Jeremiah 46
46
1 #
Is 19; Ezek 29—32; Zech 14.18-19. The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
polish your spears,
put on your coats of mail!
5 #
Jer 6.25; 20.3,10; 49.29; Ps 31.13. Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their warriors are beaten down,
and have fled in haste;
they look not back—
terror on every side!
says the Lord.
6The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
in the north by the river Euphrates
they have stumbled and fallen.
7“Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
8Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
He said, I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.
9Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go forth:
men of Ethiopia and Put who handle the shield,
men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
a day of vengeance,
to avenge himself on his foes.
The sword shall devour and be sated,
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice
in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
in vain you have used many medicines;
there is no healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13The word which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:
14“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for the sword shall devour round about you.’
15Why has Apis fled?#46.15 Gk: Heb Why was it swept away
Why did not your bull stand?
Because the Lord thrust him down.
16Your multitude stumbled#46.16 Gk: Heb He made many stumble and fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18“As I live, says the King,
whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like Tabor among the mountains,
and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O inhabitants of Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, without inhabitant.
20“A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
but a gadfly from the north has come upon her.
21Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like fatted calves;
yea, they have turned and fled together,
they did not stand;
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
the time of their punishment.
22“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force,
and come against her with axes,
like those who fell trees.
23They shall cut down her forest,
says the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame,
she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”
25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the Lord.
27“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for lo, I will save you from afar,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
says 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.
I will chasten you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Jeremiah 46
46
You Vainly Collect Medicines
1 God’s Messages through the prophet Jeremiah regarding the godless nations.
2-5The Message to Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt at the time it was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon while camped at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah:
“‘Present arms!
March to the front!
Harness the horses!
Up in the saddles!
Battle formation! Helmets on,
spears sharpened, armor in place!’
But what’s this I see?
They’re scared out of their wits!
They break ranks and run for cover.
Their soldiers panic.
They run this way and that,
stampeding blindly.
It’s total chaos, total confusion, danger everywhere!”
God’s Decree.
6“The swiftest runners won’t get away,
the strongest soldiers won’t escape.
In the north country, along the River Euphrates,
they’ll stagger, stumble, and fall.
7-9“Who is this like the Nile in flood?
like its streams torrential?
Why, it’s Egypt like the Nile in flood,
like its streams torrential,
Saying, ‘I’ll take over the world.
I’ll wipe out cities and peoples.’
Run, horses!
Roll, chariots!
Advance, soldiers
from Cush and Put with your shields,
Soldiers from Lud,
experts with bow and arrow.
10“But it’s not your day. It’s the Master’s, me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—
the day when I have it out with my enemies,
The day when Sword puts an end to my enemies,
when Sword exacts vengeance.
I, the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will pile them on an altar—a huge sacrifice!—
In the great north country,
along the mighty Euphrates.
11-12“Oh, virgin Daughter Egypt,
climb into the mountains of Gilead, get healing balm.
You will vainly collect medicines,
for nothing will be able to cure what ails you.
The whole world will hear your anguished cries.
Your wails fill the earth,
As soldier falls against soldier
and they all go down in a heap.”
Egypt’s Army Slithers Like a Snake
13The Message that God gave to the prophet Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was on his way to attack Egypt:
14“Tell Egypt, alert Migdol,
post warnings in Noph and Tahpanhes:
‘Wake up! Be prepared!
War’s coming!’
15-19“Why will your bull-god Apis run off?
Because God will drive him off.
Your ragtag army will fall to pieces.
The word is passing through the ranks,
‘Let’s get out of here while we still can.
Let’s head for home and save our skins.’
When they get home they’ll nickname Pharaoh
‘Big-Talk-Bad-Luck.’
As sure as I am the living God”
—the King’s Decree, God-of-the-Angel-Armies is his name—
“A conqueror is coming: like Tabor, singular among mountains;
like Carmel, jutting up from the sea!
So pack your bags for exile,
you coddled daughters of Egypt,
For Memphis will soon be nothing,
a vacant lot grown over with weeds.
20-21“Too bad, Egypt, a beautiful sleek heifer
attacked by a horsefly from the north!
All her hired soldiers are stationed to defend her—
like well-fed calves they are.
But when their lives are on the line, they’ll run off,
cowards every one.
When the going gets tough,
they’ll take the easy way out.
22-24“Egypt will slither and hiss like a snake
as the enemy army comes in force.
They will rush in, swinging axes
like lumberjacks cutting down trees.
They’ll level the country”—God’s Decree—“nothing
and no one standing for as far as you can see.
The invaders will be a swarm of locusts,
innumerable, past counting.
Daughter Egypt will be ravished,
raped by vandals from the north.”
25-26 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Watch out when I visit doom on the god Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I’ll turn them over to those who are out to kill them, to Nebuchadnezzar and his military. Egypt will be set back a thousand years. Eventually people will live there again.” God’s Decree.
* * *
27-28“But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.
Israel, there’s no need to worry.
Look up! I’ll save you from that far country,
I’ll get your children out of the land of exile.
Things are going to be normal again for Jacob,
safe and secure, smooth sailing.
Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear.
Depend on it, I’m on your side.
I’ll finish off all the godless nations
among which I’ve scattered you,
But I won’t finish you off.
I have more work left to do on you.
I’ll punish you, but fairly.
No, I’m not finished with you yet.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.