Jeremiah 46:1–51:58
46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:o
2 Concerning Egypt:p
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Nechoq king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemishr on the Euphratess River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakimt son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields,u both large and small,
and march out for battle!
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polishv your spears,
put on your armor!w
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They fleex in haste
without looking back,
and there is terrory on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot fleez
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphratesa
they stumble and fall.b
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?c
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,d
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’e
Drive furiously, you charioteers!f
March on, you warriors—men of Cusha g and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydiah who draw the bow.
10 But that dayi belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeancej, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devourk till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.l
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrificem
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.n
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,o
Virginp Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healingq for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fallr down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylons to attack Egypt:t
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphisu and Tahpanhes:v
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devoursw those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.x
16 They will stumbley repeatedly;
they will fallz over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own peoplea and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’b
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;c
he has missed his opportunity.d’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,e
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Taborf among the mountains,
like Carmelg by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,h
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphisi will be laid wastej
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.k
21 The mercenariesl in her ranks
are like fattened calves.m
They too will turn and fleen together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the dayo of disaster is coming upon them,
the timep for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.q
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,r
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.s”
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes,t on Pharaoh,u on Egypt and her godsv and her kings, and on those who relyw on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the handsx of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar kingy of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabitedz as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid,a Jacobb my servant;c
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.d
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,”e declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroyf all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
A Message About the Philistines
47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistinesg before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:h
“See how the waters are rising in the north;i
they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
all who dwell in the land will wailj
3 at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
at the noise of enemy chariotsk
and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
their hands will hang limp.l
to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
who could help Tyrem and Sidon.n
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,o
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.a p
5 Gaza will shaveq her head in mourning;
Ashkelonr will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
how long will you cuts yourselves?
6 “ ‘Alas, swordt of the Lord,
how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
cease and be still.’u
when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”v
48 Concerning Moab:w
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe to Nebo,x for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaimy will be disgraced and captured;
the strongholda will be disgraced and shattered.
2 Moab will be praisedz no more;
in Heshbonb a people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’b
You, the people of Madmen,c will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you.
3 Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,c
cries of great havoc and destruction.
her little ones will cry out.d
5 They go up the hill to Luhith,d
weeping bitterly as they go;
on the road down to Horonaime
anguished cries over the destruction are heard.
6 Flee!f Run for your lives;
become like a bushe in the desert.g
7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches,h
you too will be taken captive,
and Chemoshi will go into exile,j
together with his priests and officials.k
8 The destroyerl will come against every town,
and not a town will escape.
The valley will be ruined
and the plateaum destroyed,
because the Lord has spoken.
9 Put saltn on Moab,
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their swordp from bloodshed!q
11 “Moab has been at restr from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,s
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamedt of Chemosh,u
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel.v
14 “How can you say, ‘We are warriors,w
men valiant in battle’?
15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;
her finest young menx will go down in the slaughter,y”
declares the King,z whose name is the Lord Almighty.a
16 “The fall of Moab is at hand;b
her calamity will come quickly.
17 Mourn for her, all who live around her,
all who know her fame;c
say, ‘How broken is the mighty scepter,d
how broken the glorious staff!’
and sit on the parched ground,e
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,f
for the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities.g
19 Stand by the road and watch,
you who live in Aroer.h
Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,
ask them, ‘What has happened?’
20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.
Waili and cry out!
Announce by the Arnonj
that Moab is destroyed.
21 Judgment has come to the plateauk—
to Holon,l Jahzahm and Mephaath,n
22 to Dibon,o Nebop and Beth Diblathaim,
23 to Kiriathaim,q Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,r
to all the townsu of Moab, far and near.
her armw is broken,”
declares the Lord.
26 “Make her drunk,x
for she has defiedy the Lord.
Let Moab wallow in her vomit;z
let her be an object of ridicule.a
27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?b
Was she caught among thieves,c
that you shake your headd in scorne
whenever you speak of her?
28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,
you who live in Moab.
Be like a dovef that makes its nest
at the mouth of a cave.g
29 “We have heard of Moab’s prideh—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtinessi of her heart.
30 I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares the Lord,
“and her boastsj accomplish nothing.
31 Therefore I wailk over Moab,
for all Moab I cry out,
I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.l
32 I weep for you, as Jazerm weeps,
you vines of Sibmah.n
Your branches spread as far as the seah;
they reached as far asi Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your ripened fruit and grapes.
from the orchards and fields of Moab.
I have stopped the flow of wineo from the presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy.p
Although there are shouts,
they are not shouts of joy.
34 “The sound of their cry rises
from Heshbonq to Elealehr and Jahaz,s
from Zoart as far as Horonaimu and Eglath Shelishiyah,
for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.v
to those who make offerings on the high placesw
and burn incensex to their gods,”
declares the Lord.
36 “So my heart lamentsy for Moab like the music of a pipe;
it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.z
The wealth they …