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Chapter Summary
Of Egypt: There is no healing for you. Prepare yourselves for exile. I will deliver Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar. But fear not, O Jacob!
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles, 2about Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was beside the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, struck down, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: 3“‘Prepare the heavy and the light shield, and advance to war! 4Harness the horses, and let the horsemen climb upon them! Stand forth with helmets! Sharpen the lances! Clothe yourselves in armor!’ 5And what is next? I have seen them terrified, and turning their backs, their strong ones cut down. They have fled in disorder and have not looked back. Terror on every side, says the Lord. 6Let not the swift take flight; let not the strong ones think to save themselves. They have been conquered and ruined, toward the north, near the river Euphrates. 7Who is this, who ascends like a flood, and whose streams swell up, like those of the rivers? 8Egypt ascends in the form of a river, and its waves will be moved like those of a river. And he will say: ‘I will ascend and cover the earth! I will perish the city and its inhabitants!’ 9Mount the horses, and exult upon chariots, and let the strong ones advance: the Ethiopians, and the Libyans, who hold the heavy shield, and the Lydians, who grasp and shoot arrows. 10For this is the day of the Lord, the God of hosts, a day of vengeance, so that he may vindicate himself of his enemies. The sword will devour, and be satiated, and be inebriated with their blood. For there is a victim of the Lord, the God of hosts, in the land of the north, beside the river Euphrates. 11Ascend to Gilead, and take its balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! It is in vain that you multiply medicines; there will be no health for you! 12The nations have heard of your disgrace, and your wailing has filled the earth. For the strong have stumbled against the strong, and both have fallen together.” 13The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning how Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would arrive and strike the land of Egypt: 14“Announce it to Egypt, and make it heard in Migdol, and let it resonate in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. Say this: Stand and prepare yourself! For the sword will devour everything around you. 15Why have your strong ones decayed? They have not stood firm, because the Lord has overthrown them. 16He has multiplied those in ruin, and each man has fallen beside his neighbor. And they will say: ‘Rise up, and let us return to our own people and to the land of our nativity, away from the face of the sword of the dove. 17Call the name of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: ‘Time has brought tumult.’ 18As I live, says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, just as Tabor is among the mountains, and just as Carmel is beside the sea, so will he come. 19Equip yourself for the transmigration, O daughter who inhabits Egypt. For Memphis will be in desolation, and it will be deserted and uninhabited. 20Egypt is like a stately and finely-formed calf. The one who will goad her will come from the north. 21Her hired hands also, who move within her midst, like fatted calves have been turned back, and they have fled at the same time, and they are not able to stand firm. For the day of their passing away has overwhelmed them; it is the time of their visitation. 22Her voice will sound out like brass. For they will rush forward with an army, and with axes they will come against her, like those who chop wood. 23They have cut down her forest, says the Lord, which was not able to be counted. They have been multiplied more than locusts, and they are without number. 24The daughter of Egypt has been confounded, and she has been delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: Behold, I will visit against the tumult of Alexandria, and against Pharaoh, and against Egypt, and against her gods, and against her kings, and against Pharaoh, and against those who trust in him. 26And I will give them over to the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And after this, it shall be inhabited, just as in the former days, says the Lord. 27And as for you, my servant Jacob, you should not be afraid, and you should not dread, O Israel. For behold, I will bring your salvation from afar, and your offspring from the land of your captivity. And Jacob will return and have rest, and he will prosper. And there will be no one who may terrify him. 28And as for you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid, says the Lord. For I am with you. For I will consume all the nations to which I have cast you out. Yet truly, I will not consume you. Instead, I will chastise you in judgment, but neither will I spare you, as if you were innocent.”