Jeremiah 46:1-12

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

³ Prepare buckler and shield,
    and advance for battle!^(B)
4 Harness the horses;
    mount the steeds!
Take your stations with helmets on,
    whet the lances,
    put on coats of mail!
⁵ Why do I see them terrified?
    They have fallen back;
their warriors are beaten down
    and have fled in haste.
They do not look back—
    terror is all around!
            says the Lord.^(C)
6 The swift cannot flee away,
    nor can the warrior escape;
in the north by the River Euphrates
    they have stumbled and fallen.^(D)

⁷ Who is this, rising like the Nile,
    like rivers whose waters surge?^(E)
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
    like rivers whose waters surge.
It said, “Let me rise; let me cover the earth;
    let me destroy cities and their inhabitants.”^(F)
9 Advance, O horses,
    and dash madly, O chariots!
Let the warriors go forth:
    Cush and Put, who carry the shield,
    the Ludim, who draw^[a] the bow.^(G)
10 That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
    a day of retribution,
    to gain vindication from his foes.
The sword shall devour and be sated
    and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice
    in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.^(H)
11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
    O virgin daughter Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
    there is no healing for you.^(I)
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
    and the earth is full of your cry,
for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
    both have fallen together.^(J)