1. The following messages were given to Jeremiah the prophet from the lord concerning foreign nations.
2. This message concerning Egypt was given in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the king of Judah, on the occasion of the battle of Carchemish when Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, and his army were defeated beside the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
3. “Prepare your shields,and advance into battle!
4. Harness the horses,and mount the stallions.Take your positions.Put on your helmets.Sharpen your spears,and prepare your armor.
5. But what do I see?The Egyptian army flees in terror.The bravest of its fighting men runwithout a backward glance.They are terrorized at every turn,”says the lord.
6. “The swiftest runners cannot flee;the mightiest warriors cannot escape.By the Euphrates River to the north,they stumble and fall.
7. “Who is this, rising like the Nile at floodtime,overflowing all the land?
8. It is the Egyptian army,overflowing all the land,boasting that it will cover the earth like a flood,destroying cities and their people.
9. Charge, you horses and chariots;attack, you mighty warriors of Egypt!Come, all you allies from Ethiopia, Libya, and Lydiawho are skilled with the shield and bow!
10. For this is the day of the Lord, the lord of Heaven’s Armies,a day of vengeance on his enemies.The sword will devour until it is satisfied,yes, until it is drunk with your blood!The Lord, the lord of Heaven’s Armies, will receive a sacrifice todayin the north country beside the Euphrates River.
11. “Go up to Gilead to get medicine,O virgin daughter of Egypt!But your many treatmentswill bring you no healing.
12. The nations have heard of your shame.The earth is filled with your cries of despair.Your mightiest warriors will run into each otherand fall down together.”
13. Then the lord gave the prophet Jeremiah this message about King Nebuchadnezzar’s plans to attack Egypt.
14. “Shout it out in Egypt!Publish it in the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes!Mobilize for battle,for the sword will devour everyone around you.
15. Why have your warriors fallen?They cannot stand, for the lord has knocked them down.