Judgment on Egypt
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About Egypt. 2Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in 3the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
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5Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, 6polish your spears, put on your armor!
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Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their 7warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; 8they look not back-- 9terror on every side! declares the LORD.
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"The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; 10in the north by the river Euphrates 11they have stumbled and fallen.
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Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers 14whose waters surge. He said, 'I will rise, I will cover the earth, I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.'
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15Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and 16Put who handle the shield, 17men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
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18That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, 19a day of vengeance, 20to avenge himself on his foes. 21The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds 22a sacrifice 23in the north country 24by the river Euphrates.
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25Go up to Gilead, and take 26balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; 27there is no healing for you.
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The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; 28for warrior has stumbled against warrior; they have both fallen together."
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The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of 29Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
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"Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in 30Migdol; proclaim in 31Memphis and 32Tahpanhes; say, 33'Stand ready and be prepared, for 34the sword shall devour around you.'
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He made many stumble, 35and 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, 36because of the sword of the oppressor.'
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38"As I live, declares the King, 39whose name is the LORD of hosts, like 40Tabor among the mountains and like 41Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
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42Prepare yourselves baggage for exile, O 43inhabitants of Egypt! For 44Memphis shall become a waste, a ruin, 45without inhabitant.
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Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like 48fattened calves; yes, they have turned and fled together; they did not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, 49the time of their punishment.
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"She makes 50a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes 51like those who fell trees.
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52They shall cut down her forest, declares the LORD, though it is impenetrable, because 53they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number.
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The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame; she shall be delivered into the hand of 54a people from the north."
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The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: "Behold, I am bringing punishment upon 55Amon of 56Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt 57and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
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58I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. 59Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited 60as in the days of old, declares the LORD.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)