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.

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.”

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.”