaps it be that they will hearken, and return every man from his evil way, that I may bethink me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them, because of the wrongfulness of their doings.
Take up arms and spears, and draw near to battle;
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, if ye will not hearken unto me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
and harness the horses: mount, you horsemen, and stand ready in your helmets; advance the spears, and put on your breastplates.
5 To hearken unto the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send unto you, yea, making them rise up early, and sending them, while ye have not hearkened:
Why do they fear, and turn back? even because their mighty men shall be slain: they have utterly fled, and being hemmed in they have not rallied, says the Lord.
6 Then will I render this house like Shiloh, and this city will I render a curse unto all the nations of the earth.
Let not the swift flee, and let not the mighty man escape to the north: the [forces] at Euphrates are become feeble, and they have fallen.
7 And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord:
Who is this [that] shall come up as a river, and as rivers roll [their] waves?
8 And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded [him] to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized on him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
The waters of Egypt shall come up like a river: and he said, I will go up, and will cover the earth, and will destroy the dwellers in it.
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, Like Shiloh shall this house be, and this city shall be ruined, [left] without an inhabitant? And all the people assembled themselves against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
Mount you the horses, prepare the chariots; go forth, you warriors of the Ethiopians, and Libyans armed with shields; and mount, you Lydians, bend the bow.
10 But when the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord's house.
And that day [shall be] to the Lord our God a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his enemies: and the sword of the Lord shall devour, and be glutted, and be drunken with their blood: for the Lord [has] a sacrifice from the land of the north at the river Euphrates.
11 Then said the priests and the prophets unto the princes and unto all the people, as followeth, This man deserveth the punishment of death; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your own ears.
Go up to Galaad, and take balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain have you multiplied your medicines; there is no help in you.
12 Then said Jeremiah unto all the princes and unto all the people, as followeth, The Lord hath sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
The nations have heard your voice, and the land has been filled with your cry: for the warriors have fainted fighting one against another, [and] both are fallen together.
13 But now amend your ways and your doings, and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God: and the Lord will bethink him of the evil that he hath spoken against you.
THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE by Jeremias, concerning the coming of the king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt.
14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and just in your eyes.
Proclaim [it] at Magdol, and declare [it] at Memphis: say you, Stand up, and prepare; for the sword has devoured your yew tree.
15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye will surely place [the guilt of] innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon its inhabitants; for in truth hath the Lord sent me unto you to speak in your ears all these words.
Therefore has Apis fled from you? your choice calf has not remained; for the Lord has utterly weakened him.
16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets, This man is not deserving the punishment of death; for in the name of the Lord our God hath he spoken unto us.
And your multitude has fainted and fallen; and each one said to his neighbour, Let us arise, and return into our country to our people, from the Grecian sword.
17 And then rose up certain men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people, as followeth,
Call you the name of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt, Saon esbeie moed.
18 Michah the Morashthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah the king of Judah. and said to all the people of Judah, as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be ploughed up like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house, woody high-places.
[As] I live, says the Lord God, he shall come as Itabyrion amongst the mountains, and as Carmel that is on the sea.
19 Did Hezekiah the king of Judah and all Judah attempt to put him to death? behold, he did fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord bethought him of the evil which he had spoken against them. And shall we bring a great wickedness on our souls?
O daughter of Egypt dwelling [at home], prepare you stuff for removing: for Memphis shall be utterly desolate, and shall be called Woe, because there are no inhabitants in it.
20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriyah the son of Shema'yahu of Kiryath-ye'arim, who prophesied against this city and against this land in accordance with all the words of Jeremiah;
Egypt is a fair heifer, [but] destruction from the north is come upon her.
21 And when king Jehoyakim, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriyahu heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and arrived in Egypt;
Also her hired [soldiers] in the midst of her are as fatted calves fed in her; for they also have turned, and fled with one accord: they stood not, for the day of destruction was come upon them, and the time of their retribution.
22 But king Jehoyakim sent some men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of 'Achbor, and some men with him into Egypt:
Their voice is as [that] of a hissing serpent, for they go upon the sand; they shall come upon Egypt with axes, as men that cut wood.
23 And they fetched Uriyahu out of Egypt, and brought him unto king Jehoyakim, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body upon the graves of the common people.
They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord, for [their number] can’t at all be conjectured, for it exceeds the locust in multitude, and they are innumerable.
24 But the hand of Achikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.
The daughter of Egypt is confounded; she is delivered into the hands of a people from the north.
Behold, I [will] avenge Ammon her son upon Pharao, and upon them that trust in him.
But fear not you, my servant Jacob, neither be you alarmed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at ease, and sleep, and there shall be no one to trouble him.
Fear not you, my servant Jacob, says the Lord; for I am with you: she [that was] without fear and in luxury, has been delivered up: for I will make a full end of every nation amongst whom I have thrust you forth; but I will not cause you to fail: yet will I chastise you in the way of judgement, and will not hold you entirely guiltless.
