Online Bible

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet ^aconcerning the nations.

2 To ^aEgypt, concerning the army of ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at ^cCarchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 “^aLine up the shield and ¹buckler,And draw near for the battle!4 “Harness the horses,And ¹mount the steeds,And take your stand with helmets on!^aPolish the spears,Put on the ^bscale-armor!5 “Why have I seen it?They are terrified,They are ^adrawing back,And their ^bmighty men are defeatedAnd have taken refuge in flight,Without facing back;¹^cTerror is on every side!”Declares the LORD.6 Let not the ^aswift man flee,Nor the mighty man escape;In the north beside the river EuphratesThey have ^bstumbled and fallen.7 Who is this that ^arises like the Nile,Like the rivers whose waters surge about?8 Egypt rises like the Nile,Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;And He has said, “I will ^arise and cover that land;I will surely ^bdestroy the city and its inhabitants.”9 Go up, you horses, and ¹^adrive madly, you chariots,That the mighty men may ²march forward:Ethiopia and ³^bPut, that handle the shield,And the ⁴^cLydians, that handle and bend the bow.10 For ^athat day belongs to the Lord ¹GOD of hosts,A day of ^bvengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;And the ^csword will devour and be satiatedAnd ²drink its fill of their blood;For there will be a ^dslaughter for the Lord ³GOD of hosts,In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.11 Go ^aup to Gilead and obtain balm,^bO virgin daughter of Egypt!In vain have you multiplied ¹remedies;There is ^cno healing for you.12 The nations have heard of your ^ashame,And the earth is full of your ^bcry of distress;For one ^cwarrior has stumbled over ¹another,And both of them have fallen down together.

13 This is the ¹message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^bsmite the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^aMigdol,Proclaim also in Memphis and ^bTahpanhes;Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,For the ^csword has devoured those around you.’15 “Why have your ^amighty ones become prostrate?They do not stand because the LORD has ^bthrust them down.16 “They have repeatedly ^astumbled;Indeed, they have fallen one against another.Then they said, ‘Get up! And ^blet us go backTo our own people and our native landAway from the ¹^csword of the oppressor.’17 “¹They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but ^aa big noise;He has let the appointed time pass by!’18 “As I live,” declares the ^aKingWhose name is the LORD of hosts,“Surely one shall come who looms up like ^bTabor among the mountains,Or like ^cCarmel by the sea.19 “Make your baggage ready for ^aexile,O ^bdaughter dwelling in Egypt,For ^cMemphis will become a desolation;It will even be burned down and ¹bereft of inhabitants.20 “Egypt is a pretty ^aheifer,But a ¹horsefly is coming ^bfrom the north—it is coming!21 “Also her ^amercenaries in her midstAre like ¹fattened ^bcalves,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 ^cpunishment.22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent;For they move on ¹like an armyAnd come to her as woodcutters with axes.23 “They have cut down her ^aforest,” declares the LORD;“Surely it will no more be found,Even though ¹they are now more numerous than ^blocustsAnd are without number.24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,Given over to the ¹power of the ^apeople of the north.”

25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^aThebes, and ^bPharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^cgods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who ^dtrust in him. 26 I shall give them over to the ¹power of those who are ^aseeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his ²officers. ^bAfterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the LORD.

27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, ^ado not fear,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For, see, I am going to ^bsave you from afar,And your descendants from the land of their captivity;And Jacob will return and be ^cundisturbedAnd secure, with no one making him tremble.28 “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the LORD,“For ^aI am with you.For I will make a full end of all the nationsWhere I have driven you,Yet I will ^bnot make a full end of you;But I will ^ccorrect you properlyAnd by no means leave you unpunished.”