Jeremiah 46

1 That which has been the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations,

These are messages that Yahweh gave to the prophet Jeremiah about [other] 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:

After Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah, had been ruling Judah for almost four years, this message about Egypt was given [by Yahweh]. It was when the army of King Neco of Egypt was defeated by the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon along the Euphrates River. [This is what Yahweh said: “The officers of the army of Egypt are saying to their troops],

3 “Set shield and buckler in array, And draw near to battle.

‘Prepare your shields and march out to fight the battle!

4 Gird the horses, and go up, you horsemen, And station yourselves with helmets, Polish the javelins, put on the coats of mail.

Put harnesses on your horses, and get on their backs. (Get into your positions/Line up) [for the battle]; put on your helmets. Sharpen your spears, and put on your armor!’

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.

But what [RHQ] do I see? I see that the soldiers of Egypt will be terrified and will be fleeing. [Even] the bravest of their soldiers will be running away, without [even] looking backward! [I, ] Yahweh, say that [their soldiers] will be terrified on all sides!

6 The swift do not flee, nor do the mighty escape, Northward, by the side of the Euphrates River, They have stumbled and fallen.

[Even] the fastest [runners] will try to run away, but [even the greatest of] their warriors will not escape. In the north, by the Euphrates [River], they will stumble and fall.

7 Who is this? He comes up as a flood, His waters shake themselves as rivers!

What group is this that will be covering the land like the water of the Nile [River] covers the land when it floods?

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.

[It is the army of] Egypt that will be covering the land like a surging/huge flood, and they will boast that they will cover the earth and will destroy cities and the people [who live in them].

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.

You [riders of] horses, charge/rush [into the battle]! You [drivers of] chariots, drive furiously! [All] you warriors from Ethiopia and Libya who carry your shields, you warriors from Lydia who shoot arrows, you come!

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, [you need to know that] this is the day when [I], Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels, will get revenge on my enemies. With my sword [PRS] I will kill [my enemies] until I am satisfied; my sword will [be like a monster that] [MET, PRS] drinks the blood [of the animals it kills] until it is no longer thirsty. [The enemy soldiers who will be killed] in the north beside the Euphrates River [will be like] [MET] a sacrifice to [me], the Commander of the armies of angels.

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.

You people [IDM] of Egypt, go up to the Gilead [region] to obtain medicine; but it will be useless to take all those medicines; you will not be healed.

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!”

[People in] the [other] nations will hear how you were humiliated. [People] all over the earth will hear you wailing. [Your mighty] warriors will stumble over each other and they will all fall 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:

[Then] Yahweh gave me this message about King Nebuchadnezzar when he planned to attack Egypt [with his army]:

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,

“Shout [this message] throughout Egypt! Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpenes [cities]! ‘(Get into your positions/Line up) [for the battle]; Prepare to defend yourselves, because [everyone] around you will be killed.’ [PRS, MTY]

15 Why has your bull been swept away? He has not stood, because YHWH thrust him away.

Your god is a bull; Why does he fall down? He will not be able to stand up, because Yahweh will knock him down.

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.

The soldiers from other countries will stumble and fall over each other, and [then] they will say to each other, ‘Let’s get up and go back to our own people, to our own land. Let’s get away from the swords of our enemies!’

17 They have cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt [is] a desolation, The appointed time has passed by.

There [in Egypt] they will say, ‘The king of Egypt talks loudly, but when our [army] had an opportunity [to defeat our enemies], they failed.’

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,

[I, ] the King, who am called the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: ‘As [surely as] I live, someone’s army will be coming [to fight against the army of Egypt]. They will be [extremely powerful], [as though they were as tall] as Tabor Hill, or [as high] as Carmel [Mountain] close to the [Mediterranean] Sea.

19 Make goods for yourself for removal, O inhabitant, daughter of Egypt, For Noph becomes a desolation, And has been burned up, without inhabitant.

[All] you people who live in Egypt, pack your possessions/clothes and prepare to be exiled. Memphis [city] will be destroyed; it will become a ruin, and no one will be living there.

20 Egypt [is] a very beautiful heifer, Destruction comes into her from the north.

Egypt is [like] [SIM] a beautiful young cow, but [the army of a powerful king] from the northeast will come to attack it [like] a horsefly [MET] [bites a cow].

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.

The (mercenaries/soldiers [from other countries] who have been hired) will become like [SIM] fat calves; but they also will turn around and run away; they will not stand [there and fight], because it will be a day when there will be a [great] disaster in Egypt, a day when their people will be [greatly] punished.

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.

[The soldiers of] Egypt will run away, as silently as a snake scurries/crawls away. [The army of] the enemy will advance; they will march along carrying their axes like [SIM] men who cut down trees.

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.

[I, ] Yahweh, say that they will kill the soldiers [of Egypt] as though [SIM] they were a forest of trees, because the enemy soldiers will be as numerous as [a swarm of] locusts.

24 The daughter of Egypt has been ashamed, She has been given into the hand of the people of the north.

The people of Egypt will be humiliated; they will be conquered by people from the northeast.’

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,

[I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israelis [worship], say, ‘I will punish Amon, [the god whom the people] of Thebes [city] worship, and [all] the [other] gods in Egypt. [I will punish] the King of Egypt and [all] those who trust 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.

I will cause them to be captured by those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, and his army officers. But many years later, people will live in Egypt again. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.’

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 you people of Israel who serve me, do not be at all dismayed [DOU] now, because some day I will bring you back from distant places; I will bring your descendants from the land to which they were exiled. [Then you] Israeli people will again live peacefully and safely, and there will not be any [nation] to cause you to be terrified.

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!”

[I, ] Yahweh, say to you people of Israel who serve me, ‘Do not be afraid, because I will be with you. I will completely destroy the nations among whom I have scattered you, but I will not completely get rid of you. I will punish you, but I will punish you only as severely as you deserve: It would be wrong if I did not punish you at all.’”