1 What came as the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations.
2 For Egypt: about the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was at the river Euphrates at Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 "Get ready small shield and large, and draw near for battle!
4 Hitch the horses; mount up, horsemen! Stand in position with helmets on; scour the lances; put on the armor!
5 Why do I see them terrified, falling back? Their warriors are crushed; they have fled headlong without looking back. Terror on every side! declares the LORD.
6 Let the swift not flee, nor the warrior escape; in the north, by the river Euphrates, they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters toss?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters toss; and he said, 'I will rise up and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and those who live in them.'
9 Go up, horses! Drive madly, chariots! Let the warriors go out, Cush and Put who grasp the shield, and the Lydians who grasp and bend the bow.
10 That day is for the Lord GOD of hosts a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his adversaries. The sword will devour and be satisfied and be drenched with their blood; for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the land of the north, by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have multiplied medicines; there is no new flesh for you.
12 The nations have heard of your disgrace, and your outcry has filled the earth; for warrior stumbles over warrior; both of them fall together."
13 The word which the LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 "Announce it in Egypt, make it heard in Migdol, make it heard in Memphis and in Tahpanhes; say, 'Stand ready and prepare yourself, for the sword devours all around you.'
15 Why is your mighty one swept away? He did not stand, for the LORD pushed him down.
16 He made many stumble; indeed, each fell on his neighbor, and they said, 'Up! Let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, away from the oppressing sword.'
17 They called out there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a loud noise; he let the appointed time slip by.'
18 As I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea, so one will come.
19 Make for yourself an exile's baggage, you who dwell as the daughter of Egypt! For Memphis will become a waste, burned and without inhabitant.
20 A very pretty heifer is Egypt; a horsefly from the north is coming, coming.
21 Even her hired men in her midst are like fattened calves, for they too have turned back and fled together; they did not hold their ground, for the day of their disaster has come on them, the time of their punishment.
22 Her sound goes like a snake's, for they come on in strength and come against her with axes, like woodcutters.
23 They will cut down her forest, declares the LORD, though it is impenetrable, for they are more numerous than locusts; they are beyond counting.
24 The daughter of Egypt is put to shame; she is given into the hand of a people from the north."
25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, has said: "See, I am punishing Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
26 I will give them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. Afterward she will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the LORD.
27 And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid, and do not lose heart, Israel; for see, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return and be quiet and secure, with no one to make him tremble.
28 You, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you; I will make a complete end of all the nations to which I drove you, but with you I will not make a complete end. I will discipline you as justice requires, and I will certainly not let you go unpunished."