Jeremiah 46

¹ This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:

² Concerning Egypt:
This is about the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt,
which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River
by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

³ "Prepare your shields, large and small,
and march out for battle!

⁴ Harness the horses;
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!

⁵ But what do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,
declares the LORD.

⁶ The swift cannot flee,
nor can the strong escape.
In the north by the Euphrates River
they stumble and fall.

⁷ Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?

⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, 'I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.'

⁹ Charge, O horses!
Drive furiously, O charioteers!
March on, O warriors —
men of Cush and Put who carry the shield,
men of Lydia who draw and string the bow.

¹⁰ But this day belongs to the Lord, the LORD of hosts —
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north
by the River Euphrates.

¹¹ Go up to Gilead and get balm,
O virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you multiply remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.

¹² The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth,
for warrior stumbles against warrior;
both fall down together.

¹³ This is the message the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:

¹⁴ "Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
'Take your positions and prepare yourself,
for the sword devours those around you.'

¹⁵ Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the LORD will push them down.

¹⁶ He multiplies the stumbling;
they fall over each other.
They say, 'Rise up! Let us go back
to our own people and our native land,
away from the sword of the oppressor.'

¹⁷ There they cry out:
'Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.'

¹⁸ "As surely as I live, declares the King,
whose name is the LORD of hosts,
one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.

¹⁹ Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

²⁰ Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a horsefly is coming against her from the north.

²¹ The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves;
they too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.

²² Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.

²³ They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD,
dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted.

²⁴ Daughter Egypt will be put to shame;
she will be given into the hands
of the people of the north.

²⁵ The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt with her gods and her kings, and those who rely on Pharaoh.

²⁶ I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them — Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But afterward, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past, declares the LORD.

²⁷ "Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make them afraid.

²⁸ Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you, declares the LORD.
Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished."