| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The LORD spoke to Jeremiah about the nations. | 1This is the message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. |
| 2He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. | 2To 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 Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. |
| 3"Fall into ranks with your shields ready! Prepare to march into battle! | 3"Prepare buckler and shield, and advance into the battle! |
| 4Harness the horses to the chariots! Mount your horses! Put on your helmets and take your positions! Sharpen you spears! Put on your armor! | 4Harness the horses! Riders, mount up! Take your positions with your helmets! Polish lances, and put on armor! |
| 5What do I see?" says the LORD. "The soldiers are terrified. They are retreating. They have been defeated. They are overcome with terror; they desert quickly without looking back. | 5Why am I seeing this? 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. |
| 6But even the swiftest cannot get away. Even the strongest cannot escape. There in the north by the Euphrates River they stumble and fall in defeat. | 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 that rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage? | 7Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? |
| 8Egypt rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage. Egypt says, 'I will arise and cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.' | 8Egypt is rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He says, 'I'll rise and cover the land. I'll destroy the city and its inhabitants.' |
| 9Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow. | 9Horses, 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. |
| 10But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied! It will drink their blood until it is full! For the Lord GOD who rules over all will offer them up as a sacrifice in the land of the north by the Euphrates River. | 10That 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. |
| 11Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, you dear poor people of Egypt. But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; there will be no healing for you. | 11Go up to Gilead and get balm, virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you multiply remedies, but there is no healing for you. |
| 12The nations will hear of your devastating defeat. your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth. In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over another and both of them will fall down defeated." | 12The 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." |
| 13The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt. | 13This is the message that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer the land of Egypt. |
| 14"Make an announcement throughout Egypt. Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. 'Take your positions and prepare to do battle. For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.' | 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.' |
| 15Why will your soldiers be defeated? They will not stand because I, the LORD, will thrust them down. | 15Why are your warriors prostrate? They don't stand because the LORD has brought them down. |
| 16I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say, 'Get up! Let's go back to our own people. Let's go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.' | 16They 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.' |
| 17There at home they will say, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! He has let the most opportune moment pass by.' | 17There they'll cry out, 'Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise. He has let the appointed time pass by.' |
| 18I the King, whose name is the LORD who rules over all, swear this: I swear as surely as I live that a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea. | 18As 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. |
| 19Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins and be uninhabited. | 19Prepare your baggage for exile, daughter living in Egypt, for Memphis will become a desolate place. It will become a ruin without inhabitant. |
| 20Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies. | 20Egypt is a beautiful calf, but a horsefly from the north is surely coming. |
| 21Even her mercenaries will prove to be like pampered, well-fed calves. For they too will turn and run away. They will not stand their ground when the time for them to be destroyed comes, the time for them to be punished. | 21Even 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. |
| 22Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy comes marching up in force. They will come against her with axes as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees. | 22Her cry will be like that of a fleeing serpent when they come in strength. They're coming to her with axes like woodcutters. |
| 23The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the LORD, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. | 23They'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. |
| 24Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north." | 24The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, she will be given into the hands of the people from the north." |
| 25The LORD God of Israel who rules over all says, "I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. | 25The 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. |
| 26I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the LORD, affirm it!" | 26I'll give them to those who are seeking their lives and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers. Then afterwards, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past," declares the LORD. |
| 27"You descendants of Jacob, my servants, do not be afraid; do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from the faraway lands where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them. | 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. |
| 28I, the LORD, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servant, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished." | 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." |
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