Old/New Testament
Prophecies against the Nations
46 This is[a] the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
Prophecies against Egypt: Its Defeat at Carchemish
2 To Egypt: Concerning the army of King Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, which was encamped by the Euphrates River at Carchemish and which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of the reign of[b] Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah.
3 “Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance into the battle!
4 Harness the horses!
Riders, mount up!
Take your[c] positions with your[d] helmets!
Polish lances,
and put on armor!
5 Why am I seeing this?[e]
They’re terrified,
they have turned back.
Their warriors are crushed,
and they take flight.
They don’t look back.
Terror is on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee,
nor can the strong escape.
In the north, beside the Euphrates River,
they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt is rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
He says, ‘I’ll rise and cover the land.[f]
I’ll destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
9 Horses, get up!
Chariots, drive furiously!
Let the warriors go forward,
Ethiopia and Put, who carry shields,
and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
10 That day belongs to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
It is a day of vengeance to take vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour and be satisfied,
and will drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north,
by the Euphrates river.
11 Go up to Gilead and get balm,[g]
virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you multiply remedies,
but there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your disgrace,
and your cry of distress fills the earth.
Indeed, one warrior stumbles over another,
and both of them fall down together.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Conquest of Egypt
13 This is the message that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer[h] the land of Egypt.
14 “Announce in Egypt, proclaim in Migdol.
Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes.
Say, ‘Take your positions and be ready,
for the sword will devour all around you.’
15 Why are your warriors prostrate?
They don’t stand[i] because the Lord has brought them down.
16 They repeatedly stumble and fall.
They say to each other, ‘Get up!
Let’s go back to our people
and to the land of our birth,
away from the oppressor’s sword.’
17 There they’ll cry out,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise.
He has let the appointed time pass by.’[j]
18 As certainly as I’m alive and living,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
“Indeed, one will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
19 Prepare your baggage for exile,
daughter living in Egypt,
for Memphis will become a desolate place.
It will become a ruin without inhabitant.
20 Egypt is a beautiful calf,[k]
but a horsefly from the north is surely coming.
21 Even the mercenary troops in her ranks
are like a fattened calf.
They too will turn around,
and will flee together.
They won’t stand,
for the day of their disaster is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.
22 Her cry will be like that of a fleeing serpent
when they come in strength.
They’re coming to her with axes like woodcutters.
23 They’ll cut down her forest, though it’s impenetrable,”
declares the Lord,
“for they’re more numerous than locusts,
and there are too many of them to count.
24 The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame,
she will be given into the hands of the people from the north.”
25 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says, “Look, I’m going to punish Amon of Thebes, Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods and its kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. 26 I’ll give them to those who are seeking their lives and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers.[l] Then afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
Israel will be Delivered
27 “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid,
and Israel, don’t be dismayed.
For I’ll deliver you from a distant place,
and your descendants from the land of their captivity.
Jacob will return.
He will be undisturbed and secure,
and no one will cause him to fear.
28 “As for you, my servant Jacob, don’t be afraid,
and Israel, don’t be dismayed,”
declares the Lord, “for I am with you.
Indeed, I’ll make an end of all the nations
where I scattered you;
but I won’t make an end of you!
I’ll discipline you justly,
but I’ll certainly not leave you unpunished.”
A Prophecy against the Philistines
47 This is[m] the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, waters are rising from the north,
and they’ll become an overflowing river.
They’ll overflow the land and all that fills it[n]—
the city and those that live in it.
People will cry out,
and all those living in the land will wail.
3 At the sound of the galloping hooves of his horses,[o]
at the rumbling of his chariots,
the clatter of his wheels,
fathers won’t turn back for their[p] children
because their hands are weak,
4 for the day is coming to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every helper who remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastlands of Caphtor.[q]
5 Baldness[r] is coming to Gaza.
Ashkelon is silenced.
Remnant of their valley,
how long will you gash yourself?[s]
6 Ah, sword of the Lord,
how long before you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard,
be at rest, be silent!
7 How can it be quiet,
when the Lord has ordered disaster
to come to Ashkelon and the seashore?
That’s where he has assigned it.”
The Peril of Immaturity
6 Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah,[a] let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do,[b] if God permits.
4 For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule. 7 For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. 8 However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.
Be Diligent
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation. 10 For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him[c] as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them. 11 But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope. 12 Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.
God’s Promise is Reliable
13 For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. 16 For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. 17 In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19 That hope,[e] firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain 20 where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
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