46
Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold
1 That which came as the word of the Loʀᴅ to Jeremiah the prophet
Aconcerning the nations.
2 To
AEgypt, concerning the army of
BPharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at
CCarchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the
Dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “
ALine up the shield and
1buckler,
And draw near for the battle!
4 “Harness the horses,
And take your stand with helmets on!
5 “Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
And their
Bmighty men are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back;
1CTerror is on every side!”
Declares the Loʀᴅ.
6 Let not the
Aswift man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have
Bstumbled and fallen.
7 Who is this that
Arises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge about?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;
And He has said, “I will
Arise and cover
that land;
I will surely
Bdestroy the city and its inhabitants.”
9 Go up, you horses, and
1Adrive madly, you chariots,
That the mighty men may
2march forward:
Ethiopia and
3BPut, that handle the shield,
And the
4CLydians, that handle
and bend the bow.
10 For
Athat day belongs to the Lord
1Goᴅ of hosts,
A day of
Bvengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the
Csword will devour and be satiated
And
2drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a
Dslaughter for the Lord
1Goᴅ of hosts,
In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
11 Go
Aup to Gilead and obtain balm,
BO virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied
1remedies;
There is
Cno healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your
Ashame,
And the earth is full of your
Bcry
of distress; For one
Cwarrior has stumbled over
1another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13 This is the
1message which the Loʀᴅ spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the
Acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to
Bsmite the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in
AMigdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and
BTahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the
Csword has devoured those around you.’
15 “Why have your
Amighty ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the Loʀᴅ has
Bthrust them down.
16 “They have repeatedly
Astumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up! And
Blet us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the
1Csword of the oppressor.’
17 “
1They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt
is but Aa big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 “As I live,” declares the
AKing
Whose name is the Loʀᴅ of hosts,
“Surely one shall come
who looms up like
BTabor among the mountains,
Or like
CCarmel by the sea.
19 “Make your baggage ready for
Aexile,
O
Bdaughter dwelling in Egypt,
For
CMemphis will become a desolation;
It will even be burned down
and 1bereft of inhabitants.
20 “Egypt is a pretty
Aheifer,
But a
1horsefly is coming
Bfrom the north—it is coming!
21 “Also her
Amercenaries in her midst
Are like
1fattened
Bcalves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their
Cpunishment.
22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on
1like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 “They have cut down her
Aforest,” declares the Loʀᴅ;
“Surely it will no more be found,
Even though
1they are
now more numerous than
Blocusts
And are without number.
24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the
1power of the
Apeople of the north.”
25 The Loʀᴅ of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of
AThebes, and
BPharaoh, and Egypt along with her
Cgods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who
Dtrust in him.
26 “I shall give them over to the
1power of those who are
Aseeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his
2officers.
BAfterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Loʀᴅ.
27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant,
Ado not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For, see, I am going to
Bsave you from afar,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be
Cundisturbed
And secure, with no one making him tremble.
28 “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Loʀᴅ,
For I will make a full end of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will
Bnot make a full end of you;
But I will
Ccorrect you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”