Old/New Testament
Prophecies Against Foreign Nations[a]
46 This was[b] the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations.
The Prophecy about Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish
2 He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over[c] Judah:[d]
3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready![e]
Prepare to march[f] into battle!
4 Harness the horses to the chariots;
mount your horses!
Take your positions with helmets on;
ready[g] your spears!
Put on the armor![h]
5 “What do I see?[i]
The soldiers[j] are frightened.
They are retreating.
They are being scattered.[k]
They have fled for refuge
without looking back.[l]
Terror is all around them,”[m] says the Lord.
6 But even the swiftest cannot get away.
Even the strongest cannot escape.[n]
There in the north by the Euphrates River
they have stumbled and fallen in defeat.[o]
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like its streams[p] turbulent at flood stage?[q]
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like its streams turbulent at flood stage.
Egypt said, ‘I will arise and cover the earth.
I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’[r]
9 Go ahead and[s] charge into battle, you horsemen!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
Let the soldiers march out into battle,
those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
and those from Lydia[t] who are armed with the bow.[u]
10 But that day belongs to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[v]
It is a day of reckoning, when he will pay back his adversaries.[w]
His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied.
It will drink its fill from their blood![x]
Indeed it will be a sacrifice for the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment,[y]
you dear poor people of Egypt.[z]
But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use;[aa]
there will be no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shameful defeat.[ab]
Your cries of distress fill[ac] the earth.
One soldier has stumbled over another
and both of them have fallen down defeated.”[ad]
The Lord Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack and Plunder Egypt
13 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt:[ae]
14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt.
Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes.[af]
‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle.
For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’[ag]
15 Why will your soldiers[ah] be defeated?[ai]
They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust[aj] them down.
16 I will make many stumble.[ak]
They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee.[al]
They will say, ‘Get up!
Let’s go back to our own people.
Let’s go back to our homelands
because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’[am]
17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise![an]
He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’[ao]
18 I the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ap] swear this:
‘I swear as surely as I live that[aq] a conqueror is coming.
He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains,
as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea.[ar]
19 Pack your bags for exile,
you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt.[as]
For Memphis will be laid waste.
It will lie in ruins[at] and be uninhabited.
20 Egypt is like a beautiful young cow.
But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.[au]
21 Even her mercenaries[av]
will prove to be like pampered,[aw] well-fed calves.
For they too will turn and run away.
They will not stand their ground
when[ax] the time for them to be destroyed comes,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake,[ay]
as the enemy comes marching up in force.
They will come against her with axes
as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees.
23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest.
But I, the Lord, affirm[az] that the enemy will cut them down.
For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts.
They will be too numerous to count.[ba]
24 Poor dear Egypt[bb] will be put to shame.
She will be handed over to the people from the north.’”
25 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[bc] says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes.[bd] I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him.[be] 26 I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!”[bf]
A Promise of Hope for Israel
27 [bg] “You descendants of Jacob, my servants,[bh] do not be afraid;
do not be terrified, people of Israel.
For I will rescue you and your descendants
from the faraway lands where you are captives.[bi]
The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.
They will be secure and no one will terrify them.
28 I, the Lord, tell[bj] you not to be afraid,
you descendants of Jacob, my servant,
for I am with you.
Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure.
I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”[bk]
Judgment on the Philistine Cities
47 This was[bl] the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:[bm]
2 “Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river.[bn]
They will be like an overflowing stream.
They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood.
They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants.
People will cry out in alarm.
Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.
3 Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses,
the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels.
They will not turn back to save their children
because they will be paralyzed with fear.[bo]
4 For the time has come
to destroy all the Philistines.
The time has come to destroy all the help
that remains for Tyre and Sidon.
For I, the Lord, will[bp] destroy the Philistines,
that remnant that came from the island of Crete.[bq]
5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning.
The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb.
How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow,[br]
you who remain of Philistia’s power?[bs]
6 How long will you cry out,[bt] ‘Oh, sword of the Lord,
how long will it be before you stop killing?[bu]
Go back into your sheath;
stay there and rest!’[bv]
7 But how can it rest[bw]
when I, the Lord, have[bx] given it orders?
I have ordered it to attack
the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.”[by]
6 Therefore we must progress beyond[a] the elementary[b] instructions about Christ[c] and move on[d] to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works[e] and faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings,[f] laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this is what we intend to do,[g] if God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6 and then have committed apostasy,[h] to renew them again to repentance, since[i] they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again[j] and holding him up to contempt. 7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on[k] it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed;[l] its fate is to be burned. 9 But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints. 11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish,[m] but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.
13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.”[n] 15 And so by persevering, Abraham[o] inherited the promise. 16 For people[p] swear by something greater than themselves,[q] and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.[r] 17 In the same way[s] God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable,[t] and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him[u] may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,[v] 20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.[w]
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