Judgment on Egypt
1 The word of theLordwhich came to Jeremiah the prophet againstthe nations.
2 AgainstEgypt.
# Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylondefeated in thefourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Order the buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
4 Harness the horses,
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth withyourhelmets,
Polish the spears,
# Put on the armor!
5 Why have I seen them dismayedandturned back?
Their mighty ones are beaten down;
They have speedily fled,
And did not look back,
# Forfearwasall around,” says theLord.
6 “Do not let the swift flee away,
Nor the mighty man escape;
# They willstumble and fall
Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.
7 “Whoisthis coming uplike a flood,
Whose waters move like the rivers?
8 Egypt rises up like a flood,
Anditswaters move like the rivers;
And he says, ‘I will go upandcover the earth,
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield,
# And the Lydianswho handleandbend the bow.
10 For thisisthe day of the LordGodof hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
# The sword shall devour;
It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood;
# For the LordGodof hostshas a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates.
11 “Goup to Gilead and take balm,
# O virgin, the daughter of Egypt;
In vain you will use many medicines;
# You shall not be cured.
12 The nations have heard of yourshame,
And your cry has filled the land;
For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;
They both have fallen together.”
Babylonia Will Strike Egypt
13 The word that theLordspoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would comeandstrike the land of Egypt.
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim inMigdol;
# Proclaim in Noph and inTahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,
For the sword devours all around you.’
15 Why are your valiantmenswept away?
They did not stand
Because theLorddrove them away.
16 He made many fall;
# Yes,one fell upon another.
And they said, ‘Arise!
# Let us go back to our own people
And to the land of our nativity
From the oppressing sword.’
17 They cried there,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt,isbuta noise.
He has passed by the appointed time!’
18 “AsI live,” says the King,
# Whose nameistheLordof hosts,
“Surely as Taborisamong the mountains
And as Carmel by the sea,sohe shall come.
19 Oyou daughter dwelling in Egypt,
# Prepare yourselfto go into captivity!
For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
20 “Egyptisa very prettyheifer,
# Butdestruction comes, it comesfrom the north.
21 Also her mercenaries are in her midst like fat bulls,
For they also are turned back,
They have fled away together.
They did not stand,
# Forthe day of their calamity had come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22 Her noise shall go like a serpent,
For they shall march with an army
And come against her with axes,
Like those who chop wood.
23 “They shallcut down her forest,” says theLord,
“Though it cannot be searched,
Because theyareinnumerable,
# And more numerous thangrasshoppers.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed;
She shall be delivered into the hand
# Ofthe people of the north.”
25 TheLordof hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on Amon ofNo, and Pharaoh and Egypt,with their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those whotrust in him.
26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants.Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says theLord.
God Will Preserve Israel
27 “Butdo not fear, O My servant Jacob,
And do not be dismayed, O Israel!
# For behold, I willsave you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity;
Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease;
No one shall makehimafraid.
28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says theLord,
“For Iamwith you;
For I will make a complete end of all the nations
To which I have driven you,
# But I will not makea complete end of you.
# I will rightlycorrect you,
For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”