Jeremiah 46

New King James Version

³ “Order^[a]the^[b]buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
⁴ Harness the horses,
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth withyourhelmets,
Polish the spears,
^(F)Put on the armor!
⁵ Why have I seen them dismayedandturned back?
Their mighty ones are beaten down;
They have speedily fled,
And did not look back,
For^(G)fearwasall around,” says theLord.
⁶ “Do not let the swift flee away,
Nor the mighty man escape;
They will^(H)stumble and fall
Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

⁷ “Whoisthis coming up^(I)like a flood,
Whose waters move like the rivers?
⁸ Egypt rises up like a flood,
Anditswaters move like the rivers;
And he says, ‘I will go upandcover the earth,
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’
⁹ Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots!
And let the mighty men come forth:
^[c]The Ethiopians and^[d]the Libyans who handle the shield,
And the Lydians^(J)who handleandbend the bow.
¹⁰ For thisis^(K)the day of the LordGodof hosts,
A day of vengeance,
That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.
^(L)The sword shall devour;
It shall be^[e]satiated and made drunk with their blood;
For the LordGodof hosts^(M)has a sacrifice
In the north country by the River Euphrates.

¹¹ “Go^(N)up to Gilead and take balm,
^(O)O virgin, the daughter of Egypt;
In vain you will use many medicines;
^(P)You shall not be cured.
¹² The nations have heard of your^(Q)shame,
And your cry has filled the land;
For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty;
They both have fallen together.”

¹⁴ “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in^(S)Migdol;
Proclaim in^[f]Noph and in^(T)Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves,
For the sword devours all around you.’
¹⁵ Why are your valiantmenswept away?
They did not stand
Because theLorddrove them away.
¹⁶ He made many fall;
Yes,^(U)one fell upon another.
And they said, ‘Arise!
^(V)Let us go back to our own people
And to the land of our nativity
From the oppressing sword.’
¹⁷ They cried there,
‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt,is buta noise.
He has passed by the appointed time!’

¹⁸ “AsI live,” says the King,
^(W)Whose nameistheLordof hosts,
“Surely as Taborisamong the mountains
And as Carmel by the sea,sohe shall come.
¹⁹ O^(X)you daughter dwelling in Egypt,
Prepare yourself^(Y)to go into captivity!
For^[g]Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.

²⁰ “Egyptisa very pretty^(Z)heifer,
Butdestruction comes, it comes^(AA)from the north.
²¹ Also her mercenaries are in her midst like^[h]fat bulls,
For they also are turned back,
They have fled away together.
They did not stand,
For^(AB)the day of their calamity had come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
^22 (AC)Her noise shall go like a serpent,
For they shall march with an army
And come against her with axes,
Like those who chop wood.

²³ “They shall^(AD)cut down her forest,” says theLord,
“Though it cannot be searched,
Because theyareinnumerable,
And more numerous than^(AE)grasshoppers.
²⁴ The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed;
She shall be delivered into the hand
Of^(AF)the people of the north.”