Jeremiah 46:14

46:14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt.

Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. ¹ 

‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle.

For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’ ² 

Jeremiah 46:19

46:19 Pack your bags for exile,

you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. ³ 

For Memphis will be laid waste.

It will lie in ruins ⁴  and be uninhabited.

Isaiah 19:13

19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,

the officials of Memphis ⁵  are misled;

the rulers ⁶  of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

Ezekiel 30:13

30:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

I will destroy the idols,

and put an end to the gods of Memphis.

There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;

so I will make the land of Egypt fearful. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 30:16

30:16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;

Syene ⁸  will writhe in agony,

Thebes will be broken down,

and Memphis will face enemies every day.

[46:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Declare in Egypt and announce in Migdol and announce in Noph [= Memphis] and in Tahpanhes.” The sentence has been restructured to reflect the fact that the first command is a general one, followed by announcements in specific (representative?) cities.

[46:14]  ² tn Heb “For the sword devours those who surround you.” The “sword” is again figurative of destructive forces. Here it is a reference to the forces of Nebuchadnezzar which have already destroyed the Egyptian forces at Carchemish and have made victorious forays into the Philistine plain.

[46:19]  ³ tn Heb “inhabitants of daughter Egypt.” Like the phrase “daughter Zion,” “daughter Egypt” is a poetic personification of the land, here perhaps to stress the idea of defenselessness.

[46:19]  ⁴ tn For the verb here see HALOT 675 s.v. II נָצָה Nif and compare the usage in Jer 4:7; 9:11 and 2 Kgs 19:25. BDB derives the verb from יָצַת (so BDB 428 s.v. יָצַת Niph meaning “kindle, burn”) but still give it the meaning “desolate” here and in 2:15 and 9:11.

[19:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”

[19:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.

[30:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”

[30:16]  ⁸ tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.