Jeremiah 46–51

A Message About Egypt

46This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:^o

²Concerning Egypt:^p

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho^q king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish^r on the Euphrates^s River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^t son of Josiah king of Judah:

³“Prepare your shields,^u both large and small,

and march out for battle!

⁴Harness the horses,

mount the steeds!

Take your positions

with helmets on!

Polish^v your spears,

put on your armor!^w

⁵What do I see?

They are terrified,

they are retreating,

their warriors are defeated.

They flee^x in haste

without looking back,

and there is terror^y on every side,”

declares the Lord.

⁶“The swift cannot flee^z

nor the strong escape.

In the north by the River Euphrates^a

they stumble and fall.^b

⁷“Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like rivers of surging waters?^c

⁸Egypt 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

⁹Charge, you horses!

Drive furiously, you charioteers!^f

March on, you warriors—men of Cush^ag and Put who carry shields,

men of Lydia^h who draw the bow.

¹⁰But that dayⁱ belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—

a day of vengeance^j, for vengeance on his foes.

The sword will devour^k till it is satisfied,

till it has quenched its thirst with blood.^l

For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice^m

in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.ⁿ

¹¹“Go up to Gilead and get balm,^o

Virgin^p Daughter Egypt.

But you try many medicines in vain;

there is no healing^q for you.

¹²The nations will hear of your shame;

your cries will fill the earth.

One warrior will stumble over another;

both will fall^r down together.”

¹³This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon^s to attack Egypt:^t

¹⁴“Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;

proclaim it also in Memphis^u and Tahpanhes:^v

‘Take your positions and get ready,

for the sword devours^w those around you.’

¹⁵Why will your warriors be laid low?

They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.^x

¹⁶They will stumble^y repeatedly;

they will fall^z over each other.

They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back

to our own people^a and our native lands,

away from the sword of the oppressor.’^b

¹⁷There they will exclaim,

‘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 Tabor^f among the mountains,

like Carmel^g by the sea.

¹⁹Pack your belongings for exile,^h

you who live in Egypt,

for Memphisⁱ will be laid waste^j

and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

²⁰“Egypt is a beautiful heifer,

but a gadfly is coming

against her from the north.^k

²¹The mercenaries^l in her ranks

are like fattened calves.^m

They too will turn and fleeⁿ together,

they will not stand their ground,

for the day^o of disaster is coming upon them,

the time^p for them to be punished.

²²Egypt 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

²³They will chop down her forest,”

declares the Lord,

“dense though it be.

They are more numerous than locusts,^r

they cannot be counted.

²⁴Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,

given into the hands of the people of the north.^s”

²⁵The 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 gods^v and her kings, and on those who rely^w on Pharaoh. ²⁶I will give them into the hands^x of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king^y of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited^z as in times past,” declares the Lord.

²⁷“Do not be afraid,^a Jacob^b 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.

²⁸Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,

for I am with you,”^e declares the Lord.

“Though I completely destroy^f 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

47This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines^g before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:^h

²This is what the Lord says:

“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 wail^j

³at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,

at the noise of enemy chariots^k

and the rumble of their wheels.

Parents will not turn to help their children;

their hands will hang limp.^l

⁴For the day has come

to destroy all the Philistines

and to remove all survivors

who could help Tyre^m and Sidon.ⁿ

The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,^o

the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.^ap

⁵Gaza will shave^q her head in mourning;

Ashkelon^r will be silenced.

You remnant on the plain,

how long will you cut^s yourselves?

⁶“ ‘Alas, sword^t of the Lord,

how long till you rest?

Return to your sheath;

cease and be still.’^u

⁷But how can it rest

when the Lord has commanded it,

when he has ordered it

to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”^v

A Message About Moab

48:29–36pp—Isa 16:6–12

48Concerning Moab:^w

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Woe to Nebo,^x for it will be ruined.

Kiriathaim^y will be disgraced and captured;

the stronghold^a will be disgraced and shattered.

²Moab will be praised^z no more;

in Heshbon^ba 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.

³Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim,^c

cries of great havoc and destruction.

⁴Moab will be broken;

her little ones will cry out.^d

⁵They go up the hill to Luhith,^d

weeping bitterly as they go;

on the road down to Horonaim^e

anguished cries over the destruction are heard.

⁶Flee!^f Run for your lives;

become like a bush^e in the desert.^g

⁷Since 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

⁸The destroyer^l will come against every town,

and not a town will escape.

The valley will be ruined

and the plateau^m destroyed,

because the Lord has spoken.

⁹Put saltⁿ on Moab,

for she will be laid waste^f;^o

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 sword^p from bloodshed!^q

¹¹“Moab has been at rest^r 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.

¹²But days are coming,”

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.

¹³Then Moab will be ashamed^t 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’?

¹⁵Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded;

her finest young men^x 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.

¹⁷Mourn 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!’

¹⁸“Come down from your glory

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

¹⁹Stand by the road and watch,

you who live in Aroer.^h

Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping,

ask them, ‘What has happened?’

²⁰Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered.

Wailⁱ and cry out!

Announce by the Arnon^j

that Moab is destroyed.

²¹Judgment has come to the plateau^k—

to Holon,^l Jahzah^m and Mephaath,ⁿ

²²to Dibon,^o Nebo^p and Beth Diblathaim,

²³to Kiriathaim,^q Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,^r

²⁴to Kerioth^s and Bozrah^t—

to all the towns^u of Moab, far and near.

²⁵Moab’s horn^gv is cut off;

her arm^w is broken,”

declares the Lord.

²⁶“Make her drunk,^x

for she has defied^y the Lord.

Let Moab wallow in her vomit;^z

let her be an object of ridicule.^a

²⁷Was not Israel the object of your ridicule?^b

Was she caught among thieves,^c

that you shake your head^d in scorn^e

whenever you speak of her?

²⁸Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks,

you who live in Moab.

Be like a dove^f that makes its nest

at the mouth of a cave.^g

²⁹“We have heard of Moab’s pride^h—

how great is her arrogance!—

of her insolence, her pride, her conceit

and the haughtinessⁱ of her heart.

³⁰I know her insolence but it is futile,”

declares the Lord,

“and her boasts^j accomplish nothing.

³¹Therefore I wail^k over Moab,

for all Moab I cry out,

I moan for the people of Kir Hareseth.^l

³²I weep for you, as Jazer^m weeps,

you vines of Sibmah.ⁿ

Your branches spread as far as the sea^h;

they reached as far asⁱ Jazer.

The destroyer has fallen

on your ripened fruit and grapes.

³³Joy and gladness are gone

from the orchards and fields of Moab.

I have stopped the flow of wine^o 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 Heshbon^q to Elealeh^r and Jahaz,^s

from Zoar^t as far as Horonaim^u and Eglath Shelishiyah,

for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.^v

³⁵In Moab I will put an end

to those who make offerings on the high places^w

and burn incense^x to their gods,”

declares the Lord.

³⁶“So my heart laments^y for Moab like the music of a pipe;

it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.^z

The wealth they acquired^a…