Jeremiah 46
Lexham English Bible
Messages Concerning Egypt
46 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. 2 Concerning Egypt: Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah.
3 “Prepare small shield and shield,
and approach for the battle!
4 Harness the horses and mount the steeds!
And take your stand with helmets!
Polish the spears!
Put on the body armor!
5 Why do I see them terrified?
They are turning back
and their warriors are beaten down.
And they have fled to a place of refuge
and they do not turn back.
Terror is from all around,” declares[a] Yahweh.
6 The swift cannot flee,
and the warrior cannot escape.
They have stumbled and they have fallen,
by the bank of the Euphrates River.
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like the rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
even like the rivers whose waters surge.
And he says, “Let me rise,
let me cover the earth,
let me destroy cities,
and the inhabitants in them.”
9 Go up, O horses,
and drive madly, O chariots,[b]
and let the warriors go forth;
Cush and Put, who wield the small shield,
and Lud, who wield and bend the bow.
10 For that day is to the Lord Yahweh of hosts
a day of retribution,
to take revenge on his foes.
And the sword will devour and be satisfied,
and it will drink its fill of their blood,
for a sacrifice is for the Lord Yahweh of hosts
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
11 Go up to Gilead and take balm,
O virgin of the daughter of Egypt.
In vain[c] you make use of many medicines;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard your shame,
and your cry of lament fills the earth.
For warrior has stumbled against warrior,
together they have fallen, the two of them.
13 The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol,
and proclaim in Memphis and in Tahpanhes,
say, ‘Take your stand and be prepared,
for the sword will devour those all around you.’
15 Why are your bulls defeated?
He did not stand because Yahweh thrust him down.
16 He multiplied the ones[d] stumbling.
Furthermore, each one fell to his neighbor,
and said, ‘Stand up, and let us return to our people
and to the land of our birth,
because of[e] the presence[f] of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 They will call there,
‘Pharaoh, the king of Egypt is but a roar,
he missed the opportunity.’[g]
18 As I live,”[h] declares[i] the king,
Yahweh of hosts is his name,
“one will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your baggage for exile,
O inhabitants[j] of the daughter of Egypt,
for Memphis will become as a horror,
and it will be destroyed, without[k] inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly from the north will come against her.
21 Even her mercenaries in her midst are like calves of fattening,
for they also have turned away,
they have fled together.
They stand not,
for the day of their calamity has come,
the time of their punishment.
22 Her sound is like a snake that glides away,
for they march in force.
And with axes they come to her
like those who chop trees.
23 They will cut down her forest,” declares[l] Yahweh,
“for it is impenetrable.[m]
Yes, they are more numerous than locusts,[n]
and they are without number.[o]
24 The daughter of Egypt will be ashamed,
she will be given into the hand of the people of the north.”
25 Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, said, “Look, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, and her gods, and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 And I will give them into the hand of the seekers of their lives,[p] and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his troops. But afterward[q] it will be inhabited, as in days of old,” declares[r] Yahweh.
27 “But as for you, my servant Jacob, you must not be afraid,
and Israel, you must not be dismayed,
for look, I am going to save you from far,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return,
and he will be quiet,
and he will be at ease,
and without one who makes him afraid.
28 You must not be afraid, my servant Jacob,” declares[s] Yahweh,
“for I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction in all the nations where I scattered you,
but you I will not make a complete destruction,
though I will chastise you to the measure,
and I will certainly not leave you unpunished.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:5 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 46:9 Hebrew “chariot”
- Jeremiah 46:11 Literally “To the vanity”
- Jeremiah 46:16 Hebrew “one”
- Jeremiah 46:16 Literally “from”
- Jeremiah 46:16 Literally “face”
- Jeremiah 46:17 Literally “he has allowed to pass over the appointed time”
- Jeremiah 46:18 Literally “Life I”
- Jeremiah 46:18 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 46:19 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Jeremiah 46:19 Literally “from there is not”
- Jeremiah 46:23 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 46:23 Literally “it cannot be searched out”
- Jeremiah 46:23 Hebrew “locust”
- Jeremiah 46:23 Literally “there is not to them a number”
- Jeremiah 46:26 Hebrew “life”
- Jeremiah 46:26 Literally “after thus”
- Jeremiah 46:26 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 46:28 Literally “a declaration of”
Jeremiah 46
King James Version
46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.
5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the Lord.
6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.
7 Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.
9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
13 The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.
14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them.
16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.
18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.
21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.
22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.
27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
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