Study Desk

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

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:

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

-"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!

-"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.

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

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

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

"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.'

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

-"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!'

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

-"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.

-"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.

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

-"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.

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

-"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.

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

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.

"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.

"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.

-"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."