Jeremiah 46:2–26

²About Egypt. ^dConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ^ethe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

^3f“Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

^4gHarness the horses;

mount, O horsemen!

Take your stations with your helmets,

^fpolish your spears,

put on your armor!

⁵Why have I seen it?

They are dismayed

and have turned backward.

Their ^hwarriors are beaten down

and have fled in haste;

ⁱthey look not back—

^jterror on every side!

declares the Lord.

⁶“The swift cannot flee away,

nor the warrior escape;

^din the north by the river Euphrates

^kthey have stumbled and fallen.

⁷“Who is this, ^lrising like the Nile,

like rivers ^mwhose waters surge?

⁸Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers ^mwhose waters surge.

He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’

⁹ⁿAdvance, O horses,

and rage, O chariots!

Let the warriors go out:

men of Cush and ^oPut who handle the shield,

^pmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

^10qThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,

^ra day of vengeance,

^sto avenge himself on his foes.

^tThe sword shall devour and be sated

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord God of hosts holds ^ua sacrifice

^vin the north country ^wby the river Euphrates.

^11xGo up to Gilead, and take ^xbalm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

^ythere is no healing for you.

¹²The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

^zfor warrior has stumbled against warrior;

they have both fallen together.”

¹³The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^bMigdol;

proclaim in ^bMemphis and ^bTahpanhes;

say, ^c‘Stand ready and be prepared,

for ^dthe sword shall devour around you.’

¹⁵Why are your mighty ones face down?

They do not stand¹

because the Lord thrust them down.

¹⁶He made many stumble, ^fand they fell,

and they said one to another,

‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

^gbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’

¹⁷Call the name of ^hPharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

¹⁸ⁱ“As I live, declares the King,

^jwhose name is the Lord of hosts,

like ^kTabor among the mountains

and like ^lCarmel by the sea, shall one come.

^19mPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,

O ⁿinhabitants of Egypt!

For ^oMemphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, ^pwithout inhabitant.

²⁰“A beautiful ^qheifer is Egypt,

but a biting fly ^rfrom the north has come upon her.

²¹Even her hired soldiers in her midst

are like ^sfattened calves;

yes, they have turned and fled together;

they did not stand,

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

^tthe time of their punishment.

²²“She makes ^ua sound like a serpent gliding away;

for her enemies march in force

and come against her with axes

^vlike those who fell trees.

^23vThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,

though it is impenetrable,

because ^wthey are more numerous than locusts;

they are without number.

²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;

she shall be delivered into the hand of ^ra people from the north.”

²⁵The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^xAmon of ^yThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^zand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ^26aI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^bAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^cas in the days of old, declares the Lord.