46 1 This is the word of our Father that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
The Father Humbles Egypt at Carchemish
2 Concerning Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was beside the Euphrates River at Carchemish — the army Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: 3 Ready your shields—large and small—and advance for battle! 4 Harness the horses; mount up, you riders! Take your stations with your helmets on; polish the spears, put on the armor! 5 Why do I see it? They are terrified, falling back; their warriors are beaten down. They flee in headlong rout, never looking back — terror on every side! declares our Father. 6 The swift cannot flee, nor the warrior escape. In the north, beside the Euphrates River, they stumble and fall. 7 Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge? 8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers whose waters surge. She says, "I will rise, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and those who live in them." 9 Charge, you horses! Drive furiously, you chariots! Let the warriors go out — Cush and Put who grip the shield, the Ludim who grip and bend the bow. 10 That day belongs to the Father of heaven's armies, a day of justice, to bring justice against his foes. The sword will devour till it is gorged, drinking its fill of their blood; for the Father of heaven's armies holds a sacrifice in the land of the north, beside the Euphrates River. a a v10 The battle is pictured as a sacrifice the Father is offering — the slain enemies are the offering. 11 Go up to Gilead and get balm, virgin daughter of Egypt! You can pile up remedies, but there is no healing for you. 12 The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for warrior stumbles against warrior, and the two fall together.
13 This is the word our Father spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: 14 Declare it in Egypt, proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes. Say: "Take your stations and be ready, for the sword devours all around you." 15 Why are your mighty ones swept away? They could not stand, because our Father thrust them down. 16 He made many stumble; indeed, they fell over one another. They said, "Get up! Let us go back to our own people, to the land of our birth, away from the oppressing sword." 17 There they cried: "Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but noise; he has let the appointed time slip by." 18 As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the Father of heaven's armies, one will come like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea. b b v18 Tabor and Carmel were two of Israel's most prominent, unmissable peaks — the comparison pictures a towering, unstoppable conqueror. 19 Pack your bags for exile, daughter of Egypt, sitting so secure! For Memphis will become a wasteland, a ruin where no one lives. 20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a stinging horsefly from the north is coming against her. 21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fattened calves; they too turn and flee together, unable to stand, for the day of their disaster has come upon them, the time of their reckoning. 22 Egypt hisses away like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they come against her with axes, like woodcutters. 23 They will cut down her forest, declares our Father, dense though it is, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted. 24 The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, handed over to a people from the north.
25 The Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: "I am about to bring judgment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh and Egypt, on her gods and her kings — on Pharaoh and all who trust in him." 26 I will hand them over to those who seek to kill them — to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Yet afterward Egypt will be inhabited again, as in days of old, declares our Father.
27 But you, do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. For I am going to save you from far away, and your children from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return to quiet and ease, and no one will make him afraid. 28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, declares your Father, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations to which I have driven you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you with justice; I will not leave you entirely unpunished.