Пророчество о Египте

46 Вот слово Господа, которое было к Иеремии о судьбах других народов.

О Египте. О войске египетского фараона Нехо[a], которое было разбито Навуходоносором, царем Вавилона, при Каркемише, возле реки Евфрата, в четвертом году правления иудейского царя Иоакима[b], сына Иосии.

– Готовьте щиты и большие, и малые,
    и выступайте в бой!
Седлайте коней и садитесь на них!
    Становитесь в строй, шлемоносцы!
Точите копья и надевайте кольчуги!
    Но что я вижу?
Они испугались, они отступают,
    их воины побеждены.
Они бегут без оглядки,
    и ужас со всех сторон, –
            возвещает Господь. –
Быстрый не убежит,
    и сильный не спасется.
На севере у реки Евфрата
    они споткнутся и упадут.

Кто там вздымается, как Нил,
    как реки с бурными водами?
Египет вздымается, как Нил,
    как реки с бурными водами,
говоря: «Поднимусь и покрою землю;
    погублю города и их жителей».
Скачите, кони!
    Мчитесь, колесничие!
Выступайте, сильные воины:
    воины Куша, щитоносцы Пута
и воины Луда, натягивающие луки.
10     Это день Владыки, Господа Сил,
день возмездия для отмщения Его врагам.
    Будет меч пожирать, пока не насытится,
пока не утолит жажду кровью.
    Это жертва Владыке, Господу Сил,
в северных землях у реки Евфрата.

11 – Пойди в Галаад и возьми бальзам[c],
    девственная дочь Египта[d].
Напрасно ты лечишься многими снадобьями –
    нет тебе исцеления.
12 Народы услышали про твой позор;
    твой крик наполнил землю.
Споткнулся о воина воин,
    и упали оба разом.

13 Вот слово, которое Господь сказал пророку Иеремии о будущем вторжении Навуходоносора, царя Вавилона, в Египет:

14 – Объявляйте в Египте,
    возвещайте в Мигдоле,
возвещайте и в Мемфисе, и в Тахпанхесе:
    «Становись и готовься, Египет:
меч уже пожирает тех, кто вокруг тебя».
15 Почему твои воины будут повержены?
    Они не смогут выстоять,
    потому что Господь повергнет их.
16 Они будут спотыкаться снова и снова,
    будут падать один на другого и говорить:
«Вставайте, давайте вернемся
    к своему народу, на нашу родину,
    подальше от меча притеснителя».
17 Они воскликнут:
    «Фараон, царь Египта, – крикун,
упустивший свою возможность».

18 Верно, как и то, что Я живу, – возвещает Царь,
    Чье имя Господь Сил, –
придет тот, кто велик, как гора Фавор среди гор
    и как гора Кармил у моря.
19 Собирайте свои пожитки
    и готовьтесь к изгнанию, жители Египта,
потому что Мемфис подвергнется разорению,
    станет необитаемой развалиной.

20 Египет – прекрасная телица,
    но с севера летит к ней слепень.
21 Даже наемники в войске Египта
    как тучные быки.
Но они повернутся и вместе пустятся в бегство,
    и не устоят,
потому что настал день их бедствий,
    время их наказания.
22 Зашипит Египет, как уползающий змей,
    так как близятся вражьи войска,
и пойдут они на него с топорами,
    как дровосеки.
23 Они вырубят его лес, –
            возвещает Господь, –
как бы ни был он густ,
    ведь они многочисленнее саранчи,
        нет им числа.
24 Дочь Египта будет опозорена,
    отдана в руки северного народа.

25 Господь Сил, Бог Израиля говорит:

– Я накажу Амона, бога Фив[e], и фараона, и Египет, и всех его богов и царей, и тех, кто полагается на фараона. 26 Я отдам их в руки тех, кто ищет их смерти – Навуходоносору, царю Вавилона, и его слугам. Потом Египет будет населен людьми снова, как в прежние времена, – возвещает Господь.

27 – А ты не бойся, слуга Мой Иаков;
    не пугайся, Израиль.
Я тебя вызволю из далекого края,
    твое потомство – из земли его плена.
Иаков вернется к спокойной и мирной жизни,
    и никто не будет его устрашать.
28 Так не бойся, слуга Мой Иаков,
    возвещает Господь, –
потому что Я с тобой.
    Я истреблю все народы,
среди которых рассеял тебя,
    а тебя не истреблю.
Я накажу тебя по справедливости,
    но безнаказанным не оставлю тебя.

Footnotes

  1. 46:2 Нехо II, правивший Египтом с 610 по 595 гг. до н. э., пошел на помощь Ашшурубаллиту II, последнему царю Ассирии, воевавшему с Вавилоном.
  2. 46:2 В 605 г. до н. э.
  3. 46:11 Галаад славился своими целебными травами.
  4. 46:11 Девственная дочь Египта – олицетворение Египта. Также в ст. 24.
  5. 46:25 Букв.: «Но».

A Message About Egypt

46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:(A)

Concerning Egypt:(B)

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho(C) king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish(D) on the Euphrates(E) River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(F) son of Josiah king of Judah:

“Prepare your shields,(G) both large and small,
    and march out for battle!
Harness the horses,
    mount the steeds!
Take your positions
    with helmets on!
Polish(H) your spears,
    put on your armor!(I)
What do I see?
    They are terrified,
they are retreating,
    their warriors are defeated.
They flee(J) in haste
    without looking back,
    and there is terror(K) on every side,”
declares the Lord.
“The swift cannot flee(L)
    nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates(M)
    they stumble and fall.(N)

“Who is this that rises like the Nile,
    like rivers of surging waters?(O)
Egypt rises like the Nile,(P)
    like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
    I will destroy cities and their people.’(Q)
Charge, you horses!
    Drive furiously, you charioteers!(R)
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a](S) and Put who carry shields,
    men of Lydia(T) who draw the bow.
10 But that day(U) belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
    a day of vengeance(V), for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour(W) till it is satisfied,
    till it has quenched its thirst with blood.(X)
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice(Y)
    in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.(Z)

11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,(AA)
    Virgin(AB) Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
    there is no healing(AC) for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
    your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
    both will fall(AD) down together.”

13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(AE) to attack Egypt:(AF)

14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
    proclaim it also in Memphis(AG) and Tahpanhes:(AH)
‘Take your positions and get ready,
    for the sword devours(AI) those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
    They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.(AJ)
16 They will stumble(AK) repeatedly;
    they will fall(AL) over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
    to our own people(AM) and our native lands,
    away from the sword of the oppressor.’(AN)
17 There they will exclaim,
    ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;(AO)
    he has missed his opportunity.(AP)

18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,(AQ)
    whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor(AR) among the mountains,
    like Carmel(AS) by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,(AT)
    you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis(AU) will be laid waste(AV)
    and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
    but a gadfly is coming
    against her from the north.(AW)
21 The mercenaries(AX) in her ranks
    are like fattened calves.(AY)
They too will turn and flee(AZ) together,
    they will not stand their ground,
for the day(BA) of disaster is coming upon them,
    the time(BB) 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.(BC)
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
    “dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,(BD)
    they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
    given into the hands of the people of the north.(BE)

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes,(BF) on Pharaoh,(BG) on Egypt and her gods(BH) and her kings, and on those who rely(BI) on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands(BJ) of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king(BK) of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited(BL) as in times past,” declares the Lord.

27 “Do not be afraid,(BM) Jacob(BN) my servant;(BO)
    do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.(BP)
Jacob will again have peace and security,
    and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
    for I am with you,”(BQ) declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy(BR) 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.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 46:9 That is, the upper Nile region

46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;

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.

Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.

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.

Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

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.

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.

预言法老必挫败

46 耶和华论到列国的话临到耶利米先知。 以下的话是关于埃及,论到埃及王法老尼哥的军队,这军队在犹大王约西亚的儿子约雅敬第四年,被巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒在靠近幼发拉底河的迦基米施击败。

“要准备好大小的盾牌,

踏上战场。

要装备马匹,骑上战马;

站好岗位,戴上头盔;

磨快枪矛,穿上铁甲。

但为甚么我看见他们惊惶,

转身退后呢?

他们的勇士被击败了,

他们急速奔逃,不敢回转。

四围都是惊慌。”

这是耶和华的宣告。

“快跑的跑不掉,

勇士也不能逃脱;

他们在北方、在幼发拉底河边,

都绊跌仆倒。

那像尼罗河上涨,

像江河的水翻腾的是谁呢?

埃及像尼罗河上涨,

像江河的水翻腾;

它说:‘我要上涨,淹盖大地;

我要毁灭城镇和城里的居民。’

马匹啊,上前吧!

战车啊,狂奔吧!

勇士啊,就是紧握盾牌的古实人和弗人,

以及拉弓的吕底亚人哪,上阵吧!

10 那是主万军之耶和华的日子,

是报仇的日子,

他要向自己的敌人报仇;

刀剑必吞噬、饱餐他们的肉,

痛饮他们的血。

因为在北方,靠近幼发拉底河之地,

主万军之耶和华要屠宰敌人像杀祭牲一样。

11 埃及的人民哪,

上基列去取乳香吧!

你虽多用药物都是无效,

你必不得医治。

12 列国听见你的羞耻,

大地满了你的哀号;

因为勇士和勇士相碰,

双方一同仆倒。”

预言巴比伦王必来攻打埃及

13 以下是耶和华对耶利米先知所说的话,论到巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒要来攻打埃及地。

14 “你们要在埃及传扬,在密夺宣告,

在挪弗和答比匿宣扬,说:

‘要站好岗位,作好准备,

因为刀剑要吞灭你周围的人!’

15 你的壮士为甚么俯伏?

他们站立不住(“你的壮士为甚么俯伏?他们站立不住”或可参照《七十士译本》译作“为甚么亚比士神逃跑?你的牛神站立不住”),是因耶和华把他们推倒了。

16 他使众人绊跌,倒在一起;

他们说:

‘起来!我们要回到我们本族,

和我们出生之地那里去,

躲避欺压者的刀剑。’

17 他们在那里喊叫:

‘埃及王法老不过是喧哗的声音;

他已失去机会。’”

18 名叫万军之耶和华的王宣告说:

“我指着我的永生起誓,

必有一位要来,

像群山中的他泊山,

像海边的迦密山一样。

19 住在埃及的人民哪!

要为自己预备被掳时所需的器物;

因为挪弗必成为荒场,

必被烧毁,无人居住。

20 埃及是一头肥美的母牛犊,

但北方的牛虫已经来到牠身上(“牠身上”有古卷作“来到了”)。

21 它中间的雇佣兵像棚里的肥牛犊,

他们一同转身逃跑,

没有一个站立得住;

因为他们遭灾的日子、受惩罚的时候,

已经临到他们身上。

22 它逃走的声音像蛇行的响声,

因为敌人要成队而来,

像砍伐树木的,拿着斧子前来攻击它。

23 他们要砍伐它的森林。

这是耶和华的宣告;

它的森林虽然茂密难以通过,

但敌人比蝗虫还多,无法数算。

24 埃及的人民必蒙羞受辱,

必交在北方的民族的手中。”

25 万军之耶和华以色列的 神说:“看哪!我必惩罚挪的亚扪神、法老和那些倚靠法老的人。 26 我必把他们交在那些寻索他们性命的人的手里,就是交在巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒和他的臣仆的手中。但以后,埃及必再有人居住,像从前一样。”这是耶和华的宣告。

 神必拯救他的子民

27 “至于你,我的仆人雅各啊!你不要惧怕。

以色列啊!你不要惊慌。

因为我必从远方拯救你回来,

从被掳之地必拯救你的后裔脱离他们被掳之地。

雅各必归回,得享平静安逸,

没有人可以使他害怕。

28 我的仆人雅各啊!你不要惧怕。

因为我与你同在;

我要消灭我赶逐你去的列国。

却必不消灭你。

我要按公正惩治你,

决不能免你受罚。”

这是耶和华的宣告。