Chapter 46

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

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

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

3 “aLine up the shield and 1buckler,

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 terrified,

They are adrawing back,

And their bmighty men are defeated

And have taken refuge in flight,

Without facing back;

1cTerror is on every side!”

Declares the Lord.

6 Let not the aswift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have bstumbled and fallen.

7 Who is this that arises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters surge about?

8 Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;

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

I will surely bdestroy the city and its inhabitants.”

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

That the mighty men may 2march forward:

Ethiopia and 3bPut, that handle the shield,

And the 4cLydians, that handle and bend the bow.

10 For athat day belongs to the Lord 1God of hosts,

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

And the csword will devour and be satiated

And 2drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a dslaughter for the Lord 1God of hosts,

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

11 Go aup to Gilead and obtain balm,

bO virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied 1remedies;

There is cno healing for you.

12 The nations have heard of your ashame,

And the earth is full of your bcry of distress;

For one cwarrior has stumbled over 1another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

13 This is the 1message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to bsmite the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in aMigdol,

Proclaim also in Memphis and bTahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the csword has devoured those around you.’

15 “Why have your amighty ones become prostrate?

They do not stand because the Lord has bthrust them down.

16 “They have repeatedly astumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Get up! And blet us go back

To our own people and our native land

Away from the 1csword of the oppressor.’

17 “1They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but aa big noise;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

18 “As I live,” declares the aKing

Whose name is the Lord 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 bdaughter dwelling in Egypt,

For cMemphis will become a desolation;

It will even be burned down and 1bereft of 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 too have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their calamity has come upon them,

The time of their cpunishment.

22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on 1like an army

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

23 “They have cut down her aforest,” declares the Lord;

“Surely it will no more be found,

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 1power of the apeople of the north.”

25 The Lord 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 over to the 1power of those who are aseeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his 2officers. bAfterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

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

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For, see, I am going to bsave you from afar,

And your descendants from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and be cundisturbed

And secure, with no one making him tremble.

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

“For aI am with you.

For I will make a full end of all the nations

Where I have driven you,

Yet I will bnot make a full end of you;

But I will ccorrect you properly

And by no means leave you unpunished.”