| NET Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The LORD spoke to Jeremiah about the nations. | 1That which came as the word of the LORD 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 Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: |
| 3"Fall into ranks with your shields ready! Prepare to march into battle! | 3"Line up the shield and buckler, And draw near for 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! | 4"Harness the horses, And mount the steeds, And take your stand with helmets on! Polish the spears, Put on the scale-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. | 5"Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are drawing back, And their mighty men are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing 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. | 6Let not the swift man flee, Nor the mighty man escape; In the north beside the river Euphrates They have stumbled and fallen. |
| 7"Who is this that rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage? | 7Who is this that rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge about? |
| 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 rises like the Nile, Even like the rivers whose waters surge about; And He has said, "I will rise and cover that land; I will surely 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. | 9Go up, you horses, and drive madly, you chariots, That the mighty men may march forward: Ethiopia and Put, that handle the shield, And the Lydians, that 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. | 10For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the sword will devour and be satiated And drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a slaughter for the Lord GOD of hosts, In the land of the north by the river Euphrates. |
| 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 obtain balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain have you multiplied remedies; 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 shame, And the earth is full of your cry of distress; For one warrior has stumbled over another, And both of them have fallen down together. |
| 13The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt. | 13This is the message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite 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"Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes; Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the sword has devoured those around you.' |
| 15Why will your soldiers be defeated? They will not stand because I, the LORD, will thrust them down. | 15"Why have your mighty ones become prostrate? They do not stand because the LORD has thrust 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.' | 16"They have repeatedly stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen one against another. Then they said, 'Get up! And let us go back To our own people and our native land Away from the sword of the oppressor.' |
| 17There at home they will say, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! He has let the most opportune moment pass by.' | 17"They cried there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is but 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. | 18"As I live," declares the King Whose name is the LORD of hosts, "Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains, Or 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. | 19"Make your baggage ready for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt, For Memphis will become a desolation; It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants. |
| 20Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies. | 20"Egypt is a pretty heifer, But a horsefly is coming from the north-- it is 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. | 21"Also her mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened calves, For even they too have turned back and have fled away together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their calamity has come upon 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. | 22"Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes. |
| 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. | 23"They have cut down her forest," declares the LORD; "Surely it will no more be found, Even though they are now more numerous than locusts And are without number. |
| 24Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north." | 24"The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Given over to the power of the people of 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 hosts, the God of Israel, says, "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even 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!" | 26"I shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his officers. Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," 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"But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him tremble. |
| 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"O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will not make a full end of you; But I will correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished." |
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