46:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the nations.
46:2 He 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
46:3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready!
Prepare to march into battle!
46:4 Harness the horses to the chariots!
Mount your horses!
Put on your helmets and take your positions!
Sharpen you spears!
Put on your armor!
46:5 What do I see?”
“The soldiers
They are retreating.
They have been defeated.
They are overcome with terror;
they desert quickly
without looking back.
46:6 But 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.
46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like its streams
46:8 Egypt 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.’
46:9 Go ahead and
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
Let the soldiers march out into battle,
those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
and those from Lydia
46:10 But 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
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
46:11 Go 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.
46:12 The 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.”
46:13 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt.
46:14 “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.’
46:15 Why will your soldiers
They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust
46:16 I 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.’
46:17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise!
He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’
46:18 I the King, whose name is the Lord who rules over all,
I swear as surely as I live that
He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains,
as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea.
46:19 Pack your bags for exile,
you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt.
For Memphis will be laid waste.
It will lie in ruins
46:20 Egypt is like a beautiful young cow.
But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.
46:21 Even her mercenaries
will prove to be like pampered,
For they too will turn and run away.
They will not stand their ground
when
the time for them to be punished.