THE word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.
5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the Lord.
6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.
7 Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.
9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
13 The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.
14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them.
16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.
18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.
21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.
22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.
27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

1The word of the Lord which came to Ieremiah the Prophet, against the Gentiles,

2Against Egypt, against the armie of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was by the riuer Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchad-rezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth yeere of Iehoiakim the son of Iosiah king of Iudah.

3Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw neere to battell.

4Harnesse the horses, and get vp ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets, furbish the speares, and put on the brigandines.

5Wherefore haue I seene them dismaid, and turned away backe? and their mightie ones are beaten downe, & are fled apace, and looke not back: for feare was round about, saith the Lord.

6Let not the swift flee away, nor the mightie man escape: they shal stumble and fall toward the North by the riuer Euphrates.

7Who is this that cōmeth vp as a flood, whose waters are moued as þe riuers?

8Egypt riseth vp like a flood, and his waters are moued like the riuers, and he saith, I wil goe vp, and will couer the earth, I will destroy the citie and the inhabitants thereof.

9Come vp ye horses, and rage yee charets, and let the mightie men come forth, the Ethiopians and the Libyans that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow.

10For this is the day of the Lord God of hostes, a day of vengeance, that he may auenge him of his aduersaries: and the sword shal deuoure, and it shall be satiate, and made drunke with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the North countrey by the riuer Euphrates.

11Goe vp into Gilead, and take balme, O virgine, the daughter of Egypt: in vaine shalt thou vse many medicines: for thou shalt not be cured.

12The nations haue heard of thy shame, and thy crie hath filled the land: for the mightie man hath stumbled against the mightie, and they are fallen both together.

13 The word that the Lord spake to Ieremiah the Prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon should come & smite the land of Egypt.

14Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph, and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shal deuoure round about thee.

15Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did driue them.

16He made many to fall, yea one fell vpon another, and they said, Arise, and let vs goe againe to our owne people, and to the land of our natiuitie, from the oppressing sword.

17They did crie there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise, he hath passed the time appointed.

18As I liue, saith the King, whose Name is the Lord of hostes, Surely as Tabor is among the mountaines, and as Carmel by the Sea, so shall hee come.

19Oh thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thy selfe to goe into captiuitie: for Noph shalbe waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

20Egypt is like a very faire heifer, but destruction commeth: it commeth out of the North.

21Also her hired men are in the midst of her, like fatted bullocks, for they also are turned backe, and are fled away together; they did not stand, because the day of their calamitie was come vpon them, and the time of their visitation.

22The voice thereof shall goe like a serpent, for they shall march with an armie, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

23They shall cut downe her forrest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched, because they are more then the grashoppers, and are innumerable.

24The daughter of Egypt shalbe confounded, she shalbe deliuered into the hand of the people of the North.

25The Lord of hostes the God of Israel saith, Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings, euen Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him.

26And I will deliuer them into the hand of those that seeke their liues, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his seruants, and afterwards it shalbe inhabited, as in the dayes of old, saith the Lord.

27 But feare not thou, O my seruant Iacob, and be not dismaied, O Israel: for behold, I will saue thee from afarre off, and thy seed from the land of their captiuitie, and Iacob shall returne and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

28Feare thou not, O Iacob my seruant, saith the Lord, for I am with thee, for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I haue driuen thee, but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure, yet will I not leaue thee wholly vnpunished.

II == 2nd Kings 23:29 ; 2nd Chr 35:20

III == Jer 51:11-12 Nah 2:1 ; 3:14

V == Jer 6:25 ; 49:29

VI == Dan 11:19

VII == Isa 8:7-8 ; Jer 47:2 ; Dan 11:22

IX == Isa 66:19

X == Deut 32:42 ; Isa 13:6 ; 34:6 ; Ezek 39:17 ; Joel 1:15 ; 2:1 ; Zeph 1:7

XI == Isa 47:1 ; Jer 8:22 ; 51:8 ; Ezek 30:21

XIII == Isa 19:1 ; Jer 43:10-11

XIV == Jer 46:3-4 , 10

XVI == Lev 26:37

XVIII == Isa 47:4 ; 48:2 ; Jer 48:15

XIX == Isa 20:4 ; Jer 48:18

XX == Hos 10:11

XXI == Ps 37:13 ; Jer 50:27

XXII == Isa 29:4

XXIII == Judg 6:5 ; Isa 10:34

XXV == Jer 43:12-13 ; Ezek 30:13 ; 14:16 ; Nah 3:8

XXVI == Jer 44:30 ; Ezek 29:11 , 13-14 ; 32:11

XXVII == Isa 41:13-14 ; 43:5 ; 44:2 ; Jer 30:10-11

XXVIII == Jer 10:24 ; 25:20 ; 30:11 ; Ezek 25:15-16 ; Amos 1:6-8 ; Zeph 2:4-5

1 This is the word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah against the nations.

2 Concerning Egypt. Against the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 Prepare shield and buckler! march to battle!

4 Harness the horses, mount, charioteers! Fall in with your helmets; polish your spears, put on your breastplates.

5 What do I see? With broken ranks They fall back; their heroes are routed, They flee headlong without making a stand. Terror on every side, says the LORD!

6 The swift cannot flee, nor the hero escape: There in the north, on the Euphrates' bank, they stumble and fall.

7 Who is this that surges forward like the Nile, like rivers of billowing waters?

8 Egypt surges like the Nile, like rivers of billowing waters. "I will surge forward," he says, "and cover the earth, destroying the city and its people.

9 Forward, horses! drive madly, chariots! Set out, warriors, Cush and Put, bearing your shields, Men of Lud, stretching your bows!"

10 But this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, vengeance on his foes! The sword devours, is sated, drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts holds a slaughter feast in the northland, on the Euphrates.

11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter Egypt! No use to multiply remedies; for you there is no cure.

12 The nations hear of your shame, your cries fill the earth. Warrior trips over warrior, both fall together.

13 The message which the LORD gave to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the advance of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to attack the land of Egypt:

14 Announce it in Egypt, publish it in Migdol, proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes! Say: Take your stand, prepare yourselves, the sword has already devoured your neighbors.

15 Why has Apis fled, your mighty one failed to stand? The LORD thrust him down;

16 he stumbled repeatedly, and fell. They said one to another, "Up! let us return to our own people, To the land of our birth, away from the destroying sword."

17 Call Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by the name "The noise that let its time go by."

18 As I live, says the King whose name is LORD of hosts, Like Tabor among the mountains he shall come, like Carmel above the sea.

19 Pack your baggage for exile, capital city of daughter Egypt; Memphis shall become a desert, an empty ruin.

20 Egypt is a pretty heifer, from the north a horsefly lights upon her.

21 The mercenaries in her ranks are like fatted calves; They too turn and flee together, stand not their ground, When the day of their ruin comes upon them, the time of their punishment.

22 She sounds like a retreating reptile! Yes, they come in force; like woodchoppers, they attack her with axes.

23 They cut down her forest, says the LORD, impenetrable though it be; More numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted.

24 Disgraced is daughter Egypt, handed over to the people of the north.

25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, has said: See! I will punish Amon of Thebes, and Egypt, her gods and her kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him.

26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his ministers. But later on Egypt shall be inhabited again, as in times past, says the LORD.

27 But you, my servant Jacob, fear not; be not dismayed, O Israel. Behold, I will deliver you from the far-off land, your descendants, from their land of exile. Jacob shall again find rest, shall be tranquil and undisturbed.

28 You, my servant Jacob, never fear, says the LORD, for I am with you; I will make an end of all the nations to which I have driven you, But of you I will not make an end: I will chastise you as you deserve, I will not let you go unpunished.

v 1-6. This is 605 BC under Jehoiakim and predates recent chapters, because Jeremiah had grouped Israel’s judgments before this. Egypt was defeated by the fast moving army of Babylonians at Carchemish. In retreating, the slow movers hindered the faster ones so that every single one of Egypt’s soldiers were killed.

v 7-12. Egypt had hired mercenaries from the nations listed and intended to come up like the Nile floods and overwhelm the Babylonians. The slaughter of Egyptians would be like a great sacrifice at the Euphrates, and no balm could heal Egypt.

v 13-19. Though Egypt was defeated 605 BC, it wasn’t until the incidents of 571-567 that  Nebuchadnezzar made the attack, which was discussed in chap. 44. (During the siege of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar had to break siege long enough to drive the Egyptian armies out of the way, chap. 37:5-8.)  Egypt’s soldiers couldn’t stand because God pushed them down. The mercenaries returned to their own countries saying Pharaoh Hophra was but a noise. Nebuchadnezzar came in like a high mountain, and inhabitants were warned to prepare for captivity.

v 20-24. Jeremiah used four metaphors. 1, Egypt was like a fat heifer (her god was the bull, Apis) and would be bitten by a gadfly from the north; 2, The mercenaries were like calves fattened for slaughter; 3, She was like a fleeing serpent that could only hiss; 4, Babylon’s army would swarm in like grasshoppers or locusts.

v 25,26. Nebuchadnezzar would overrun the whole of Egypt and her gods, but would again be given a place of prominence in the Millennium.

v 27,28. Israel would be restored from exile after 70 years, which was sooner than Egypt, but Israel’s day of complete blessing will also be in the Millennium.