Jeremiah 46
46
ORACLES CONCERNING THE NATIONS
1This is what the LORD told the prophet Jeremiah concerning the nations.
Prophecy against Egypt
2About Egypt! A message for the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king, which was defeated by Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son:
3Grab your shields
and prepare for war!
4Saddle the horses;
mount the stallions!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears;
put on your armor!
5Why do I see them terrified,
retreating in haste?
Their soldiers are crushed,
running for cover,
and they don’t turn back.
Panic lurks at every turn,
declares the LORD.
6The swift can’t flee;
the mighty can’t escape.
Up north by the Euphrates River,
they stagger and fall.
7Who is this that rises like the Nile,
whose banks overflow?#46.7 Or like rivers whose waters roar
8It’s Egypt that rises like the Nile,
whose banks overflow,#46.8 Or like rivers whose waters roar
who declares, “I will arise
and cover the earth
and destroy cities and inhabitants.”
9Charge, you horses;
advance, you chariots!
Attack, you soldiers
with your shield in hand,
you people of Cush and Put#46.9 Traditionally Ethiopia and Libya
with your bow drawn,
you archers from Lud.
10But that day belongs to the
LORD God of heavenly forces;
it’s a day of reckoning,
settling scores with enemies.
The sword will devour
until it has had its fill of blood.
The LORD God of heavenly forces
is preparing a sacrifice in the north
by the Euphrates River.
11Go up to Gilead and seek balm,
virgin Daughter Egypt.
You search out remedies in vain,
for your disease is incurable.
12Nations hear of your shame;
the earth is filled with your sobs.
Soldier stumbles over soldier;
together they go down.
13This is the word that the LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the military offensive of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar against the land of Egypt:
14Tell Egypt, warn Migdol,
alert Memphis and Tahpanhes!
Say: “Brace yourselves for what’s coming.
War is breaking out from every side!”
15Why have your mighty fallen?
Why haven’t they stood their ground?
Because the LORD has struck them down.
16He’s tripped them up;
they fall over each other and say,
“Let’s get out of here
and go home to our people,
where we were born,
far away from the oppressor’s sword.”#46.16 Heb uncertain
17There they call Pharaoh, Egypt’s king,
Loudmouth—Nothing But Hot Air!
18As I live, declares the king,
whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces,
one is coming
just as surely as Tabor is in the mountains
and Carmel is by the sea.#46.18 Heb uncertain
19Get what you need for deportation,
you inhabitants of Egypt.#46.19 Or inhabitant, Daughter Egypt
Memphis will be reduced to a wasteland,
a ruin with no one left.
20Egypt is a beautiful, yes, beautiful heifer,
but a horsefly from the north
is coming to bite her.#46.20 Heb uncertain
21Even her mercenaries
are like well-fed calves;
they too will retreat and run for cover;
they won’t survive.
The day of disaster has come to haunt them,
the time of their punishment.
22Like the sound of a snake hissing
as it slithers away
is Egypt#46.22 Heb lacks is Egypt. as armies approach in force;
they come against her with axes,
like woodcutters.
23They destroy her dense forest,
though it is vast,
because they outnumber locusts
and can’t be counted,
declares the LORD.
24Daughter Egypt will be humiliated,
handed over to people from the north.
25This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I’m going to punish Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, as well as Pharaoh and all who rely on him. 26I will hand them over to those who seek to kill them, namely Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and his servants. But afterward Egypt will dwell like it did a long time ago, declares the LORD.
27But don’t be afraid, my servant Judah;
don’t lose heart, Israel.
I will deliver you from a faraway place
and your children from the land of their exile.
My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
with no one harassing them.
28So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
declares the LORD.
I’m with you;
I will put an end to all the nations
where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
I won’t let you avoid punishment;
I will discipline you as you deserve.
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 46
46
Egypt's Defeat at Carchemish
1The LORD spoke to me about the nations, 2#Is 19.1–25; Ezek 29.1—32.32beginning with Egypt. This is what he said about the army of King Neco of Egypt, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated at Carchemish near the River Euphrates in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah:
3“The Egyptian officers shout,
‘Get your shields ready
and march into battle!
4Harness your horses and mount them!
Fall in line and put on your helmets!
Sharpen your spears!
Put on your armour!’
5“But what do I see?” asks the LORD.
“They are turning back in terror.
Their soldiers are beaten back;
overcome with fear, they run as fast as they can
and do not look back.
6Those who run fast cannot get away;
the soldiers cannot escape.
In the north, by the Euphrates,
they stumble and fall.
7Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like a river flooding its banks?
8It is Egypt, rising like the Nile,
like a river flooding its banks.
Egypt said, ‘I will rise and cover the world;
I will destroy cities and the people who live there.
9Command the horses to go
and the chariots to roll!
Send out the soldiers:
men from Ethiopia#46.9 Ethiopia: See Word List. and Libya, carrying shields,
and skilled archers from Lydia.’ ”
10This is the day of the Sovereign LORD Almighty:
today he will take revenge;
today he will punish his enemies.
His sword will eat them until it is full,
and drink their blood until it is satisfied.
Today the Almighty sacrifices his victims
in the north, by the Euphrates.
11People of Egypt, go to Gilead#46.11 Gilead: See 8.22.
and look for medicine!
All your medicine has proved useless;
nothing can heal you.
12Nations have heard of your shame;
everyone has heard you cry.
One soldier trips over another,
and both of them fall to the ground.
The Coming of Nebuchadnezzar
13 #
Jer 43.10–13
When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came to attack Egypt, the LORD spoke to me. He said,
14“Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt,
in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes:
‘Get ready to defend yourselves;
all you have will be destroyed in war!
15Why has your mighty god Apis fallen?
The LORD has struck him down!’
16Your soldiers have stumbled and fallen;#46.16 Probable text Your soldiers… fallen; Hebrew unclear.
each one says to the other,
‘Hurry! Let's go home to our people
and escape the enemy's sword!’
17“Give the king of Egypt a new name —
‘Noisy Braggart who Missed his Chance’.
18I, the LORD Almighty, am king.
I am the living God.
As Mount Tabor towers above the mountains
and Mount Carmel stands high above the sea,
so will be the strength of the one who attacks you.
19Get ready to be taken prisoner,
you people of Egypt!
Memphis will be made a desert,
a ruin where no one lives.
20Egypt is like a splendid cow,
attacked by a stinging fly from the north.
21Even her hired soldiers
are helpless as calves.
They did not stand and fight;
all of them turned and ran.
The day of their doom had arrived,
the time of their destruction.
22Egypt runs away, hissing like a snake,
as the enemy's army approaches.
They attack her with axes,
like men cutting down trees
23and destroying a thick forest.
Their men are too many to count;
their soldiers outnumber the locusts.
24The people of Egypt are put to shame;
they are conquered by the people of the north.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
25The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “I am going to punish Amon, the god of Thebes, together with Egypt and its gods and kings. I am going to take the king of Egypt and all who put their trust in him, 26and hand them over to those who want to kill them, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. But later on, people will live in Egypt again, as they did in times past. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
The LORD will Save his People
27 #
Jer 30.10–11
“My people, do not be afraid,
people of Israel, do not be terrified.
I will rescue you from that distant land,
from the land where you are prisoners.
You will come back home and live in peace;
you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.
28I will come to you and save you.
I will destroy all the nations
where I have scattered you,
but I will not destroy you.
I will not let you go unpunished;
but when I punish you, I will be fair.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.