Jeremiah 46
New American Standard Bible
Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold
46 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet (A)concerning the nations.
2 To (B)Egypt, concerning the army of (C)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at (D)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the (E)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “(F)Set up the [a]buckler and shield,
And advance to the battle!
4 Harness the horses,
And [b]mount the steeds,
Take your stand with helmets on!
(G)Polish the spears,
Put on the (H)coats of armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are (I)retreating,
And their (J)warriors are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back.
[c](K)Terror is on every side!”
Declares the Lord.
6 Let not the (L)swift man flee,
Nor the warrior 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 surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
And like the rivers whose waters surge;
And He has said, “I will (O)rise and cover that land;
I will (P)destroy the city and its inhabitants.”
9 Go up, you horses, and [d](Q)drive wildly, you chariots,
So that the warriors may [e]march forward:
[f]Cush and [g](R)Put, who handle the shield,
And the [h](S)Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.
10 For (T)that day belongs to the Lord [i]God of armies,
A day of (U)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the (V)sword will devour and be satisfied,
And [j]drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a (W)slaughter for the Lord [k]God of armies,
In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.
11 Go (X)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
(Y)Virgin daughter of Egypt!
You have used many [l]remedies in vain;
There is (Z)no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your (AA)shame,
And the earth is full of your (AB)cry of distress;
For one (AC)warrior has stumbled over [m]another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13 This is the [n]message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the (AD)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to (AE)strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in (AF)Migdol,
Proclaim 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 have your (AI)powerful ones been cut down?
They do not stand because the Lord has (AJ)thrust them away.
16 They have repeatedly (AK)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen, one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up, and (AL)let’s go back
To our own people and our native land,
Away from the [o](AM)sword of the oppressor!’
17 [p]They shouted there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but (AN)a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 As I live,” declares the (AO)King,
Whose name is the Lord of armies,
“One certainly shall come who is like (AP)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like (AQ)Carmel by the sea.
19 Make your baggage ready for (AR)exile,
(AS)Daughter living in Egypt,
For (AT)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will be destroyed and [q]deprived of inhabitants.
20 Egypt is a pretty (AU)heifer,
But a [r]horsefly is coming (AV)from the north—it is coming!
21 Also her (AW)mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened (AX)calves,
For they too have turned away and have fled 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 [s]like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 They have cut down her (AZ)forest,” declares the Lord;
“Certainly it will no longer be found,
Even though [t]they are more numerous than (BA)locusts
And are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Turned over to the [u]power of the (BB)people of the north.”
25 The Lord of armies, 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, indeed, Pharaoh and those who (BF)trust in him. 26 I shall hand them over to those who are (BG)seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his [v]officers. (BH)Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.
27 “But as for you, Jacob My servant, (BI)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to (BJ)save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be (BK)undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.
28 Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For (BL)I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will (BM)not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will (BN)correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:3 I.e., small shield
- Jeremiah 46:4 Or go up, you horsemen
- Jeremiah 46:5 Heb Magor-missabib i.e., Terror is on every side
- Jeremiah 46:9 Lit act like madmen
- Jeremiah 46:9 Lit go forth
- Jeremiah 46:9 Or Ethiopia
- Jeremiah 46:9 I.e., Libya (or Somaliland)
- Jeremiah 46:9 Heb Ludim
- Jeremiah 46:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 46:10 Lit be saturated with
- Jeremiah 46:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- 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 big noise
- Jeremiah 46:19 Lit without
- Jeremiah 46:20 Or possibly mosquito
- Jeremiah 46:22 Or in force
- Jeremiah 46:23 I.e., trees of the forest, the Egyptians
- Jeremiah 46:24 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 46:26 Lit servants
Jeremiah 46
Common English Bible
ORACLES CONCERNING THE NATIONS
46 This is what the Lord told the prophet Jeremiah concerning the nations.
Prophecy against Egypt
2 About Egypt! A message for the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king, which was defeated by Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son:
3 Grab your shields
and prepare for war!
4 Saddle the horses;
mount the stallions!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears;
put on your armor!
5 Why do I see them terrified,
retreating in haste?
Their soldiers are crushed,
running for cover,
and they don’t turn back.
Panic lurks at every turn,
declares the Lord.
6 The swift can’t flee;
the mighty can’t escape.
Up north by the Euphrates River,
they stagger and fall.
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,
whose banks overflow?[a]
8 It’s Egypt that rises like the Nile,
whose banks overflow,[b]
who declares, “I will arise
and cover the earth
and destroy cities and inhabitants.”
9 Charge, you horses;
advance, you chariots!
Attack, you soldiers
with your shield in hand,
you people of Cush and Put[c]
with your bow drawn,
you archers from Lud.
10 But that day belongs to the
Lord God of heavenly forces;
it’s a day of reckoning,
settling scores with enemies.
The sword will devour
until it has had its fill of blood.
The Lord God of heavenly forces
is preparing a sacrifice in the north
by the Euphrates River.
11 Go up to Gilead and seek balm,
virgin Daughter Egypt.
You search out remedies in vain,
for your disease is incurable.
12 Nations hear of your shame;
the earth is filled with your sobs.
Soldier stumbles over soldier;
together they go down.
13 This is the word that the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the military offensive of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar against the land of Egypt:
14 Tell Egypt, warn Migdol,
alert Memphis and Tahpanhes!
Say: “Brace yourselves for what’s coming.
War is breaking out from every side!”
15 Why have your mighty fallen?
Why haven’t they stood their ground?
Because the Lord has struck them down.
16 He’s tripped them up;
they fall over each other and say,
“Let’s get out of here
and go home to our people,
where we were born,
far away from the oppressor’s sword.”[d]
17 There they call Pharaoh, Egypt’s king,
Loudmouth—Nothing But Hot Air!
18 As I live, declares the king,
whose name is the Lord of heavenly forces,
one is coming
just as surely as Tabor is in the mountains
and Carmel is by the sea.[e]
19 Get what you need for deportation,
you inhabitants of Egypt.[f]
Memphis will be reduced to a wasteland,
a ruin with no one left.
20 Egypt is a beautiful, yes, beautiful heifer,
but a horsefly from the north
is coming to bite her.[g]
21 Even her mercenaries
are like well-fed calves;
they too will retreat and run for cover;
they won’t survive.
The day of disaster has come to haunt them,
the time of their punishment.
22 Like the sound of a snake hissing
as it slithers away
is Egypt[h] as armies approach in force;
they come against her with axes,
like woodcutters.
23 They destroy her dense forest,
though it is vast,
because they outnumber locusts
and can’t be counted,
declares the Lord.
24 Daughter Egypt will be humiliated,
handed over to people from the north.
25 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I’m going to punish Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, as well as Pharaoh and all who rely on him. 26 I will hand them over to those who seek to kill them, namely Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and his servants. But afterward Egypt will dwell like it did a long time ago, declares the Lord.
27 But don’t be afraid, my servant Judah;
don’t lose heart, Israel.
I will deliver you from a faraway place
and your children from the land of their exile.
My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
with no one harassing them.
28 So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
declares the Lord.
I’m with you;
I will put an end to all the nations
where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
I won’t let you avoid punishment;
I will discipline you as you deserve.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:7 Or like rivers whose waters roar
- Jeremiah 46:8 Or like rivers whose waters roar
- Jeremiah 46:9 Traditionally Ethiopia and Libya
- Jeremiah 46:16 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 46:18 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 46:19 Or inhabitant, Daughter Egypt
- Jeremiah 46:20 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 46:22 Heb lacks is Egypt.
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