Judgment on Egypt
The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet aconcerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. aConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in bthe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 a“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 aHarness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
bpolish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their awarriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
bthey look not back—
cterror on every side!
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
ain the north by the river Euphrates
bthey have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, arising like the Nile,
like rivers bwhose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers awhose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 aAdvance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and bPut who handle the shield,
cmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 aThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
ba day of vengeance,
cto avenge himself on his foes.
dThe sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ea sacrifice
fin the north country gby the river Euphrates.
11 aGo up to Gilead, and take abalm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
bthere is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
afor warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in aMigdol;
proclaim in aMemphis and aTahpanhes;
say, b‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for cthe sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, aand they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
bbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of aPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 a“As I live, declares the King,
bwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like cTabor among the mountains
and like dCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 aPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O binhabitants of Egypt!
For cMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, dwithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful aheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly bfrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like afattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
bthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes aa sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
blike those who fell trees.
23 aThey shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because bthey are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of aa people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon aAmon of bThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt cand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 aI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. bAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited cas in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 a“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 aFear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
bI will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”