Word Against Egypt

1That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2To Egypt, concerning the military force of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3“Arrange the shield and large shield,

And draw near for the battle!

4Harness the horses,

And [†]mount the steeds,

And take your stand with helmets on!

Polish the spears,

Put on the scale-armor!

5Why have I seen it?

They are shattered;

They are drawing back,

And their mighty men are crushed

And have fled to refuge,

Without facing back;

[†]Terror is on every side!”

Declares Yahweh.

6Let not the swift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have stumbled and fallen.

7Who is this that rises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters toss about?

8Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters toss about;

And He has said, “I will rise and cover that land;

I will surely cause the city to perish, as well as its inhabitants.”

9Go up, you horses, and [†]drive madly, you chariots,

That the mighty men may go forth:

[†]Ethiopia and [†]Put, who seize the shield,

And the [†]Lydians, who seize and bend the bow.

10Indeed, that day belongs to Lord Yahweh of hosts,

A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His adversaries;

And the sword will devour and be satiated

And [†]drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a sacrifice to Lord Yahweh of hosts

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

11Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied [†]remedies;

There is no healing for you.

12The nations have heard of your disgrace,

And the earth is full of your outcry;

For one warrior has stumbled over [†]another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

13This is the [†]message which Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike down the land of Egypt:

14“Declare in Egypt and cause it to be heard in Migdol;

Cause it to be heard also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the sword has devoured those around you.’

15Why are your mighty ones thrown down?

They do not stand because Yahweh has thrust them down.

16They have repeatedly stumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Rise up! And let us return

To our own people and land of our birth

Away from the [†]sword of the oppressor.’

17[†]They called out there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a rumbling;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

18As I live,” declares the King

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts,

“Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains,

Or like Carmel by the sea.

19Make your baggage ready for exile,

O inhabitant of the daughter of Egypt,

For Memphis will become a desolation;

It will even be turned into ruin and without inhabitants.

20Egypt is a pretty heifer,

But a [†]horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!

21Also her mercenaries in her midst

Are like [†]fattened calves,

For even they have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their disaster has come upon them,

The time of their punishment.

22Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on [†]like a military force

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

23They have cut down her forest,” declares Yahweh;

“Surely it will no longer be searched out,

Even though [†]they are now more numerous than locusts

And are without number.

24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,

Given over to the hand of the people of the north.”

25Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26I shall give them into the hand of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. Afterwards, however, it will be dwelt in like in the days of old,” declares Yahweh.

27“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear,

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For behold, I am going to save you from afar,

And your seed from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and have quiet

And be at ease, with no one making him tremble.

28O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares Yahweh,

“For I am with you.

For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations

Where I have banished you,

Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you;

But I will discipline you with justice

And by no means leave you unpunished.”