Jeremiah 46

1 So much of the word of Yahweh as came unto Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2 Of Egypt, Concerning the force of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates, in Carchemish, —which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, smote, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: —

3 Prepare ye buckler and shield, And draw near to battle:

4 Harness the horses, and mount, ye horsemen, Stand forth in helmets, —Polish the lances, put on the coats of mail.

5 Why have I seen it? They, panic-struck, are drawing back, Yea, their heroes, are crushed, Yea they have, fled, and not turned, —Terror round about! Declareth Yahweh.

6 Let not the swift, flee, Nor let the hero, escape, —Northward, beside the river Euphrates, have they stumbled, and fallen.

7 Who is it that is like the Nile when it riseth, Like rivers when his waters are tossed?

8 Egypt was like the Nile when it riseth, And like rivers, when the waters are tossed: So he said—I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy the city, and the dwellers therein.

9 Mount the horses, And drive the chariots madly on, So let the heroes, go forth, —Ethiopians and Libyans that grasp the buckler, And Lydians that grasp—that tread—the bow, But, that day, belongeth to My Lord Yahweh of hosts—

10 A day of avenging, to avenge him of his adversaries, When the sword shall devour and be filled, and be sated with their blood, —For, a sacrifice, hath My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, In the land of the North Towards the river Euphrates.

11 Go up to Gilead and fetch balsam, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain, hast thou multiplied remedies, Healing, there is none for thee.

12 The nations have heard of thy disgrace, And, thine outcry, hath filled the earth, —For hero against hero, have they stumbled, Together, have fallen, the twain!

13 The word which Yahweh spake unto Jeremiah the prophet, —as to the coming of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt: —

14 Tell ye it in Egypt, And let it be heard in Migdol, Yea let it be heard in Noph, and in Tahpanhes, —Say ye—Stand thou forth, and prepare thyself, For a sword hath devoured round about thee.

15 Wherefore have thy valiant ones been laid prostrate? He hath made no stand, because, Yahweh, hath driven him back:

16 Hath made many a one to be stumbling, Yea fallen is every one against his neighbour, So they have said—Arise and let us return to our own people, And unto the land of our birth, From the face of the sword of the oppressor.

17 Proclaim ye a name, —Pharaoh, king of Egypt—a Sound! He hath overstepped the time appointed!

18 As I live, saith the King, Yahweh of hosts, is his name: Though Like Tabor among mountains, Like Carmel, Into the sea shall he go!

19 Baggage for captivity, prepare thee, O inhabitress, daughter of Egypt; For, Noph, shall become a desolation, And be burned without inhabitant.

20 A calf of great beauty, is Egypt: The gad-fly, out of the North, cometh—cometh.

21 Even her hirelings in her midst are like fatted calves, For, even they, have turned—have fled at once! have made no stand! For, their day of doom, hath come upon them, The time of their visitation.

22 Her noise, like a serpent, departeth, —For, with a force, they advance, And with axes, have they come against her, like them who fell trees:

23 They have cut down her forest Declareth Yahweh, Surely he cannot be searched out, —For they have outnumbered locusts, and cannot be counted.

24 Put to shame is the daughter of Egypt, —She hath been delivered into the hand of the people of the North.

25 Saith Yahweh of host God of Israel, —Behold me! bringing punishment—against Amon of No, and upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt, and upon her gods and upon her kings, —Even upon Pharaoh, and upon all that trust in him;

26 And I will deliver them—Into the hand of them who are seeking their life, Even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon And into the hand of his servants, —And after that, shall it be inhabited as in the days of old Declareth Yahweh.

27 Thou, therefore, do not fear, O my Servant Jacob Nor be dismayed O Israel, For behold me! Saving thee from afar, And thy seed from the land of their captivity, —So shall Jacob return and be quiet and shall rest, With none to occasion alarm.

28 Thou, do not fear, O my Servant Jacob, Urgeth Yahweh, For, with thee, am I: Though I make an end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, Yet of thee, will I not make an end, But will correct thee in measure, And not hold thee, guiltless,