Old/New Testament
A Prophecy About Egypt
46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
Concerning the strong army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 Arrange your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses!
Mount up, you horsemen!
Take up your stations with your helmets on.
Polish your spears.
Put on your armor!
5 But what do I see?
They are terrified.
They are turning back.
Their warriors are beaten.
They are fleeing without looking back.
There is terror on every side! declares the Lord.
6 There is no chance for the swift to flee.
There is no escape for the strong.
In the north, near the River Euphrates,
they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers with surging waters?
8 It is Egypt that rises like the Nile,
like rivers with surging waters.
Egypt said, “I will rise.
I will cover the earth.
I will destroy cities
and those who live in them.”
9 Horses, charge!
Charioteers, drive like madmen!
Forward, you warriors,
you men of Cush and Put who carry the shield,
you men of Lud who grasp and bend the bow![a]
10 That day is the day of the Lord, the God of Armies.
It is a day of vengeance,
when he will take vengeance on his foes.
11 Go up to Gilead and get balm,
virgin daughter of Egypt!
You have tried many medicines with no results.
There is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and your cry fills the earth.
Warrior stumbles against warrior,
and the two of them fall together.
Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack Egypt
13 This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt.
14 Declare this in Egypt. Proclaim it in Migdol.
Proclaim it in Memphis[b] and Tahpanhes.
Say, “Take your positions and get ready.
The sword is going to devour those around you.”
15 Why are your mighty ones laid low?[c]
They cannot stand, for the Lord has pushed them down.
16 He made many stumble.
They fall against each other.
They say, “Get up! Let’s go back to our people
and to the land of our birth,
away from the sword of our oppressor.”
17 There they will cry out,
“Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise.
He has missed his opportunity.”
18 As surely as I live, declares the King,
whose name is the Lord of Armies,
someone is coming who is like Tabor among the mountains,
and like Carmel by the sea.[d]
19 Get your bags ready to go into exile,
you daughter who dwells in Egypt,
for Memphis will become a desolation
and lie in ruins without an inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a lovely heifer,
but a horsefly has come against her out of the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves.
They will turn and flee together.
They will not stand,
for the day of disaster has come upon them,
the time for their punishment.
22 Egypt will hiss like a snake,
because the enemy will advance as an army.
It will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will cut down her forest, declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
even though they are more numerous than locusts,
even though they are too many to count.
24 The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame,
handed over to the people from the north.
25 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Watch, I will punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, with Egypt, her gods, and her kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers.
But afterward Egypt will be inhabited as in former days, declares the Lord.
27 But do not be afraid, my servant Jacob.
Do not be terrified, Israel,
because I will save you from a faraway place,
and I will rescue your descendants from the land where
they are captives.
Jacob will return.
He will enjoy quiet and be at ease,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will completely destroy all the nations
among which I have scattered you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will not regard you as entirely innocent.
A Prophecy Against Philistia
47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza.
2 This is what the Lord says.
See, waters rise up out of the north,
and they will become an overflowing stream.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
the cities and those who live there.
The people will cry out,
and everyone who lives in the land will wail
3 at the sound of the stamping hoofs of his steeds,
at the rumbling of his chariots,
at the roar of his wheels.
Fathers will not turn back for their sons,
because their hands will hang limp,
4 on account of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who survives.
For the Lord will destroy the Philistines,
the surviving remnant from the shores of Caphtor.[e]
5 Baldness is coming to Gaza.
Ashkelon will be destroyed.
You survivors left on the plain,
how long will you cut yourselves?
6 O sword of the Lord!
How long until you rest?
Return to your scabbard.
Rest and be still.
7 How can you rest since the Lord has commanded this?
Against Ashkelon and against the shore of the sea,
he has assigned the sword.
Moving On Toward Maturity
6 Therefore, leaving the beginning discussion of Christ, let us press on toward matters that require greater maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith in God, 2 of the teaching about baptisms,[a] of the laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And we will do this, if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who then fell away, to be restored to repentance because[b] they are crucifying the Son of God again, to their own harm, and exposing him to public ridicule.
7 For the land that drinks the rain that often falls on it and produces plants useful to those farming it, this land receives a blessing from God. 8 But the land that grows thorns and thistles is worthless and will soon be cursed—its end is to be burned.
9 But even if we speak this way, we are confident of better things for you, dear friends, things belonging to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love that you showed for his name’s sake, when you served the saints, and while you continue to serve them. 11 And we want each of you to continue to show the same eagerness, so that you may have the full assurance of your hope until the end. 12 Our goal is that you would not become lazy but imitators of those who inherited the promise through faith and patient endurance.
God’s Promise Is Sure
13 For God made a promise to Abraham, and since God had no one greater to swear by, “He swore by himself.”[c] 14 He said, “I will most certainly bless you and make you increase in number.”[d] 15 And so in this way, after Abraham had waited patiently, he received the promise.
16 To be sure, people swear by someone who is greater, and the oath serves as a confirmation for them that ends all disputes. 17 Because God wanted to show the heirs of the promise with even greater certainty that his plan was unchangeable, he guaranteed his promise with an oath. 18 He did this so that, through two unchangeable things (in which it is impossible that God would lie), we, who have fled for refuge by taking hold of this hope that is held out to us, might have strong encouragement.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. It is sure and firm, and it goes behind the inner curtain, 20 where Jesus entered ahead of us on our behalf, because he became a high priest forever like Melchizedek.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.