Jeremiah 46

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!”

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:

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,

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!”