46:1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
46:2 Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
46:3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle!
46:4 Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor!
46:5 What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side,” declares the LORD.
46:6 “The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters?
46:8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people.’
46:9 Charge, O horses! Drive furiously, O charioteers! March on, O warriors–men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow.
46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the LORD Almighty–a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
46:11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt. But you multiply remedies in vain; there is no healing for you.
46:12 The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together.”
46:13 This is the message the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
46:14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.’
46:15 Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD will push them down.
46:16 They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
46:17 There they will exclaim, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.’
46:18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty, “one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea.
46:19 Pack your belongings for exile, you who live in Egypt, for Memphis will be laid waste and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
46:20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north.
46:21 The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them, the time for them to be punished.
46:22 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.
46:23 They will chop down her forest,” declares the LORD, “dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted.
46:24 The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, handed over to the people of the north.”
46:25 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.
46:26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the LORD.
46:27 “Do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.
46:28 Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the LORD. “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
46:1 The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
46:2 Concerning Egypt: Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon struck down in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:
46:3 Prepare the buckler and shield, / And draw near to battle.
46:4 Harness the horses, / And mount the steeds; / And take your stand with helmets on; / Polish the spears; / Put on the armor.
46:5 Why have I seen it? / They are dismayed; / They are turning backward; / And their mighty men are crushed and flee in hasty flight, / And they do not look back; terror is on every side, / Declares Jehovah.
46:6 Let not the swift one flee away / And the mighty man escape; / In the north by the river Euphrates / They have stumbled and fallen.
46:7 Who is this who rises up like the Nile, / Like rivers whose waters surge?
46:8 Egypt rises up like the Nile, / Even like rivers whose waters surge. / And he says, I will rise up and will cover the land; / I will destroy the city and the inhabitants in it.
46:9 Go up, O horses, / And drive furiously, O chariots; / And let the mighty men go forth: / Cush and Put, who handle the shield, / And the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.
46:10 For this day belongs to the Lord Jehovah of hosts, / A day of vengeance to avenge Himself on His adversaries; / And the sword will devour and be satisfied, / And it will drink its fill of their blood; / For there is a sacrifice to the Lord Jehovah of hosts / In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
46:11 Go up to Gilead and take balm, / O virgin daughter of Egypt. / In vain you have used many medicines ? / There is no healing for you.
46:12 The nations have heard of your disgrace, / And your cry has filled the earth; / For mighty man has stumbled against mighty man; / Both of them have fallen together.
46:13 The word which Jehovah spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
46:14 Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; / Proclaim also in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. / Say, Take your stand, and prepare yourself; / For the sword has devoured all around you.
46:15 Why are your mighty men prostrate? / He does not stand, because Jehovah has cast him down.
46:16 He made many stumble; / A man even fell against his neighbor; / And they said, Arise and let us return / To our own people and to the land of our birth, / Away from the sword of the oppressor.
46:17 There they cried, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is but a noise; / He has let the appointed time pass by.
46:18 As I live, says the King, / Whose name is Jehovah of hosts, / Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, / And Carmel is by the sea, so he will come.
46:19 Prepare for yourself baggage for captivity, / O inhabitant, O daughter of Egypt; / For Memphis will become a waste, / And it will be burned, without inhabitant.
46:20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer; / A gadfly from the north has come on her.
46:21 Also her hired men in her midst / Are like fattened calves. / But they have also turned back; / They have fled together; they did not stand. / For the day of their calamity has come on them, / The time of their punishment.
46:22 Her sound is like that of a serpent going away; / For they go forth in force, / And with axes they come against her, / Like those who fell trees.
46:23 They will cut down her forest, declares Jehovah, / Although it is impenetrable; / For they are more numerous than locusts / And are without number.
46:24 The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; / She is given into the hand of a people from the north.
46:25 Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, says, I will punish Amon of No and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
46:26 And I will give them into the hand of those who seek their life, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants; and afterward she will be inhabited as in the days of old, declares Jehovah.
46:27 But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear; / And do not be dismayed, O Israel. / For indeed I will save you from afar / And your seed from the land of their captivity; / And Jacob will return and be undisturbed / And at ease, and no one will frighten him.
46:28 As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, declares Jehovah, / For I am with you; / For I will make a full end of all the nations / To which I have driven you; / Yet I will not make a full end of you, / But will correct you in measure / And will by no means leave you unpunished.