Online Bible

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^aconcerning the Gentile nations.

2 Concerning ^aEgypt, against the army of ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at ^cCarchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ¹defeated decisively in the ^dfourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: Is 19-20; Ezek 29-32; Zech 14:18, 19

3 “^aLine up the ¹buckler (small shield) and large shield,And advance for battle!4 “Harness the horses,And mount, you riders!Take your stand with your helmets!^aPolish the spears,Put on the ^bcoats of mail!5 “Why have I seen it?They are terrifiedAnd have ^aturned back,And their ^bwarriors are beaten down.They take flight in hasteWithout looking back;^cTerror is on every side!”Says the LORD. Ps 31:13; Jer 6:25; 20:3, 10; 49:296 Do not let the ^aswift man run,Nor the mighty man escape;In the north by the river EuphratesThey have ^bstumbled and fallen.7 Who is this that ^arises up like the Nile River,Like the rivers in the delta of Egypt whose waters surge about?8 Egypt rises like the Nile,Even like the rivers whose waters surge about.And ¹He has said, “I will ^arise, I will cover that land;I will certainly ^bdestroy the city and its inhabitants.”9 Charge, you horses,And ^adrive like madmen, you chariots!Let the warriors go forward:Ethiopia and ^bPut (Libya) who handle the shield,And the ^cLydians who handle and bend the bow.10 For ^athat day belongs to the Lord GOD of hosts,A day of vengeance, that He may ^bavenge Himself on His adversaries.And the ^csword will devour and be satiatedAnd drink its fill of their blood;For the Lord GOD of hosts has a ^dsacrifice like that of a great sin offeringIn the north country by the river Euphrates.11 Go ^aup to Gilead and obtain healing balm,^bO Virgin Daughter of Egypt!In vain you use many medicines;For you there is ^cno healing or remedy.12 The nations have heard of your ^adisgrace and shame,And your ^bcry of distress has filled the earth.For ^cwarrior has stumbled against warrior,And both of them have fallen together.

13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the ^acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^bstrike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ¹^aMigdol,And proclaim in ²Memphis and in ^bTahpanhes;Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,For the ^csword has devoured those around you.’15 “Why have your ^astrong ones been cut down?They do not stand because the LORD ^bdrove them away.16 “He will make many ^astumble and fall;Yes, they have fallen one on another.Then they said, ‘Arise, and ^blet us go backTo our own people and to the land of our birth,Away from the ^csword of the oppressor.’17 “They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is destroyed and is merely ^aa loud noise;He has let the appointed time of opportunity pass by!’18 “As I live,” says the ^aKing,Whose name is the LORD of hosts,“Surely like ¹^bTabor among the mountainsOr like ^cCarmel by the sea,So shall he the great king of Babylon come.19 “O you ^adaughter who dwells in Egypt and you who dwell with her,Prepare yourselves with all you will need to go into ^bexile,For ^cMemphis will become desolate;It will even be burned down and without inhabitant.20 “Egypt is a very pretty ^aheifer,But a horsefly (Babylonia) is coming against her ^bout of the north!21 “Also her ^amercenaries in her armyAre like fattened ^bcalves,For they too have turned back and have fled together;They did not stand their ground,Because the day of their disaster has come upon them,The time of their ^cpunishment.22 “The sound of Egypt fleeing from the enemy is like the rustling of an escaping serpent,For her foes advance with a mighty armyAnd come against her like woodcutters with axes.23 “They have cut down her ^aforest,” says the LORD;“Certainly it will no longer be found,Because they (the invaders) are more numerous than ^blocustsAnd cannot be counted.24 “The Daughter of Egypt has been shamed,Given over to the power of the ^apeople of the north the Chaldeans of Babylonia.”

25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon chief god of the sacred city of ^aThebes the capital of Upper Egypt, and ^bPharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^cgods and her kings—even Pharaoh and those who put their ^dtrust in him as a shield against Babylon. 26 I will put them into the hand of those who ^aseek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants. ^bAfterward Egypt will be ¹inhabited as in the days of old,” says the LORD.

27 “But as for you, ^ado not fear, O My servant Jacob,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For behold, I will ^bsave you from your captivity in a distant land,And your descendants from the land of their exile;And Jacob will return and be ^cquiet and secure,And no one will make him afraid.28 “Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the LORD,“For ^aI am with you.For I will make a full and complete end of all the nationsTo which I have driven you;Yet I will ^bnot make a full end of you.But I will ^cdiscipline and correct you appropriatelyAnd by no means will I declare you guiltless or leave you unpunished.”