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Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

¹ That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet ^(C1)concerning the nations.

² To ^(C1)Egypt, concerning the army of ^(C2)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at ^(C3)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^(C4)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³ "^(C1)Set up the ^(F1)buckler and shield,
And advance to the battle!

⁴ "Harness the horses,
And ^(F1)mount the steeds,
Take your stand with helmets on!
^(C1)Polish the spears,
Put on the ^(C2)coats of armor!

⁵ "Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are ^(C1)retreating,
And their ^(C2)warriors are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back.
^(F1)(C3)Terror is on every side!"
Declares the LORD.

⁶ Let not the ^(C1)swift man flee,
Nor the warrior escape.
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have ^(C2)stumbled and fallen.

⁷ Who is this that ^(C1)rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge?

⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile,
And like the rivers whose waters surge;
And He has said, "I will ^(C1)rise and cover that land;
I will ^(C2)destroy the city and its inhabitants."

⁹ Go up, you horses, and ^(F1)(C1)drive wildly, you chariots,
So that the warriors may ^(F2)march forward:
^(F3)Cush and ^(F4)(C2)Put, who handle the shield,
And the ^(F5)(C3)Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.

¹⁰ For ^(C1)that day belongs to the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies,
A day of ^(C2)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the ^(C3)sword will devour and be satisfied,
And ^(F2)drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a ^(C4)slaughter for the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies,
In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

¹¹ Go ^(C1)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
^(C2)Virgin daughter of Egypt!
You have used many ^(F1)remedies in vain;
There is ^(C3)no healing for you.

¹² The nations have heard of your ^(C1)shame,
And the earth is full of your ^(C2)cry of distress;
For one ^(C3)warrior has stumbled over ^(F1)another,
And both of them have fallen down together.

¹³ This is the ^(F1)message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^(C1)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^(C2)strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴ "Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^(C1)Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and ^(C2)Tahpanhes;
Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the ^(C3)sword has devoured those around you.'

¹⁵ "Why have your ^(C1)powerful ones been cut down?
They do not stand because the LORD has ^(C2)thrust them away.

¹⁶ "They have repeatedly ^(C1)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen, one against another.
Then they said, 'Get up, and ^(C2)let's go back
To our own people and our native land,
Away from the ^(F1)(C3)sword of the oppressor!'

¹⁷ "^(F1)They shouted there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but ^(C1)a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!'

¹⁸ "As I live," declares the ^(C1)King,
Whose name is the LORD of armies,
"One certainly shall come who is like ^(C2)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like ^(C3)Carmel by the sea.

¹⁹ "Make your baggage ready for ^(C1)exile,
^(C2)Daughter living in Egypt,
For ^(C3)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will be destroyed and ^(F1)deprived of inhabitants.

²⁰ "Egypt is a pretty ^(C1)heifer,
But a ^(F1)horsefly is coming ^(C2)from the north—it is coming!

²¹ "Also her ^(C1)mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened ^(C2)calves,
For they too have turned away and have fled together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their disaster has come upon them,
The time of their ^(C3)punishment.

²² "Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on ^(F1)like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

²³ "They have cut down her ^(C1)forest," declares the LORD;
"Certainly it will no longer be found,
Even though ^(F1)they are more numerous than ^(C2)locusts
And are without number.

²⁴ "The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Turned over to the ^(F1)power of the ^(C1)people of the north."

²⁵ The LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^(C1)Thebes, and ^(C2)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^(C3)gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who ^(C4)trust in him.²⁶ "I shall hand them over to those who are ^(C1)seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his ^(F1)officers. ^(C2)Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.

²⁷ "But as for you, Jacob My servant, ^(C1)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to ^(C2)save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.

²⁸ "Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD,
"For ^(C1)I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will ^(C2)not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will ^(C3)correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished."