Jeremiah 46
Legacy Standard Bible
Word Against Egypt
46 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet (A)concerning the nations.
2 To (B)Egypt, concerning the military force of (C)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at (D)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down in the (E)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “(F)Arrange the shield and large shield,
And draw near for the battle!
4 Harness the horses,
And [a]mount the steeds,
And take your stand with helmets on!
(G)Polish the spears,
Put on the (H)scale-armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are shattered;
They are (I)drawing back,
And their (J)mighty men are crushed
And have fled to refuge,
Without facing back;
[b](K)Terror is on every side!”
Declares Yahweh.
6 Let not the (L)swift man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have (M)stumbled and fallen.
7 Who is this that (N)rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters toss about?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
Even like the rivers whose waters toss about;
And He has said, “I will (O)rise and cover that land;
I will surely (P)cause the city to perish, as well as its inhabitants.”
9 Go up, you horses, and [c](Q)drive madly, you chariots,
That the mighty men may go forth:
[d]Ethiopia and [e](R)Put, who seize the shield,
And the [f](S)Lydians, who seize and bend the bow.
10 Indeed, (T)that day belongs to Lord Yahweh of hosts,
A day of (U)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His adversaries;
And the (V)sword will devour and be satiated
And [g]drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a (W)sacrifice to Lord Yahweh of hosts
In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
11 Go (X)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
(Y)O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied [h]remedies;
There is (Z)no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your (AA)disgrace,
And the earth is full of your (AB)outcry;
For one (AC)warrior has stumbled over [i]another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13 This is the [j]message which Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the (AD)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to (AE)strike down the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and cause it to be heard in (AF)Migdol;
Cause it to be heard also in Memphis and (AG)Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the (AH)sword has devoured those around you.’
15 Why are your (AI)mighty ones thrown down?
They do not stand because Yahweh has (AJ)thrust them down.
16 They have repeatedly (AK)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Rise up! And (AL)let us return
To our own people and land of our birth
Away from the [k](AM)sword of the oppressor.’
17 [l]They called out there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but (AN)a rumbling;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 As I live,” declares the (AO)King
Whose name is Yahweh of hosts,
“Surely one shall come who looms up like (AP)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like (AQ)Carmel by the sea.
19 Make your baggage ready for (AR)exile,
O inhabitant of the (AS)daughter of Egypt,
For (AT)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will even be turned into ruin and without inhabitants.
20 Egypt is a pretty (AU)heifer,
But a [m]horsefly is coming (AV)from the north—it is coming!
21 Also her (AW)mercenaries in her midst
Are like [n]fattened (AX)calves,
For even they have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their disaster has come upon them,
The time of their (AY)punishment.
22 Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on [o]like a military force
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 They have cut down her (AZ)forest,” declares Yahweh;
“Surely it will no longer be searched out,
Even though [p]they are now more numerous than (BA)locusts
And are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the hand of the (BB)people of the north.”
25 Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of (BC)Thebes, and (BD)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her (BE)gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who (BF)trust in him. 26 I shall give them into the hand of those who are (BG)seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. (BH)Afterwards, however, it will be dwelt in like in the days of old,” declares Yahweh.
27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, (BI)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For behold, I am going to (BJ)save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and have (BK)quiet
And be at ease, with no one making him tremble.
28 O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares Yahweh,
“For (BL)I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have banished you,
Yet I will (BM)not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will (BN)discipline you with justice
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:4 Or go up, you horsemen
- Jeremiah 46:5 Heb Magor-missabib
- Jeremiah 46:9 Lit act like madmen
- Jeremiah 46:9 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Jeremiah 46:9 Libya (or Somaliland)
- Jeremiah 46:9 Heb Ludim
- Jeremiah 46:10 Lit be saturated with
- Jeremiah 46:11 Lit healings
- Jeremiah 46:12 Lit warrior
- Jeremiah 46:13 Lit word
- Jeremiah 46:16 Lit oppressing sword
- Jeremiah 46:17 Some ancient versions Call the name of Pharaoh a rumbling
- Jeremiah 46:20 Or possibly mosquito
- Jeremiah 46:21 Lit of the stall
- Jeremiah 46:22 Or in force
- Jeremiah 46:23 Trees of the forest, the Egyptians
Jeremiah 46
International Standard Version
Prophecies against the Nations
46 This is[a] the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
Prophecies against Egypt: Its Defeat at Carchemish
2 To Egypt: Concerning the army of King Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, which was encamped by the Euphrates River at Carchemish and which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of the reign of[b] Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah.
3 “Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance into the battle!
4 Harness the horses!
Riders, mount up!
Take your[c] positions with your[d] helmets!
Polish lances,
and put on armor!
5 Why am I seeing this?[e]
They’re terrified,
they have turned back.
Their warriors are crushed,
and they take flight.
They don’t look back.
Terror is on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee,
nor can the strong escape.
In the north, beside the Euphrates River,
they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt is rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
He says, ‘I’ll rise and cover the land.[f]
I’ll destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9 Horses, get up!
Chariots, drive furiously!
Let the warriors go forward,
Ethiopia and Put, who carry shields,
and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
10 That day belongs to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
It is a day of vengeance to take vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour and be satisfied,
and will drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north,
by the Euphrates river.
11 Go up to Gilead and get balm,[g]
virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you multiply remedies,
but there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your disgrace,
and your cry of distress fills the earth.
Indeed, one warrior stumbles over another,
and both of them fall down together.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Conquest of Egypt
13 This is the message that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer[h] the land of Egypt.
14 “Announce in Egypt, proclaim in Migdol.
Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes.
Say, ‘Take your positions and be ready,
for the sword will devour all around you.’
15 Why are your warriors prostrate?
They don’t stand[i] because the Lord has brought them down.
16 They repeatedly stumble and fall.
They say to each other, ‘Get up!
Let’s go back to our people
and to the land of our birth,
away from the oppressor’s sword.’
17 There they’ll cry out,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise.
He has let the appointed time pass by.’[j]
18 As certainly as I’m alive and living,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
“Indeed, one will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
19 Prepare your baggage for exile,
daughter living in Egypt,
for Memphis will become a desolate place.
It will become a ruin without inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a beautiful calf,[k]
but a horsefly from the north is surely coming.
21 Even the mercenary troops in her ranks
are like a fattened calf.
They too will turn around,
and will flee together.
They won’t stand,
for the day of their disaster is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.
22 Her cry will be like that of a fleeing serpent
when they come in strength.
They’re coming to her with axes like woodcutters.
23 They’ll cut down her forest, though it’s impenetrable,”
declares the Lord,
“for they’re more numerous than locusts,
and there are too many of them to count.
24 The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame,
she will be given into the hands of the people from the north.”
25 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says, “Look, I’m going to punish Amon of Thebes, Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods and its kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. 26 I’ll give them to those who are seeking their lives and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers.[l] Then afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
Israel will be Delivered
27 “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid,
and Israel, don’t be dismayed.
For I’ll deliver you from a distant place,
and your descendants from the land of their captivity.
Jacob will return.
He will be undisturbed and secure,
and no one will cause him to fear.
28 “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid,
and Israel, don’t be dismayed,”
declares the Lord, “for I am with you.
Indeed, I’ll make an end of all the nations
where I scattered you;
but I won’t make an end of you!
I’ll discipline you justly,
but I’ll certainly not leave you unpunished.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:1 The Heb. lacks This is
- Jeremiah 46:2 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Jeremiah 46:4 The Heb. lacks your
- Jeremiah 46:4 The Heb. lacks your
- Jeremiah 46:5 The Heb. lacks this
- Jeremiah 46:8 Or earth
- Jeremiah 46:11 Balm was a spice with medicinal uses.
- Jeremiah 46:13 Lit. strike down
- Jeremiah 46:15 Or Why does Apis flee and your bull not stand?
- Jeremiah 46:17 I.e. he has missed the opportunity
- Jeremiah 46:20 Or heifer
- Jeremiah 46:26 Or servants
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