< Jeremiah 46 >
1 The word which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2 Of Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho, the king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
3 Prepare ye the buckler and shield, And move on to battle!
4 Harness the horses, and mount, ye riders! Stand forth in your helmets; Make bright the spears, And put on the coats of mail!
5 Wherefore do I see them dismayed, and turned back? Even their mighty ones are smitten; They flee apace; they look not back. Terror is on every side, saith Jehovah.
6 Let not the swift attempt to flee away, Nor the mighty man to escape; Toward the North by the river Euphrates shall they stumble and fall.
7 Who is he that riseth up like the Nile, Whose waters swell like floods?
8 Egypt riseth up like the Nile, And like floods do his waters swell. He saith, “I will arise, I will cover the land, I will destroy the city, and them that dwell therein.”
9 Come up, ye horses, and rage, ye chariots! And let the mighty men go forth, The Ethiopians, and the Libyans, that bear the shield, And the Lydians, that bear and bend the bow!
10 This is the day of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, A day of vengeance, to avenge himself of his enemies; And the sword shall devour, and satiate itself, And it shall be made drunk with their blood. For Jehovah of hosts hath a sacrifice In the North country, by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou use many medicines; There is no cure for thee!
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, And thy cry hath filled the earth; For they have stumbled, the mighty against the mighty, And they are fallen both together.
13 The word which Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt.
14 Declare ye in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim ye also in Noph and Tahpanhes! Say ye, “Stand fast and prepare thyself, For the sword shall devour round about thee!”
15 Wherefore are thy mighty ones overthrown? They stood not, because Jehovah cast them down.
16 He caused many to fall; one fell upon another; And they said, “Arise, and let us go to our own people, And to the land of our nativity, from the overpowering sword.”
17 There they cry, “Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is undone! He hath let pass the appointed time.”
18 As I live, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts: Like Tabor among the mountains, And like Carmel by the sea, he cometh! Prepare thyself travelling equipage,
19 Thou who dwellest in Egypt! For Noph shall become waste, Yea, desolate without an inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a fair heifer, But destruction cometh; it cometh from the North.
21 Her mercenaries also in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; Yet they also turn back; they flee together; they stand not; For the day of their calamity is come upon them, And the time of their punishment.
22 Her voice shall be heard like that of a serpent, When they shall march against her with their forces, And come against her with axes like fellers of trees.
23 They shall cut down her forest, though it be impenetrable; For they exceed the locusts in multitude, And are innumerable.
24 The daughter of Egypt is brought to shame; She is given into the hand of the people of the North.
25 Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Ammon of No, And Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings; Even Pharaoh and all that trust in him.
26 And I will deliver them into the hands of those that seek their lives, And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants. But after this it shall be inhabited, As in the days of old, saith Jehovah.
27 But fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, And be not thou dismayed, O Israel! For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar, And thy posterity from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall return and be at rest, Yea, he shall be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
28 Fear thou not, O Jacob, my servant, saith Jehovah, For I will be with thee; When I shall make a full end of all the nations Whither I have dispersed thee, Yet will I not make a full end of thee; I will correct thee in measure; Yet must I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
