Judgment on Egypt

1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3“Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

4Harness the horses;

mount, O horsemen!

Take your stations with your helmets,

polish your spears,

put on your armor!

5Why have I seen it?

They are dismayed

and have turned backward.

Their warriors are beaten down

and have fled in haste;

they look not back—

terror on every side!

declares the Lord.

6“The swift cannot flee away,

nor the warrior escape;

in the north by the river Euphrates

they have stumbled and fallen.

7“Who is this, rising like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge?

8Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge.

He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’

9Advance, O horses,

and rage, O chariots!

Let the warriors go out:

men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,

men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

10That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,

a day of vengeance,

to avenge himself on his foes.

The sword shall devour and be sated

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice

in the north country by the river Euphrates.

11Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

there is no healing for you.

12The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

for warrior has stumbled against warrior;

they have both fallen together.”

13The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;

proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,

for the sword shall devour around you.’

15Why are your mighty ones face down?

They do not stand

because the Lord thrust them down.

16He made many stumble, and they fell,

and they said one to another,

‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

because of the sword of the oppressor.’

17Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

18“As I live, declares the King,

whose name is the Lord of hosts,

like Tabor among the mountains

and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.

19Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,

O inhabitants of Egypt!

For Memphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, without inhabitant.

20“A beautiful heifer is Egypt,

but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.

21Even her hired soldiers in her midst

are like fattened calves;

yes, they have turned and fled together;

they did not stand,

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

the time of their punishment.

22“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;

for her enemies march in force

and come against her with axes

like those who fell trees.

23They shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,

though it is impenetrable,

because they are more numerous than locusts;

they are without number.

24The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;

she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him.  26I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

27“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,

nor be dismayed, O Israel,

for behold, I will save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

28Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

declares the Lord,

for I am with you.

I will make a full end of all the nations

to which I have driven you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

I will discipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”