Jeremiah 46
46
The Lord Speaks to Jeremiah about the Nations
1The Lord often told me what to say about the different nations of the world.
What the Lord Says about Egypt
2 #
Is 19.1-25; Ez 29.1—32.32. In the fourth year that Jehoiakim#46.2 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3. was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar#46.2 King Nebuchadnezzar: Ruled 605–562 b.c. At the time of the battle in 605 b.c., he was crown prince, but his father died a few months later, and he became king. of Babylonia defeated King Neco of Egypt#46.2 King Neco of Egypt: Neco II, ruled 609–594 b.c. in a battle at the city of Carchemish near the Euphrates River. And here is what the Lord told me to say about the Egyptian army:
3It's time to go into battle!
So grab your shields,
4saddle your horses,
and polish your spears.
Put on your helmets and armor,
then take your positions.
5I can see the battle now—
you are defeated
and running away,
never once looking back.
Terror is all around.
6You are strong and run fast,
but you can't escape.
You fall in battle
near the Euphrates River.
7What nation is this,
that rises like the Nile River
overflowing its banks?
8It is Egypt, rising with a roar
like a raging river
and saying,
“I'll flood the earth,
destroying cities, and killing
everyone in them.”
9Go ahead, Egypt.
Tell your chariots and cavalry
to attack and fight hard.
Order your troops to march out,
with Ethiopians#46.9 Ethiopians: See the note at 38.7,8. and Libyans
carrying shields,
and the Lydians#46.9 Lydians: Probably hired soldiers from Lydia, an area in west-central Asia minor. armed with bows
and arrows.
10But the Lord All-Powerful
will win this battle
and take revenge
on his enemies.
His sword will eat them
and drink their blood
until it is full.
They will be killed in the north
near the Euphrates River,
as a sacrifice to the Lord.
11Egypt, no medicine can heal you,
not even the soothing lotion
from Gilead.
12All nations have heard you weep;
you are disgraced,
and they know it.
Your troops fall to the ground,
stumbling over each other.
A Warning for Egypt
13-14 #
Jr 43.10-13. When King Nebuchadnezzar#46.13,14 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. of Babylonia was on his way to attack Egypt, the Lord sent me with a warning for every Egyptian town, but especially for Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. He said to tell them:
Prepare to defend yourselves!
Everywhere in your nation,
people are dying in war.
15I have struck down
your mighty god Apis#46.15 Apis: A sacred bull, kept in a temple at Memphis, Egypt, and worshiped as a god.
and chased him away.#46.15 I have … him away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16Your soldiers stumble
over each other
and say, “Get up!
The enemy will kill us,
unless we can escape
to our own land.”
17Give the king of Egypt
this new name,
“Talks-Big-Does-Nothing.”
18Egypt, I am the true king,
the Lord All-Powerful,
and as surely as I live,
those enemies who attack
will tower over you
like Mount Tabor among the hills
or Mount Carmel by the sea.
19You will be led away captive,
so pack a few things
to bring with you.
Your capital, Memphis,
will lie empty and in ruins.
20An enemy from the north
will attack you, beautiful Egypt,
like a fly biting a cow.
21The foreign soldiers you hired
will turn and run.
But they are doomed,
like well-fed calves
being led to the butcher.
* 22The enemy army will go forward
like a swarm of locusts.#46.22 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.
Your troops will feel helpless,
like a snake in a forest
23when men with axes
start chopping down trees.
It can only hiss
and try to escape.
24Your people will be disgraced
and captured by the enemy
from the north.
25I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. Soon I will punish the god Amon of Thebes#46.25 the god Amon of Thebes: Amon was the king of the Egyptian gods and was the special god of the Egyptian kings. and the other Egyptian gods, the Egyptian kings, the people of Egypt, and everyone who trusts in the Egyptian power. 26I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. But I also promise that Egypt will someday have people living here again, just as it had before. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Will Bring Israel Home
The Lord said:
27 #
Jr 30.10,11. Israel,#46.27 Israel: See the note at 30.10. don't be afraid.
Someday I will bring you home
from foreign lands.
You and your descendants
will live in peace and safety,
with nothing to fear.
28So don't be afraid,
even though now
you deserve to be punished
and have been scattered
among other nations.
But when I destroy them,
I will protect you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
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Jeremiah 46: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 46
46
1This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations:#Jr 25:15–38
Prophecies against Egypt
2About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king,#2Kg 23:29 which was defeated at Carchemish#2Ch 35:20 on the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:#Jr 45:1
3Deploy small shields#Jr 49:14; Ob 1 and large;
approach for battle!
4Harness the horses;
mount the steeds;#46:4 Or mount up, riders
take your positions with helmets on!
Polish the lances;
put on armor!#Jb 41:13; Jr 51:3
5Why have I seen this?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are crushed,
they flee headlong,
they never look back,
terror is on every side!#Jr 6:25; 20:3–4,10; 49:29
This is the Lord’s declaration.
6The swift cannot flee,
and the warrior cannot escape!#Am 2:14
In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River,
they stumble and fall.#Dn 11:19
7Who is this, rising like the Nile,#Jr 47:2
with waters that churn like rivers?
8Egypt rises like the Nile,#Am 8:8
and its waters churn like rivers.
He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;
I will destroy cities with their residents.”
9Rise up, you cavalry!
Race furiously, you chariots!
Let the warriors march out —
Cush and Put,#Gn 10:6; Ezk 30:5
who are able to handle shields,
and the men of Lud,#Gn 10:13; 1Ch 1:11
who are able to handle and string the bow.#Is 66:19
10That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies,
a day of vengeance to avenge himself
against his adversaries.
The sword will devour and be satisfied;
it will drink its fill of their blood,
because it will be a sacrifice#Is 34:5–8; Ezk 39:17–20; Zph 1:7 to the Lord, the God of Armies,
in the northern land by the Euphrates River.#Zph 1:7
11Go up to Gilead and get balm,#Gn 37:25; Jr 8:22; 51:8
Virgin Daughter Egypt!
You have multiplied remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your dishonor,#Jr 13:26; Hs 4:7; Nah 3:5
and your cries fill the earth,
because warrior stumbles against warrior
and together both of them have fallen.
13This is the word the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:#Jr 43:8–13
14Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol!#Jr 2:16; 43:7–9; 44:1
Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes!
Say, “Take positions! Prepare yourself,
for the sword devours all around you.”#Jr 46:10
15Why have your strong ones been swept away?
Each has not stood,
for the Lord has thrust him down.
16He continues to stumble.#Lv 26:36–37
Indeed, each falls over the other.
They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people
and to our native land,
away from the oppressor’s sword.”#Jr 50:16
17There they will cry out,
“Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;
he let the opportune moment pass.”
18As I live —
this is the King’s declaration;
the Lord of Armies is his name#Jr 48:15; 51:57 —
the king of Babylon#46:18 Lit He will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
19Get your bags ready for exile,
inhabitant of Daughter Egypt!#Jr 48:18
For Memphis will become a desolation,
uninhabited ruins.
20Egypt is a beautiful young cow,#Hs 10:11
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.#46:20 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read is coming, coming#Jr 1:13–14
21Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.#Jr 50:27,31
22Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake,#46:22 Lit Her sound is like a snake as it goes
for the enemy will come with an army;
with axes they will come against her
like those who cut trees.#Ps 74:5
23They will cut down her forest —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
though it is dense,
for they are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted.#Jdg 6:5; 7:12
24Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
handed over to a northern people.#Jr 1:15
25The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes,#Ezk 30:14–16 along with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings — Pharaoh and those trusting in him. 26I will hand them over to those who intend to take their lives#Jr 44:30; Ezk 32:11 — to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers. But after this,#Ezk 29:8–14 Egypt#46:26 Lit it will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Reassurance for Israel
27But you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid,#Is 41:8; 44:2; 45:4
and do not be discouraged, Israel,
for without fail I will save you from far away,
and your descendants from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have calm and quiet
with no one to frighten him.
28And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
for I will be with you.#Jr 1:8,19; 30:11; 42:11
I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have banished you,
but I will not bring destruction on you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.#Jr 30:10–11
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