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Judgment on Egypt

The word of the L ord that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the nations.

² Concerning Egypt, about the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:

Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

Harness the horses;

mount the steeds!

Take your stations with your helmets,

whet your lances,

put on your coats of mail!

Why do I see them terrified?

They have fallen back;

their warriors are beaten down,

and have fled in haste.

They do not look back—

terror is all around!

says the L ord.

The swift cannot flee away,

nor can the warrior escape;

in the north by the river Euphrates

they have stumbled and fallen.

Who is this, rising like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge?

Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge.

It said, Let me rise, let me cover the earth,

let me destroy cities and their inhabitants.

Advance, O horses,

and dash madly, O chariots!

Let the warriors go forth:

Ethiopia and Put who carry the shield,

the Ludim, who draw the bow.

That day is the day of the Lord G od of hosts,

a day of retribution,

to gain vindication from his foes.

The sword shall devour and be sated,

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord G od of hosts holds a sacrifice

in the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

O virgin daughter Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

there is no healing for you.

The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

for warrior has stumbled against warrior;

both have fallen together.

Babylonia Will Strike Egypt

¹³ The word that the L ord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt:

Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;

proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

Say, “Take your stations and be ready,

for the sword shall devour those around you.”

Why has Apis fled?

Why did your bull not stand?

—because the L ord thrust him down.

Your multitude stumbled and fell,

and one said to another,

“Come, let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

because of the destroying sword.”

Give Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the name

“Braggart who missed his chance.”

As I live, says the King,

whose name is the L ord of hosts,

one is coming

like Tabor among the mountains,

and like Carmel by the sea.

Pack your bags for exile,

sheltered daughter Egypt!

For Memphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, without inhabitant.

A beautiful heifer is Egypt—

a gadfly from the north lights upon her.

Even her mercenaries in her midst

are like fatted calves;

they too have turned and fled together,

they did not stand;

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

the time of their punishment.

She makes a sound like a snake gliding away;

for her enemies march in force,

and come against her with axes,

like those who fell trees.

They shall cut down her forest,

says the L ord,

though it is impenetrable,

because they are more numerous

than locusts;

they are without number.

Daughter Egypt shall be put to shame;

she shall be handed over to a people from the north.

²⁵ The L ord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: See, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ²⁶I will hand them over to those who seek their life, to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the L ord.

God Will Save Israel

But as for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob,

and do not be dismayed, O Israel;

for I am going to save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and no one shall make him afraid.

As for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob,

says the L ord,

for I am with you.

I will make an end of all the nations

among which I have banished you,

but I will not make an end of you!

I will chastise you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Here the Prophet represents the mercenaries of Egypt, as we have already said, as being foreign soldiers, who had been hired here and there, and from far countries, such as Lydia was. It may yet have been, that there were not many at that time who had come from beyond the sea to the Egyptians; but they had the Ethiopians, for Ezekiel says that many came from Cush, that is, Ethiopia; and then they had some from Libya and the neighboring countries. Then Jeremiah includes them under one name, and says that they were mercenaries. Now, they who hire themselves seem to be more warlike than others; for they who defend their own country do this from necessity; but those who of themselves seek war, and depart from their own borders for the purpose of engaging in war, seem to be men fit for any bold undertaking.

But the Prophet says, also, גם, gam, also mercenaries; that is, not only the Egyptians were accustomed to a delicate and indulgent life, but also the Ethiopians and others who had been hired, They are also in the midst of it as fatted bullocks, that is, they fill themselves with the abundance of Egypt; and hence it was that they became a prey to their enemies; for we know that nothing is more injurious to soldiers than to live delicately and luxuriously. Of all ancient generals, the most celebrated is Hannibal; but how did it happen, that having an invincible army, by which he had terrified all Italy, he afterwards fell? because Campania, with its luxuries, enervated him, for he lived there not like a soldier, but had tables richly furnished for himself and for his army. Hence it was, that they were no more what they had been. So also the Prophet says, “Egypt will ruin its hired soldiers; for she will satiate them with luxuries.” What did at length happen to them? he compares them to bullocks of the stall, מרבק, merebec; some read bullocks of the pasture, but not correctly; for רבק, rebec, is properly to fatten. He then calls them the bullocks of the stall, which are fed that they may become fat and be soon slaughtered. He therefore says, They also shall turn their backs; and then he says, They shall not stand, because the time of calamity is come I cannot finish this subject now.