Jeremiah
Jeremiah 26
The Message against Egypt
1 In the beginning of the reign of king Zedekiah, there came this word concerning Elam. 2 For Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, and which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah.
3 “Take up weapons and shields, and close in for battle.”
4 “Harness the horses; mount, you horsemen, and take your stand in your helmets. Set the spears forward, and put on your breastplates.”
5 “Why are they terrified and falling back? Because their strong men will be cut down. They have fled outright; hemmed in on every side, they did not turn back, says the Lord.”
6 “Let the swift not flee, and let the strong man not escape. Toward the north, beside the Euphrates, they grew weak; they have fallen.”
7 “Who is this that rises like a river, like rivers rolling their water?”
8 “The waters of Egypt will rise like a river. And she said, ‘I will rise and cover the earth, and I will destroy those living on it.’”
9 “Mount the horses; make the chariots ready. March out, you warriors of the Ethiopians and you Libyans in full armor; and you Lydians, come up and draw the bow.”
10 “And that day will be for the Lord our God a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his enemies. The sword of the Lord will devour and be filled and be drunk on their blood, for there is a sacrifice to the Lord of armies from the land of the north, at the river Euphrates.”
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt. For nothing have you multiplied your remedies; there is no help for you.”
12 “The nations heard your voice, and the land was filled with your cry, for warrior stumbled against warrior, and the two fell together.”
13 The words the Lord spoke through Jeremiah about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt.
14 “Announce it in Migdol, and proclaim it in Memphis. Say: Stand up and get ready, for the sword has devoured your yew.”
15 “Why has Apis fled? Your choice calf did not stay, because the Lord made him collapse.”
16 “And your crowd grew weak and fell, and each said to his neighbor, ‘Get up — let us go back to our own people, to our homeland, away from the Greek sword.’”
17 “Call Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt by the name Saon-esbi-emoyed.”
18 “As I live, says the Lord God, he will come as Tabor among the mountains, and as Carmel that is on the sea.”
19 “Daughter of Egypt, prepare your belongings for exile, because Memphis will become a ruin and be called Woe, with no one living in it.”
20 “Egypt is a beautifully dressed heifer, but a detachment from the north has come against her.”
21 “Her hired soldiers among her are like fattened calves. They too have turned and fled together. They did not stand, because their day of destruction and their time of reckoning came on them.”
22 “Her voice is like a snake hissing away, for they will advance over the sand; they will come against her with axes, like men cutting wood.”
23 “They will cut down her forest, says the Lord God, for it cannot be measured; they are more numerous than locusts — they are beyond counting.”
24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame; she was handed over into the hands of a people from the north.”
25 “Look, I will call Amon, her son, to account, together with Pharaoh and everyone who trusts in him.”
27 “And you — do not fear, my slave Jacob, and do not be terrified, Israel. Look, I am rescuing you from far away, and your offspring from their captivity. Jacob will return and be quiet and sleep, and no one will trouble him.”
28 “Do not fear, my servant Jacob, says the Lord, because I am with you. I will make an end of every nation I drove you into, but of you I will not make an end. I will discipline you toward judgment, and I will not hold you guiltless.”