Jeremiah 46
1 That which has been the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations,
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations.
2 for Egypt, concerning the force of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, that has been by the Euphrates River, in Carchemish, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has struck, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
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.
3 “Set shield and buckler in array, And draw near to battle.
Get out the breastplate and body-cover, and come together to the fight.
4 Gird the horses, and go up, you horsemen, And station yourselves with helmets, Polish the javelins, put on the coats of mail.
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.
5 Why have I seen them dismayed [and] turned backward? And their mighty ones are beaten down, And they have fled [to] a refuge, And did not turn their face, Fear [is] all around—a declaration of YHWH.
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.
6 The swift do not flee, nor do the mighty escape, Northward, by the side of the Euphrates River, They have stumbled and fallen.
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.
7 Who is this? He comes up as a flood, His waters shake themselves as rivers!
Who is this coming up like the Nile, whose waters are lifting their heads like the rivers?
8 Egypt comes up as a flood, And the waters shake themselves as rivers. And he says, I go up; I cover the land, I destroy the city and the inhabitants in it.
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.
9 Go up, you horses; and boast yourselves, you chariots, And go forth, you mighty, Cush and Phut handling the shield, And Lud handling—treading the bow.
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.
10 And that day [is] to Lord YHWH of Hosts A day of vengeance, To be avenged of His adversaries, And the sword has devoured, and been satisfied, And it has been watered from their blood, For a sacrifice [is] to Lord YHWH of Hosts, In the land of the north, by the Euphrates River.
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.
11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt, You have multiplied medicines in vain, There is no healing for you.
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.
12 Nations have heard of your shame, And your cry has filled the land, For the mighty stumbled on the mighty, Together they have fallen—both of them!”
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.
13 The word that YHWH has spoken to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the coming in of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to strike the land of Egypt:
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.
14 “Declare in Egypt, and sound in Migdol, And sound in Noph, and in Tahpanhes, say, Stand firm and prepare yourself, For a sword has devoured around you,
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.
15 Why has your bull been swept away? He has not stood, because YHWH thrust him away.
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.
16 He has multiplied the stumbling, Indeed, one has fallen on his neighbor, And they say: Rise, and we return to our people, And to the land of our birth, Because of the oppressing sword.
... 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.
17 They have cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt [is] a desolation, The appointed time has passed by.
Give a name to Pharaoh, king of Egypt: A noise who has let the time go by.
18 [As] I live—an affirmation of the King, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name, Surely as Tabor [is] among mountains, And as Carmel by the sea—he comes in,
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.
19 Make goods for yourself for removal, O inhabitant, daughter of Egypt, For Noph becomes a desolation, And has been burned up, without inhabitant.
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.
20 Egypt [is] a very beautiful heifer, Destruction comes into her from the north.
Egypt is a fair young cow; but a biting insect has come on her out of the north.
21 Even her hired ones in her midst [are] as calves of the stall, For even they have turned, They have fled together, they have not stood, For the day of their calamity has come on them, The time of their inspection.
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.
22 Its voice goes on as a serpent, For they go with a force, And they have come in to her with axes, As hewers of trees.
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.
23 They have cut down her forest, A declaration of YHWH, For it is not searched, For they have been more than the grasshopper, And they have no numbering.
They will be cutting down her woods, for they may not be searched out; because they are like locusts, more than may be numbered.
24 The daughter of Egypt has been ashamed, She has been given into the hand of the people of the north.
The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame; she will be given up into the hands of the people of the north.
25 YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel, has said: Behold, I am seeing after Amon of No, And after Pharaoh, and after Egypt, And after her gods, and after her kings, And after Pharaoh, and after those trusting in him,
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;
26 And I have given them into the hand of those seeking their life, And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants, And afterward it is inhabited, As [in] days of old—a declaration of YHWH.
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.
27 And you, you do not fear, My servant Jacob, Nor [are] you dismayed, O Israel, For behold, I am saving you from afar—And your seed from the land of their captivity, And Jacob has turned back, And has been at rest, and been at ease, And there is none disturbing.
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.
28 You do not fear, My servant Jacob, A declaration of YHWH, For I [am] with you, For I make an end of all the nations To where I have driven you, And I do not make an end of you, And I have reproved you in judgment, And do not entirely acquit you!”
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.
