1 The Word of Jehovah which came unto Jeremiah the prophet against the nations;

2 against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

3 Set in order the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

4 Harness the horses, and horsemen mount up. Stand with helmets, polish the spears; put on the armor.

5 Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? And their mighty ones are beaten down and have fled for refuge, and they do not look back. Terror is all around, says Jehovah.

6 Do not let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. They stumbled and fell toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

7 Who is this rising up like a flood, whose waters move like the rivers?

8 Egypt rises up like a flood, and his waters surge about like the rivers. And he says, I will go up and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.

9 Come up, you horses; and rage, you chariots! And let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.

10 For this is the day of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself of His adversaries. And the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood, for the Lord Jehovah of Hosts has a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.

11 Go up into Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt. In vain shall you use many medicines; you shall not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of your shame, and your cry has filled the land. For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty, and they have both fallen together.

13 The Word which Jehovah spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, of the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to strike the land of Egypt.

14 Declare it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol, and proclaim it in Noph and in Tahpanhes. Say, Stand fast and get prepared, for the sword shall devour all around you.

15 Why are your mighty ones swept away? They did not stand, because Jehovah thrust them away.

16 He made many fall; yea, one fell upon another. And they said, Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, away from the oppressing sword.

17 They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he has passed the appointed time.

18 As I live, says the King, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.

19 O daughter dwelling in Egypt, prepare yourself to go into captivity. For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.

20 Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a stinger comes, it comes from the north.

21 Also her hired ones are in her midst like calves of the stall; for they also have turned back, fleeing together. They did not stand, because the day of their calamity had come upon them, the time of their punishment.

22 Their sound goes like a serpent, for they shall go with strength and come against her with axes like those who cut wood.

23 They shall cut down her forest, says Jehovah, though it cannot be searched; because they are more numerous than the locusts and cannot be counted.

24 The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed. She shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

25 Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, along with their gods and their kings; even Pharaoh and all who trust in him;

26 and I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. And afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, says Jehovah.

27 But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return and have rest and be at ease, and no one shall make him afraid.

28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, says Jehovah, for I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you. But I will not make a complete end of you, but will correct you in justice; and I will not leave you acquitted nor unpunished.