Old/New Testament
VIII. Oracles Against the Nations[a]
Chapter 46
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
Against Egypt. 2 Concerning Egypt. Against the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates[b] by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 Prepare buckler and shield!
move forward to battle!
4 Harness the horses,
charioteers, mount up!
Fall in, with helmets on;
polish your spears, put on your armor.
5 What do I see?
Are they panicking, falling apart?
Their warriors are hammered back,
They flee headlong
never making a stand.
Terror on every side—
oracle of the Lord!(A)
6 The swift cannot flee,
nor the warrior escape:
There up north, on the banks of the Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this? Like the Nile, it rears up;
like rivers, its waters surge.
8 Egypt rears up like the Nile,
like rivers, its waters surge.
“I will rear up,” it says, “and cover the earth,
destroying the city and its people.(B)
9 Forward, horses!
charge, chariots!
March forth, warriors,
Cush and Put, bearing shields,
Archers of Lud, stretching bows!”
10 Today belongs to the Lord God of hosts,
a day of vengeance, vengeance on his foes!
The sword devours and is sated, drunk with their blood:
for the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice
in the land of the north, on the River Euphrates.(C)
11 Go up to Gilead, procure balm,
Virgin daughter Egypt!
No use to multiply remedies;
for you there is no healing.(D)
12 The nations hear your cries,
your screaming fills the earth.
Warrior stumbles against warrior,
both collapse together.(E)
13 (F)The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet when Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came to attack the land of Egypt:[c]
14 Proclaim in Egypt, announce in Migdol,
announce in Memphis and Tahpanhes!
Say: Fall in, get ready,
the sword has devoured your neighbors.(G)
15 Why has Apis[d] fled?
Your champion did not stand,
Because the Lord thrust him down;
16 he stumbled repeatedly then collapsed.
They said to each other,
“Get up! We must return to our own people,
To the land of our birth,
away from the destroying sword.”(H)
17 Give Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the name
“Braggart-missed-his-chance.”[e]
18 As I live, says the King
whose name is Lord of hosts,
Like Tabor above mountains,
like Carmel[f] above the sea, he comes.
19 Pack your bags for exile,
enthroned daughter Egypt;
Memphis shall become a wasteland,
an empty ruin.
20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
a horsefly from the north keeps coming.
21 Even the mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves;
They too turn and flee together—
they do not stand their ground,
For their day of ruin comes upon them,
their time of punishment.
22 Her voice is like a snake!
Yes, they come in force;
They attack her with axes,
like those who fell trees.
23 They cut down her forest—oracle of the Lord—
impenetrable though it be;
More numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Shamed is daughter Egypt,
handed over to a people from the north.
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, has said: See! I will punish Amon[g] of Thebes and Egypt, gods, kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him.(I) 26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and to his officers. But later, Egypt shall be inhabited again, as in days of old—oracle of the Lord.(J)
27 But you, my servant Jacob, do not fear;
do not be dismayed, Israel!
Listen! I will deliver you from far-off lands;
your offspring, from the land of their exile.
Jacob shall again find rest,
secure, with none to frighten him.(K)
28 You, Jacob my servant, must not fear—oracle of the Lord—
for I am with you;
I will make an end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
But of you I will not make an end:
I will chastise you as you deserve,
I cannot let you go unpunished.(L)
Chapter 47
Against the Philistines. 1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:(M)
2 Thus says the Lord:
[h] See: waters are rising from the north,
to become a torrent in flood;
They shall flood the land and all it contains,
the cities and their inhabitants.
People will howl and wail,
every inhabitant of the land.
3 At the noise of the pounding hooves of his steeds,
the clanking chariots, the rumbling wheels,
Parents do not turn back for their children;
their hands hang helpless,
4 Because of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines
And cut off from Tyre and Sidon[i]
the last of their allies.
Yes, the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.(N)
5 Baldness is visited upon Gaza,(O)
Ashkelon is reduced to silence;
Ashdod, remnant of their strength,
how long will you gash yourself?[j]
6 Ah! Sword of the Lord!
When will you find rest?
Return to your scabbard;
stop, be still!
7 How can it find rest
when the Lord has commanded it?
Against Ashkelon and the seacoast,
there he has appointed it.(P)
Chapter 6
1 Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,(A) 2 instruction about baptisms[a] and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.(B) 3 And we shall do this, if only God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift[b] and shared in the holy Spirit(C) 5 and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,[c] 6 and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves[d] and holding him up to contempt.(D) 7 Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.(E) 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned.(F)
9 But we are sure in your regard, beloved, of better things related to salvation, even though we speak in this way. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. 11 We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end,(G) 12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience,(H) are inheriting the promises.[e]
God’s Promise Immutable. 13 [f](I)When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by himself,” 14 and said, “I will indeed bless you and multiply” you.(J) 15 And so, after patient waiting,(K) he obtained the promise.[g] 16 Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. 17 So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath,(L) 18 so that by two immutable things,[h] in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.(M) 19 This we have as an anchor of the soul,(N) sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,[i] 20 where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(O)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.