Read the Bible

³ Deploy small shields^(C1) and large;
approach for battle!⁴ Harness the horses;
mount the steeds;^(F1)
take your positions with helmets on!
Polish the lances;
put on armor!^(C1)5 Why have I seen this?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are crushed,
they flee headlong,
they never look back,
terror is on every side!^(C1)This is the Lord’s declaration.
⁶ The swift cannot flee,
and the warrior cannot escape!^(C1)
In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River,
they stumble and fall.^(C2)7 Who is this, rising like the Nile,^(C1)
with waters that churn like rivers?⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile,^(C1)
and its waters churn like rivers.
He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;
I will destroy cities with their residents.”⁹ Rise up, you cavalry!
Race furiously, you chariots!
Let the warriors march out—
Cush and Put,^(C1)
who are able to handle shields,
and the men of Lud,^(C2)
who are able to handle and string the bow.^(C3)10 That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies,
a day of vengeance to avenge himself
against his adversaries.
The sword will devour and be satisfied;
it will drink its fill of their blood,
because it will be a sacrifice^(C1) to the Lord, the God of Armies,
in the northern land by the Euphrates River.^(C2)11 Go up to Gilead and get balm,^(C1)
Virgin Daughter Egypt!
You have multiplied remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.¹² The nations have heard of your dishonor,^(C1)
and your cries fill the earth,
because warrior stumbles against warrior
and together both of them have fallen.

¹⁴ Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol!^(C1)
Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes!
Say, “Take positions! Prepare yourself,
for the sword devours all around you.”^(C2)15 Why have your strong ones been swept away?
Each has not stood,
for the Lord has thrust him down.¹⁶ He continues to stumble.^(C1)
Indeed, each falls over the other.
They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people
and to our native land,
away from the oppressor’s sword.”^(C2)17 There they will cry out,
“Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;
he let the opportune moment pass.”¹⁸ As I live—this is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name^(C1) —
the king of Babylon^(F1) will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
¹⁹ Get your bags ready for exile,
inhabitant of Daughter Egypt!^(C1)
For Memphis will become a desolation,
uninhabited ruins.²⁰ Egypt is a beautiful young cow,^(C1)
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.^(F1)(C2)21 Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.^(C1)22 Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake,^(F1)
for the enemy will come with an army;
with axes they will come against her
like those who cut trees.^(C1)23 They will cut down her forest—this is the Lord’s declaration—
though it is dense,
for they are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted.^(C1)
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
handed over to a northern people.^(C1)

²⁷ But you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid,^(C1)
and do not be discouraged, Israel,
for without fail I will save you from far away,
and your descendants from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have calm and quiet
with no one to frighten him.²⁸ And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid—