Jeremiah 46

Judgment on Egypt

1 The word of the  Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet a concerning the nations.

2 About Egypt. b Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in c the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3  d “Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
 4  e Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
f polish your spears,
put on your armor!
 5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their g warriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
h they look not back—
i terror on every side!

declares the  Lord.
 6  “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
j in the north by the river Euphrates
k they have stumbled and fallen.
 7  “Who is this, l rising like the Nile,
like rivers m whose waters surge?
 8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers n whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
 9  o Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and p Put who handle the shield,
q men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
 10  r That day is the day of the Lord  God of hosts,
s a day of vengeance,
t to avenge himself on his foes.
u The sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord  God of hosts holds v a sacrifice
w in the north country x by the river Euphrates.
 11  y Go up to Gilead, and take z balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
aa there is no healing for you.
 12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
ab for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”

13 The word that the  Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ac Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14  “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ad Migdol;
proclaim in ae Memphis and af Tahpanhes;
say, ag ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for ah the sword shall devour around you.’
 15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand ▼
▼ Hebrew He does not stand

because the  Lord thrust them down.
 16 He made many stumble aj and they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
ak because of the sword of the oppressor.’
 17 Call the name of al Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
 18  am “As I live, declares the King,
an whose name is the  Lord of hosts,
like ao Tabor among the mountains
and like ap Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
 19  aq Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ar inhabitants of Egypt!
For as Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin at without inhabitant.
 20  “A beautiful au heifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly av from the north has come upon her.
 21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like aw fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
ax the time of their punishment.
 22  “She makes ay a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
az like those who fell trees.
 23  ba They shall cut down her forest,

declares the  Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because bb they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of bc a people from the north.”

25 The  Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon bd Amon of be Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt bf and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26  bg I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. bh Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited bi as in the days of old, declares the  Lord.

27  bj “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
 28  bk Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

declares the  Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
bl I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
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