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word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt, about the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields,
both small and large;
move forward to the battle!
4 Harness the horses;
mount up, you horsemen;
take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish the spears;
put on the armour!
5 What is this I see?
They are terrified,
they are in retreat,
their warriors are crushed.
They take flight and flee headlong,
they do not even look back,
terror is on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee,
nor can the warrior escape.
In the north, by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters churn.
He boasts, ‘I will rise up,
and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants’.
9 Charge, O horses,
pace furiously, O chariots!
Let the warriors go forth—
men of Cush and Put, who carry shields;
Lydians, who handle and draw the bow.
10 For that day belongs to the Lord God of Hosts—
a day of vengeance,
that He may avenge Himself
on His adversaries.
The sword will devour until it is satisfied,
and it has drunk its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of Hosts will hold a sacrifice
in the north country by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
O Virgin Daughter of Egypt.
In vain you have applied many remedies,
for you cannot be cured.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and your cry has filled the earth;
for one warrior stumbles against the other,
and both fall down together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt:
14 “Announce it in Egypt, proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and in Tahpenhes!
Say: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourselves,
for the sword devours all around you’.
15 Why have your valiant men been swept away?
They have not stood, for the Lord has thrust them down.
16 They continue to stumble;
they fall upon one another.
They say, ‘Arise, let us go back to our own people,
and to the land of our birth,
away from the oppressing sword!’
17 There they will cry out,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was only noise,
he passed up the opportune moment’.
18 “As I live,” says the King,
whose name is the Lord of Hosts,
“He will come like Tabor among the mountains,
and like Carmel beside the sea.
19 Pack your bags for captivity,
O fair Daughter Egypt!
For Memphis will be laid waste,
and become a desolation without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful young heifer,
but from the north a gadfly is coming against her.
21 Even her mercenaries in her midst
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee away together;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming upon them,
the time of their punishment.
22 Like a fleeing serpent Egypt will hiss,
for armies will march against her;
with axes they will come against her,
like men who chop down trees.
23 “They will cut down her forest,”
declares the Lord.
“though it is impenetrable.
They cannot be counted for number,
for they are more numerous than locusts.
24 Fair Daughter Egypt will be put to shame;
she will be handed over to the people of the north.”
25 The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am bringing punishment on Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, and Egypt and her gods and kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But afterward Egypt will again be inhabited, as in ancient times,” declares the Lord.
27 “But do not fear, O Jacob My servant,
and do not be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your descendants, from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have peace and ease,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,”
declares the Lord,
“for I am with you.
I will make a complete end of all the nations
among which I have banished you,
I will not make a complete end of you.
I will discipline you in right measure;
for I will not leave you entirely unpunished.”