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“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you.

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“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(A) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(B) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(C)

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17 We looked in vain for our allies
    to come and save us,
but we were looking to nations
    that could not help us.

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17 Moreover, our eyes failed,
    looking in vain(A) for help;(B)
from our towers we watched
    for a nation(C) that could not save us.

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17 Pharaoh and all his mighty army will fail to help Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem again and destroys many lives.

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17 Pharaoh(A) with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps(B) are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.(C)

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Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”

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King Zedekiah, however, sent(A) Jehukal(B) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(C) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(D) to the Lord our God for us.”

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“Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar[a] of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”

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Footnotes

  1. 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 21:7.

“Inquire(A) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[a](B) king of Babylon(C) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(D) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel

The Futility of Relying on Egypt

31 What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help,
    trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers
and depending on the strength of human armies
    instead of looking to the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel.
In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster;
    he will not change his mind.
He will rise against the wicked
    and against their helpers.
For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God!
    Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits!
When the Lord raises his fist against them,
    those who help will stumble,
and those being helped will fall.
    They will all fall down and die together.

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Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

31 Woe(A) to those who go down to Egypt(B) for help,
    who rely on horses,(C)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(D)
    and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(E) of Israel,
    or seek help from the Lord.(F)
Yet he too is wise(G) and can bring disaster;(H)
    he does not take back his words.(I)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(J)
    against those who help evildoers.
But the Egyptians(K) are mere mortals and not God;(L)
    their horses(M) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(N)
    those who help will stumble,
    those who are helped(O) will fall;
    all will perish together.(P)

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18 “But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard:

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18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(A) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:

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16 “Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”

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16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(A) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(B) of their sin in turning to her for help.(C) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(D)’”

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All the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
    for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.
When Israel leaned on you,
    you splintered and broke
    and stabbed her in the armpit.
When she put her weight on you,
    you collapsed, and her legs gave way.

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Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed(A) for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(B) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand

Wisdom from the Lord

This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

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This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(A)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(B)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(C) of the desert,
    in a salt(D) land where no one lives.

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36 First here, then there—
    you flit from one ally to another asking for help.
But your new friends in Egypt will let you down,
    just as Assyria did before.

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36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing(A) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt(B)
    as you were by Assyria.

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Judah’s Worthless Treaty with Egypt

30 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,”
    says the Lord.
“You make plans that are contrary to mine.
    You make alliances not directed by my Spirit,
    thus piling up your sins.
For without consulting me,
    you have gone down to Egypt for help.
You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection.
    You have tried to hide in his shade.
But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated,
    and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.
For though his power extends to Zoan
    and his officials have arrived in Hanes,
all who trust in him will be ashamed.
    He will not help you.
    Instead, he will disgrace you.”

This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev:

The caravan moves slowly
    across the terrible desert to Egypt—
donkeys weighed down with riches
    and camels loaded with treasure—
    all to pay for Egypt’s protection.
They travel through the wilderness,
    a place of lionesses and lions,
    a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live.
All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.

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Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30 “Woe(A) to the obstinate children,”(B)
    declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
    forming an alliance,(C) but not by my Spirit,
    heaping sin upon sin;
who go down to Egypt(D)
    without consulting(E) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(F)
    to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(G)
But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
    Egypt’s shade(H) will bring you disgrace.(I)
Though they have officials in Zoan(J)
    and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
everyone will be put to shame
    because of a people(K) useless(L) to them,
who bring neither help(M) nor advantage,
    but only shame and disgrace.(N)

A prophecy(O) concerning the animals of the Negev:(P)

Through a land of hardship and distress,(Q)
    of lions(R) and lionesses,
    of adders and darting snakes,(S)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(T) backs,
    their treasures(U) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,

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30 No human wisdom or understanding or plan
    can stand against the Lord.

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30 There is no wisdom,(A) no insight, no plan
    that can succeed against the Lord.(B)

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