Jeremiah 46–51

Prophecies Against the Nations

46The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations: ^g

Prophecies against Egypt

²About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king, ^hwhich was defeated at Carchemish ⁱon the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim son of Josiah: ^j

³Deploy small shields ^kand large;

draw near for battle!

⁴Harness the horses;

mount the steeds; ^l

take your positions with helmets on!

Polish the lances;

put on armor! ^m

⁵Why have I seen this?

They are terrified,

they are retreating,

their warriors are crushed,

they flee headlong,

they never look back,

terror is on every side! ⁿ

This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁶The swift cannot flee,

and the warrior cannot escape! ^o

In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River,

they stumble and fall. ^p

⁷Who is this, rising like the Nile, ^q

like rivers whose waters churn?

⁸Egypt rises like the Nile, ^r

and its waters churn like rivers.

He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;

I will destroy cities with their residents.”

⁹Rise up, you cavalry!

Race furiously, you chariots!

Let the warriors go out—

Cush and Put, ^s

who are able to handle shields,

and the Ludim, ^t

who are able to handle and string the bow. ^u

¹⁰That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Hosts,

a day of vengeance to avenge Himself

against His adversaries.

The sword will devour and be satisfied;

it will drink its fill of their blood,

because it will be a sacrifice ^vto the Lord, the God of Hosts,

in the northern land by the Euphrates River. ^w

¹¹Go up to Gilead and get balm, ^x

Virgin Daughter Egypt!

You have multiplied remedies in vain;

there is no healing for you.

¹²The nations have heard of your dishonor, ^y

and your outcry fills the earth,

because warrior stumbles against warrior

and together both of them have fallen.

¹³This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt: ^z

¹⁴Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol! ^a

Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes!

Say: Take positions! Prepare yourself,

for the sword devours all around you. ^b

¹⁵Why have your strong ones been swept away?

Each has not stood,

for the Lord has thrust him down.

¹⁶He continues to stumble. ^c

Indeed, each falls over the other.

They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people

and to the land of our birth,

away from the sword that oppresses.” ^d

¹⁷There they will cry out,

“Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;

he let the opportune moment pass.”

¹⁸As I live—

this is the King’s declaration;

Yahweh of Hosts is His name. ^e

He will come like Tabor among the mountains

and like Carmel by the sea.

¹⁹Get your bags ready for exile,

inhabitant of Daughter Egypt! ^f

For Memphis will become a desolation,

uninhabited ruins.

²⁰Egypt is a beautiful young cow, ^g

but a horsefly from the north is coming against her. ^hi

²¹Even her mercenaries among her

are like stall-fed calves.

They too will turn back;

together they will flee;

they will not take their stand,

for the day of their calamity is coming on them,

the time of their punishment. ^j

²²Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake, ^k

for the enemy will come with an army;

with axes they will come against her

like those who cut trees. ^l

²³They will cut down her forest—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

though it is dense,

for they are more numerous than locusts;

they cannot be counted. ^m

²⁴Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,

handed over to a northern people. ⁿ

²⁵The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes, ^oalong with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings—Pharaoh and those trusting in him. ²⁶I will hand them over to those who want to take their lives ^p—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, ^qit will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Reassurance for Israel

²⁷But you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, ^r

and do not be discouraged, Israel,

for without fail I will save you from far away

and your descendants, from the land of their captivity!

Jacob will return and have calm and quiet

with no one to frighten him.

²⁸And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

for I will be with you. ^s

I will bring destruction on all the nations

where I have banished you,

but I will not bring destruction on you.

I will discipline you with justice,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished. ^t

Prophecies against the Philistines

47This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines ^ubefore Pharaoh defeated Gaza. ^v2This is what the Lord says:

Look, waters are rising from the north ^w

and becoming an overflowing wadi.

They will overflow the land and everything in it, ^x

the cities and their inhabitants.

The people will cry out,

and every inhabitant of the land will wail.

³At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions, ^y

the rumbling of his chariots,

and the clatter of their wheels, ^z

fathers will not turn back for their sons,

because they will be utterly helpless ^a

⁴on account of the day that is coming

to destroy all the Philistines,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

every remaining ally. ^b

Indeed, the Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,

the remnant of the islands of Caphtor. ^cd

⁵Baldness is coming to Gaza. ^e

Ashkelon will become silent, ^f

a remnant of their valley.

How long will you gash yourself?

⁶Oh, sword of the Lord! ^g

How long will you be restless?

Go back to your sheath;

be still; be silent!

⁷How can it ^hrest

when the Lord has given it a command? ⁱ

He has assigned it ^j

against Ashkelon and the shore of the sea.

Prophecies against Moab

48About Moab, ^kthis is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:

Woe to Nebo, ^lbecause it is about to be destroyed;

Kiriathaim will be put to shame; ^mit will be taken captive.

The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!

²There is no longer praise for Moab;

they plan harm against her in Heshbon: ⁿ

Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.

Also, Madmen, ^oyou will be silenced;

the sword will pursue you. ^p

³A voice cries out from Horonaim, ^q

“devastation and great disaster!” ^r

⁴Moab will be shattered;

her little ones will cry out.

⁵For on the Ascent to Luhith

they will be weeping continually, ^s

and on the descent to Horonaim

will be heard cries of distress over the destruction: ^t

⁶Flee! Save your lives! ^u

Be like a juniper bush ^vwin the wilderness.

⁷Because you trust in your works ^xand treasures,

you will be captured also.

Chemosh ^ywill go into exile

with his priests and officials. ^z

⁸The destroyer ^awill move against every town;

not one town will escape.

The valley will perish,

and the plain will be annihilated, ^b

as the Lord has said.

⁹Make Moab a salt marsh, ^cd

for she will run away; ^e

her towns will become a desolation,

without inhabitant. ^f

¹⁰The one who does

the Lord’s business deceitfully ^gis cursed, ^h

and the one who withholds

his sword from bloodshed is cursed.

¹¹Moab has been left quiet since his youth,

settled like wine on its dregs. ⁱ

He hasn’t been poured from one container to another

or gone into exile.

So his taste has remained the same,

and his aroma hasn’t changed.

¹²Therefore look, the days are coming ^j—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

when I will send those to him, who will pour him out.

They will empty his containers

and smash his jars.

¹³Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,

just as the house of Israel was put to shame

because of Bethel ^kthat they trusted in.

¹⁴How can you say, “We are warriors—

mighty men ready for battle”?

¹⁵The destroyer of Moab and its towns

has come up, ^l

and the best of its young men

have gone down to slaughter.

This is the King’s declaration;

Yahweh of Hosts is His name. ^m

¹⁶Moab’s calamity is near at hand;

his disaster is rushing swiftly.

¹⁷Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,

everyone who knows his name.

Say: How the mighty scepter ⁿis shattered,

the glorious staff!

¹⁸Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,

resident of the daughter of Dibon, ^o

for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;

he has destroyed your fortresses.

¹⁹Stand by the highway and look,

resident of Aroer! ^p

Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping: ^q

What happened?

²⁰Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.

Wail and cry out! ^r

Declare by the Arnon

that Moab is destroyed.

²¹“Judgment has come to the land of the plateau ^s—to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, ²²Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, ²³Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon, ^t24Kerioth, ^uBozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. ²⁵Moab’s horn is chopped off; ^vhis arm is shattered.” ^w

This is the Lord’s declaration.

²⁶“Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord. ^xMoab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. ²⁷Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? ^yWas he ever found among thieves? ^zFor whenever you speak of him you shake your head.” ^a

²⁸Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,

residents of Moab!

Be like a dove

that nests inside the mouth of a cave. ^b

²⁹We have heard of Moab’s pride,

great pride, indeed—

his insolence, arrogance, pride,

and haughty heart.

³⁰I know his outburst.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

It is empty.

His boast is empty.

³¹Therefore, I will wail over Moab.

I will cry out for Moab, all of it;

he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

³²I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,

with more than the weeping for Jazer.

Your tendrils have extended to the sea;

they have reached to the sea and to Jazer. ^c

The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.

³³Joy and celebration are taken from the fertile field

and from the land of Moab.

I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;

no one will tread with shouts of joy.

The shouting is not a shout of joy. ^d

³⁴“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz ^e—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate. ³⁵In Moab, I will stop”—this is the Lord…