| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. | 1The LORD spoke to Jeremiah about the nations. |
| 2About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: | 2He 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 over Judah. |
| 3“Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle! | 3"Fall into ranks with your shields ready! Prepare to march into battle! |
| 4Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor! | 4Harness the horses to the chariots! Mount your horses! Put on your helmets and take your positions! Sharpen you spears! Put on your armor! |
| 5Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; they look not back— terror on every side! declares the LORD. | 5What do I see?" says the LORD. "The soldiers are terrified. They are retreating. They have been defeated. They are overcome with terror; they desert quickly without looking back. |
| 6“The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. | 6But 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. |
| 7“Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? | 7"Who is this that rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage? |
| 8Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’ | 8Egypt 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.' |
| 9Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. | 9Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow. |
| 10That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. | 10But 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 will offer them up as a sacrifice in the land of the north by the Euphrates River. |
| 11Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you. | 11Go 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. |
| 12The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for warrior has stumbled against warrior; they have both fallen together.” | 12The 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." |
| 13The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: | 13The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt. |
| 14“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour around you.’ | 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.' |
| 15Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the LORD thrust them down. | 15Why will your soldiers be defeated? They will not stand because I, the LORD, will thrust them down. |
| 16He made many stumble, and they fell, and they said one to another, ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.’ | 16I 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.' |
| 17Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’ | 17There at home they will say, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! He has let the most opportune moment pass 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, shall one come. | 18I the King, whose name is the LORD who rules over all, swear this: I swear as surely as I live that a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea. |
| 19Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O inhabitants of Egypt! For Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin, without inhabitant. | 19Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins and be uninhabited. |
| 20“A beautiful heifer is Egypt, but a biting fly from the north has come upon her. | 20Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies. |
| 21Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fattened calves; yes, they have turned and fled together; they did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment. | 21Even her mercenaries will prove to be like pampered, well-fed calves. For they too will turn and run away. They will not stand their ground when the time for them to be destroyed comes, the time for them to be punished. |
| 22“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees. | 22Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy comes marching up in force. They will come against her with axes as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees. |
| 23They shall cut down her forest, declares the LORD, though it is impenetrable, because they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number. | 23The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the LORD, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. |
| 24The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame; she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.” | 24Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north." |
| 25The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. | 25The LORD God of Israel who rules over all says, "I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. |
| 26I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD. | 26I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the LORD, affirm it!" |
| 27“But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. | 27"You descendants of Jacob, my servants, do not be afraid; do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from the faraway lands where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them. |
| 28Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” | 28I, the LORD, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servant, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished." |
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