Judgment on Egypt

The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against ^athe nations. 2 Against ^aEgypt.
^bConcerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^cdefeated in the ^dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3

“Order¹ the ²buckler and shield,

And draw near to battle!

4

Harness the horses,

And mount up, you horsemen!

Stand forth with your helmets,

Polish the spears,

^aPut on the armor!

5

Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back?

Their mighty ones are beaten down;

They have speedily fled,

And did not look back,

For ^afear was all around,” says the Lord.

6

“Do not let the swift flee away,

Nor the mighty man escape;

They will ^astumble and fall

Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

7

“Who is this coming up ^alike a flood,

Whose waters move like the rivers?

8

Egypt rises up like a flood,

And its waters move like the rivers;

And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth,

I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’

9

Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!

And let the mighty men come forth:

¹The Ethiopians and ²the Libyans who handle the shield,

And the Lydians ^awho handle and bend the bow.

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For this is ^athe day of the Lord God of hosts,

A day of vengeance,

That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.

^bThe sword shall devour;

It shall be ¹satiated and made drunk with their blood;

For the Lord God of hosts ^chas a sacrifice

In the north country by the River Euphrates.

11

“Go^a up to Gilead and take balm,

^bO virgin, the daughter of Egypt;

In vain you will use many medicines;

^cYou shall not be cured.

12

The nations have heard of your ^ashame,

And your cry has filled the land;

For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;

They both have fallen together.”

Babylonia Will Strike Egypt

13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and ^astrike the land of Egypt.

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“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^aMigdol;

Proclaim in ¹Noph and in ^bTahpanhes;

Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,

For the sword devours all around you.’

15

Why are your valiant men swept away?

They did not stand

Because the Lord drove them away.

16

He made many fall;

Yes, ^aone fell upon another.

And they said, ‘Arise!

^bLet us go back to our own people

And to the land of our nativity

From the oppressing sword.’

17

They cried there,

‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise.

He has passed by the appointed time!’

18

“As I live,” says the King,

^aWhose name is the Lord of hosts,

“Surely as Tabor is among the mountains

And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.

19

O ^ayou daughter dwelling in Egypt,

Prepare yourself ^bto go into captivity!

For ¹Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.

20

“Egypt is a very pretty ^aheifer,

But destruction comes, it comes ^bfrom the north.

21

Also her mercenaries are in her midst like ¹fat bulls,

For they also are turned back,

They have fled away together.

They did not stand,

For ^athe day of their calamity had come upon them,

The time of their punishment.

22

^aHer noise shall go like a serpent,

For they shall march with an army

And come against her with axes,

Like those who chop wood.

23

“They shall ^acut down her forest,” says the Lord,

“Though it cannot be searched,

Because they are innumerable,

And more numerous than ^bgrasshoppers.

24

The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed;

She shall be delivered into the hand

Of ^athe people of the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on ¹Amon of ^aNo,² and Pharaoh and Egypt, ^bwith their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who ^ctrust in him. 26 ^aAnd I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. ^bAfterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says the Lord.

God Will Preserve Israel

27

“But^a do not fear, O My servant Jacob,

And do not be dismayed, O Israel!

For behold, I will ^bsave you from afar,

And your offspring from the land of their captivity;

Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease;

No one shall make him afraid.

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Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,

“For I am with you;

For I will make a complete end of all the nations

To which I have driven you,

But I will not make ^aa complete end of you.

I will rightly ^bcorrect you,

For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.”