Jer 46:2-26 | ESV | STEP | About Egypt . Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco , king of Egypt , which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah , king of Judah :

2 About Egypt. ^aConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ^bthe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 ^c“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 ^dHarness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
^epolish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their ^fwarriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
^gthey look not back—
^hterror on every side!

declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
ⁱin the north by the river Euphrates
^jthey have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, ^krising like the Nile,
like rivers ^lwhose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers ^mwhose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 ⁿAdvance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and ^oPut who handle the shield,
^pmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 ^qThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
^ra day of vengeance,
^sto avenge himself on his foes.
^tThe sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ^ua sacrifice
^vin the north country ^wby the river Euphrates.
11 ^xGo up to Gilead, and take ^ybalm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
^zthere is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
^aafor warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^abNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^acMigdol;
proclaim in ^adMemphis and ^aeTahpanhes;
say, ^af‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for ^agthe sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand ^{▼▼Hebrew He does not stand}
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, ^aiand they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
^ajbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of ^akPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 ^al“As I live, declares the King,
^amwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^anTabor among the mountains
and like ^aoCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 ^apPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ^aqinhabitants of Egypt!
For ^arMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, ^aswithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful ^atheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly ^aufrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like ^avfattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
^awthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes ^axa sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
^aylike those who fell trees.
23 ^azThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because ^bathey are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of ^bba people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^bcAmon of ^bdThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^beand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 ^bfI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^bgAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^bhas in the days of old, declares the Lord.