Jeremiah 46

CHAPTER 46

Word Against Egypt

¹That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet ^aconcerning the nations.

²To ^aEgypt, concerning the military force of ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at ^cCarchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down in the ^dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³“^aArrange the shield and large shield,

And draw near for the battle!

⁴“Harness the horses,

And ¹mount the steeds,

And take your stand with helmets on!

^aPolish the spears,

Put on the ^bscale-armor!

⁵“Why have I seen it?

They are shattered;

They are ^adrawing back,

And their ^bmighty men are crushed

And have fled to refuge,

Without facing back;

^1cTerror is on every side!”

Declares Yahweh.

⁶Let not the ^aswift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have ^bstumbled and fallen.

⁷Who is this that ^arises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters toss about?

⁸Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters toss about;

And He has said, “I will ^arise and cover that land;

I will surely ^bcause the city to perish, as well as its inhabitants.”

⁹Go up, you horses, and ^1adrive madly, you chariots,

That the mighty men may go forth:

²Ethiopia and ^3bPut, who seize the shield,

And the ^4cLydians, who seize and bend the bow.

¹⁰Indeed, ^athat day belongs to Lord Yahweh of hosts,

A day of ^bvengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His adversaries;

And the ^csword will devour and be satiated

And ¹drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a ^dsacrifice to Lord Yahweh of hosts

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

¹¹Go ^aup to Gilead and obtain balm,

^bO virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied ¹remedies;

There is ^cno healing for you.

¹²The nations have heard of your ^adisgrace,

And the earth is full of your ^boutcry;

For one ^cwarrior has stumbled over ¹another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

¹³This is the ¹message which Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^bstrike down the land of Egypt:

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt and cause it to be heard in ^aMigdol;

Cause it to be heard also in Memphis and ^bTahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the ^csword has devoured those around you.’

¹⁵“Why are your ^amighty ones thrown down?

They do not stand because Yahweh has ^bthrust them down.

¹⁶“They have repeatedly ^astumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Rise up! And ^blet us return

To our own people and land of our birth

Away from the ^1csword of the oppressor.’

¹⁷“¹They called out there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but ^aa rumbling;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

¹⁸“As I live,” declares the ^aKing

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts,

“Surely one shall come who looms up like ^bTabor among the mountains,

Or like ^cCarmel by the sea.

¹⁹“Make your baggage ready for ^aexile,

O inhabitant of the ^bdaughter of Egypt,

For ^cMemphis will become a desolation;

It will even be turned into ruin and without inhabitants.

²⁰“Egypt is a pretty ^aheifer,

But a ¹horsefly is coming ^bfrom the north—it is coming!

²¹“Also her ^amercenaries in her midst

Are like ¹fattened ^bcalves,

For even they have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their disaster has come upon them,

The time of their ^cpunishment.

²²“Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on ¹like a military force

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

²³“They have cut down her ^aforest,” declares Yahweh;

“Surely it will no longer be searched out,

Even though ¹they are now more numerous than ^blocusts

And are without number.

²⁴“The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,

Given over to the hand of the ^apeople of the north.”

²⁵Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^aThebes, and ^bPharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^cgods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who ^dtrust in him.

²⁶“I shall give them into the hand of those who are ^aseeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. ^bAfterwards, however, it will be dwelt in like in the days of old,” declares Yahweh.

²⁷“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, ^ado not fear,

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For behold, I am going to ^bsave you from afar,

And your seed from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and have ^cquiet

And be at ease, with no one making him tremble.

²⁸“O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares Yahweh,

“For ^aI am with you.

For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations

Where I have banished you,

Yet I will ^bnot make a complete destruction of you;

But I will ^cdiscipline you with justice

And by no means leave you unpunished.”