Jeremiah 46-47

Contemporary English Version

The Lord Speaks to Jeremiah about the Nations

46 The Lord often told me what to say about the different nations of the world.

What the Lord Says about Egypt

²^(A) In the fourth year that Jehoiakim^[a] was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar^[b] of Babylonia defeated King Neco of Egypt^[c] in a battle at the city of Carchemish near the Euphrates River. And here is what the Lord told me to say about the Egyptian army:

³It's time to go into battle!
    So grab your shields,
⁴    saddle your horses,
    and polish your spears.
Put on your helmets and armor,
    then take your positions.

⁵I can see the battle now—
    you are defeated
and running away,
    never once looking back.
Terror is all around.
⁶You are strong and run fast,
    but you can't escape.
You fall in battle
    near the Euphrates River.

⁷What nation is this,
that rises like the Nile River
    overflowing its banks?
⁸It is Egypt, rising with a roar
like a raging river
    and saying,
“I'll flood the earth,
destroying cities, and killing
    everyone in them.”

⁹Go ahead, Egypt.
Tell your chariots and cavalry
    to attack and fight hard.
Order your troops to march out,
with Ethiopians^[d] and Libyans
    carrying shields,
and the Lydians^[e] armed with bows
    and arrows.

¹⁰But the Lord All-Powerful
    will win this battle
and take revenge
    on his enemies.
His sword will eat them
and drink their blood
    until it is full.
They will be killed in the north
near the Euphrates River,
    as a sacrifice to the Lord.

¹¹Egypt, no medicine can heal you,
not even the soothing lotion
    from Gilead.
¹²All nations have heard you weep;
you are disgraced,
    and they know it.
Your troops fall to the ground,
    stumbling over each other.

A Warning for Egypt

^13-14^(B) When King Nebuchadnezzar^[f] of Babylonia was on his way to attack Egypt, the Lord sent me with a warning for every Egyptian town, but especially for Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. He said to tell them:

Prepare to defend yourselves!
Everywhere in your nation,
    people are dying in war.
¹⁵I have struck down
your mighty god Apis^[g]
    and chased him away.^[h]
¹⁶Your soldiers stumble
    over each other
and say, “Get up!
    The enemy will kill us,
unless we can escape
    to our own land.”

¹⁷Give the king of Egypt
this new name,
“Talks-Big-Does-Nothing.”

¹⁸Egypt, I am the true king,
    the Lord All-Powerful,
and as surely as I live,
those enemies who attack
    will tower over you
like Mount Tabor among the hills
    or Mount Carmel by the sea.
¹⁹You will be led away captive,
so pack a few things
    to bring with you.
Your capital, Memphis,
    will lie empty and in ruins.

²⁰An enemy from the north
will attack you, beautiful Egypt,
    like a fly biting a cow.
²¹The foreign soldiers you hired
    will turn and run.
But they are doomed,
like well-fed calves
    being led to the butcher.

* ²²The enemy army will go forward
    like a swarm of locusts.^[i]
Your troops will feel helpless,
    like a snake in a forest
²³when men with axes
    start chopping down trees.
It can only hiss
    and try to escape.
²⁴Your people will be disgraced
and captured by the enemy
    from the north.

²⁵I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. Soon I will punish the god Amon of Thebes^[j] and the other Egyptian gods, the Egyptian kings, the people of Egypt, and everyone who trusts in the Egyptian power. ²⁶I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar and his army. But I also promise that Egypt will someday have people living here again, just as it had before. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord Will Bring Israel Home

The Lord said:

²⁷^(C) Israel,^[k] don't be afraid.
Someday I will bring you home
    from foreign lands.
You and your descendants
will live in peace and safety,
    with nothing to fear.
²⁸So don't be afraid,
even though now
    you deserve to be punished
and have been scattered
    among other nations.
But when I destroy them,
    I will protect you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

What the Lord Says about the Philistines

47 ^(D) Before the king of Egypt attacked the town of Gaza,^[l] the Lord told me to say to the Philistines:

²I, the Lord, tell you
that your land will be flooded
    with an army from the north.
It will destroy your towns
and sweep you away,
    moaning and screaming.
³When you hear the thunder
of horses and chariots,
    your courage will vanish,
and parents will even abandon
    their own children.

⁴You refugees from Crete,^[m]
your time has now come,
    and I will destroy you.
None of you will be left
to help the cities
    of Tyre and Sidon.
⁵The Anakim who survive^[n]
    in Gaza and Ashkelon
will mourn for you
by shaving their heads
    and sitting in silence.
⁶You ask how long will I continue
    to attack you with my sword,
then you tell me to put it away
    and leave you alone.
⁷But how can my sword rest,
when I have commanded it
    to attack Ashkelon
    and the seacoast?

Footnotes

46.2 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
46.2 King Nebuchadnezzar: Ruled 605–562 b.c. At the time of the battle in 605 b.c., he was crown prince, but his father died a few months later, and he became king.
46.2 King Neco of Egypt: Neco II, ruled 609–594 b.c.
46.9 Ethiopians: See the note at 38.7,8.
46.9 Lydians: Probably hired soldiers from Lydia, an area in west-central Asia minor.
46.13,14 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
46.15 Apis: A sacred bull, kept in a temple at Memphis, Egypt, and worshiped as a god.
46.15 I have … him away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
46.22 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.
46.25 the god Amon of Thebes: Amon was the king of the Egyptian gods and was the special god of the Egyptian kings.
46.27 Israel: See the note at 30.10.
47.1 attacked the town of Gaza: One of the major Philistine towns; nothing is known about this attack.
47.4 Crete: Hebrew “Caphtor,” another name for Crete, the original homeland of the ancestors of the Philistines.
47.5 Anakim who survive: One ancient translation; Hebrew “people in the valley who survive.” The Anakim may have been a group of very large people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33; Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21; and Joshua 11.21,22).

Hebrews 6

Contemporary English Version

6 We must try to become mature and start thinking about more than just the basic things we were taught about Christ. We shouldn't need to keep talking about why we ought to turn from deeds that bring death and why we ought to have faith in God. ²And we shouldn't need to keep teaching about baptisms^[a] or about the laying on of hands^[b] or about people being raised from death and the future judgment. ³Let's grow up, if God is willing.

^4-6But what about people who turn away after they have already seen the light and have received the gift from heaven and have shared in the Holy Spirit? What about those who turn away after they have received the good message of God and the powers of the future world? There is no way to bring them back. What they are doing is the same as nailing the Son of God to a cross and insulting him in public!

⁷A field is useful to farmers, if there is enough rain to make good crops grow. In fact, God will bless such a field. ⁸^(A) But land that produces only thornbushes is worthless. It is likely to fall under God's curse, and in the end it will be set on fire.

⁹My friends, we are talking this way. But we are sure that you are doing those really good things people do when they are being saved. ¹⁰God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won't forget the love you have shown his people. ¹¹We wish each of you would always be eager to show how strong and lasting your hope really is. ¹²Then you would never be lazy. You would be following the example of those who had faith and were patient until God kept his promise to them.

God's Promise Is Sure

¹³No one is greater than God. So he made a promise in his own name when he said to Abraham, ¹⁴^(B) “I, the Lord, will bless you with many descendants!” ¹⁵Then after Abraham had been very patient, he was given what God had promised. ¹⁶When anyone wants to settle an argument, they make a vow by using the name of someone or something greater than themselves. ¹⁷So when God wanted to prove for certain his promise to his people could not be broken, he made a vow. ¹⁸God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed.

We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. ¹⁹^(C) This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain^[c] and into the most holy place. ²⁰^(D) Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever, just like Melchizedek.^[d]

Footnotes

6.2 baptisms: Or “ceremonies of washing.”
6.2 laying on of hands: This was a ceremony in which church leaders and others put their hands on people to show that those people were chosen to do some special kind of work.
6.19 behind the curtain: In the tent that was used for worship, a curtain separated the “holy place” from the “most holy place,” which only the high priest could enter.
6.20 Melchizedek: See the note at 5.6.