Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in (A)Tahpanhes: “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in (B)Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (C)my servant, (D)and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 He shall come (E)and strike the land of Egypt, (F)giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. 12 (G)I shall kindle a fire (H)in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them (I)and carry them away captive. (J)And he shall clean the land of Egypt (K)as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. 13 He shall break the (L)obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, (M)and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”

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God’s Sign to the People in Egypt

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes: “Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men 10 and tell them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will pitch his pavilion over them. 11 He will come and strike down the land of Egypt(A)—those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword,(B) to the sword. 12 I[a] will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods,(C) and he will burn them and take them prisoner. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off[b] his garment,(D) and he will leave there unscathed. 13 He will smash the sacred pillars of the sun temple[c][d] in the land of Egypt and burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:12 LXX, Syr, Vg read He
  2. Jeremiah 43:12 Or will wrap himself in the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in
  3. Jeremiah 43:13 Or Beth-shemesh
  4. Jeremiah 43:13 = of Heliopolis