Judgment on Egypt

That which was the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations, 2for Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt which was alongside the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

3“Arrange the buckler and shield,

and draw near for the battle!

4Harness the horses, and mount up O horsemen!

And take your stand with helmets on;

polish the spears,

and put on the armor!

5Why have I seen it?

They are terrified;

they are turning back,

and their mighty ones are crushed,

and in haste they have fled; not even did they turn;

fear was all around!”

A declaration of YHWH.

6“Swift cannot flee,

and the mighty one cannot escape;

in the north, alongside the River Euphrates,

they stumble and fall.

7Who is this like the River coming up,

like the rivers with their surging waters?

8Egypt like the River rises up,

and like the rivers its waters surge;

and he says, ‘I will go up, and will cover the earth,

and I will destroy the city and those dwelling in it!

9Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!

And let come forth the mighty ones,

Cush† and Put handling the shield,

and the Lydians handling and bending the bow.

10And that day is unto the Lord YHWH of hosts!

A day of vengeance, to avenge Himself on His adversaries!

And the sword will devour and be satisfied

and made drunk with their blood;

for a sacrifice is unto the Lord YHWH of Hosts

in the land of the north, by the River Euphrates.

11Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have multiplied remedies;

there is no healing for you.

12The nations have heard of your shame,

and your outcry has filled the land;

for mighty one against mighty one has stumbled—

together” have fallen the two of them!

13The word that YHWH spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, regarding the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt.

14“Declare it in Egypt, and let it be heard in Migdol!

And let it also be heard in Memphis,† and in Tahpanhes say,

‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,

for the sword will devour those around you!’

15Why have your mighty ones been laid low?

He has not stood, because YHWH has thrust him away.

16He has multiplied those stumbling,

yes, a man has fallen upon his neighbor.

And they say, ‘Stand up, and let us return to our people

and to the land of our birth,

from the face of the sword of the oppressor!’

17They call out there:

‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, a loud noise;

he has let pass by’ the appointed time!

18As I live, a declaration of the King,

YHWH of Hosts is His name—

surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel

by the sea, he will come.

19Vessels for exile you will make for yourself,

O dweller and daughter of Egypt!

For Memphis will become as a waste,

and will be made desolate without one dwelling there.

20A heifer very beautiful is Egypt,

a biting fly from the north is coming against her!

21Even her hirelings in her midst

are like calves of the stall,

for also they have turned back;

they have fled away together, they have not stood,

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

the time of their punishment.

22Her noise is like a serpent† that goes away,

for with a force they go,

and with axes they come against her,

like those chopping down trees.

23They will cut down her forest, a declaration of YHWH,

though it cannot be searched,

for they are more numerous than locusts,

and there is not for them numbering!

24The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame,

and she will be given into the hand of the people of the north.”

25YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am bringing punishment against Amon of Thebes,† and upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt, and upon their gods, and upon their kings—and upon Pharaoh, and upon those trusting in him. And I will give them into the hand of those seeking their souls, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And after this, it will be a dwelling place as in days of old, a declaration of YHWH.

27And you, do not be afraid, O My servant Jacob,

and you should not be dismayed, O Israel!

For behold, I am bringing you salvation from afar,

and your seed from the land of their captivity;

and Jacob will return, and he will have quiet, and he will find rest,

with no one to make him afraid.

28You will not fear, O My servant Jacob,

a declaration of YHWH, for I am with you.

For I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you there.

And of you I will not make a full end;

I will discipline you according to justice,

and I will not entirely acquit you.”