Jeremiah 46:13–26

Egypt’s Army Slithers Like a Snake

¹³The Message that God gave to the prophet Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was on his way to attack Egypt:

¹⁴“Tell Egypt, alert Migdol,

post warnings in Noph and Tahpanhes:

‘Wake up! Be prepared!

War’s coming!’

^15–19“Why will your bull-god Apis run off?

Because God will drive him off.

Your ragtag army will fall to pieces.

The word is passing through the ranks,

‘Let’s get out of here while we still can.

Let’s head for home and save our skins.’

When they get home they’ll nickname Pharaoh

‘Big-Talk-Bad-Luck.’

As sure as I am the living God”

—the King’s Decree, God-of-the-Angel-Armies is his name—

“A conqueror is coming: like Tabor, singular among mountains;

like Carmel, jutting up from the sea!

So pack your bags for exile,

you coddled daughters of Egypt,

For Memphis will soon be nothing,

a vacant lot grown over with weeds.

^20–21“Too bad, Egypt, a beautiful sleek heifer

attacked by a horsefly from the north!

All her hired soldiers are stationed to defend her—

like well-fed calves they are.

But when their lives are on the line, they’ll run off,

cowards every one.

When the going gets tough,

they’ll take the easy way out.

^22–24“Egypt will slither and hiss like a snake

as the enemy army comes in force.

They will rush in, swinging axes

like lumberjacks cutting down trees.

They’ll level the country”—God’s Decree—“nothing

and no one standing for as far as you can see.

The invaders will be a swarm of locusts,

innumerable, past counting.

Daughter Egypt will be ravished,

raped by vandals from the north.”

^25–26God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Watch out when I visit doom on the god Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I’ll turn them over to those who are out to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar and his military. Egypt will be set back a thousand years. Eventually people will live there again.” God’s Decree.