Jeremiah 46
46
Prophecies Against the Nations
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet 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 Nebuchadnezzar king 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;
draw near for battle!
4Harness the horses;
mount the steeds; # 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
like rivers whose waters churn?
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 go out —
Cush and Put, # Gn 10:6; Ezk 30:5
who are able to handle shields,
and the Ludim, # 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 Hosts,
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 Hosts,
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 outcry fills the earth,
because warrior stumbles against warrior
and together both of them have fallen.
13This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king 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 the land of our birth,
away from the sword that oppresses.” # 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;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name. # Jr 48:15; 51:57
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. # 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, # Lit Her sound, she will go like a snake
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 Hosts, 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 want to take their lives # Jr 44:30; Ezk 32:11 — to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, # Ezk 29:8-14 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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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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.