Jeremiah 46
King James Version
46 The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2 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.
3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.
5 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.
6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.
7 Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
8 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.
9 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.
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.
Jeremiah 46
English Standard Version
Judgment on Egypt
46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (A)concerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. (B)Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in (C)the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 (D)“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 (E)Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
(F)polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their (G)warriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
(H)they look not back—
(I)terror on every side!
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
(J)in the north by the river Euphrates
(K)they have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, (L)rising like the Nile,
like rivers (M)whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers (N)whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 (O)Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and (P)Put who handle the shield,
(Q)men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 (R)That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
(S)a day of vengeance,
(T)to avenge himself on his foes.
(U)The sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds (V)a sacrifice
(W)in the north country (X)by the river Euphrates.
11 (Y)Go up to Gilead, and take (Z)balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
(AA)there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
(AB)for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of (AC)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in (AD)Migdol;
proclaim in (AE)Memphis and (AF)Tahpanhes;
say, (AG)‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for (AH)the sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand[a]
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, (AI)and they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
(AJ)because of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of (AK)Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 (AL)“As I live, declares the King,
(AM)whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like (AN)Tabor among the mountains
and like (AO)Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 (AP)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O (AQ)inhabitants of Egypt!
For (AR)Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, (AS)without inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful (AT)heifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly (AU)from the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like (AV)fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
(AW)the time of their punishment.
22 “She makes (AX)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
(AY)like those who fell trees.
23 (AZ)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because (BA)they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of (BB)a people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon (BC)Amon of (BD)Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt (BE)and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 (BF)I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. (BG)Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited (BH)as in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 (BI)“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 (BJ)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
(BK)I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 46:15 Hebrew He does not stand
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
