Invasion of Egypt.

       Then the word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes. "Take some large stones and bury them in the cement in the terrace at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, while the men of Judah can see you. Then say to them, 'Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I intend to send for MY servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will set his throne upon these stones that I have buried, and he will spread his canopy over them. He will come and ravage the land of Egypt:

       " 'Those destined for the plague, to plague,

          those for captivity, to captivity,

          and those for the sword, to the sword.

       " 'He will set fire to the temple of the gods of Egypt, burning their gods and carrying them off. He will scour the land of Egypt as a shepherd scrubs off the vermin from his cloak, and he will depart from there safely. He will smash the obelisks of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will destroy the temples of the Egyptian gods with fire.' "

This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the district of Pathros. Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: You have seen the immense disaster that I have inflicted on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Today they lie in ruins and are left uninhabited. This was the result of all the wicked deeds your ancestors committed that provoked ME to anger, as they went forth to serve other gods and offer sacrifices to them whom neither they, nor you, nor your ancestors ever had known before.

       Even though I continued to send to them all MY servants the prophets with this plea, "Do not do this abominable thing that I hate," they would not listen or pay any heed to MY warning to refrain from their wicked deeds and cease to offer sacrifices to other gods. Therefore, MY fury and MY wrath poured forth, burning to ashes the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and reducing them to the desolate wasteland they are today.

       And now this is what THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, has to say: Why are you inflicting such a total disaster upon yourselves? Why are you uprooting men and women, children and babies, from Judah, thus leaving yourselves without a remnant? Will you continue to provoke ME to anger by the works of your hands as you make sacrifices to strange gods in Egypt where you have come to settle, cutting yourselves off and becoming an object of cursing and ridicule among all the nations of the earth?

       Have you forgotten the wicked crimes committed by your ancestors and by the kings of Judah and their wives, and also your own crimes and those of your wives, all of them committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? To this very day they have shown no remorse or fear, nor have they observed MY law and MY statutes which I prescribed for you and for your ancestors.

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I am determined to inflict disaster upon you and to destroy Judah completely. I will take the remnant of Judah who were determined to come to the land of Egypt and settle there, and in Egypt, they will all perish. They will fall by the sword and by famine. From the least to the greatest they will die by the sword and by famine, and they will become an object of execration and horror, a curse and a reproach.

       I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence. None of the remnant of Judah who have come to settle in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, even though they may long to return and live there. None will be allowed to return, except for a few refugees.

       Then all the men who were aware that their wives had been burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were standing there in a great assemblage, and all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt replied to Jeremiah, "We have no intention of giving credence to the word that you have spoken to us in the name of THE LORD. Rather, we will continue to do everything we have vowed to do. We will make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her, as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. In those days we used to have an abundance of food; we prospered and endured no misfortune. But from the time we ceased to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her, we have been in great need, and we have perished by the sword and by famine."

     The women added, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out libations to her, do you think that our husbands were not aware that we made cakes depicting her image and that we poured out libations to her?"

       Then to all the people, both men and women, who had given him this answer, Jeremiah said, "In regard to the incense offerings that you and your ancestors, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, THE LORD certainly remembered them and kept them in mind. When THE LORD could no longer endure your wicked deeds and your loathsome practices, your land became a desolate waste, and accursed object of horror without inhabitants, as it is to this day. The disaster you are now enduring has befallen you because you burned incense and sinned against THE LORD, refusing to obey the voice of THE LORD and failing to live in accordance with HIS law, HIS statutes, and HIS decrees."

       Jeremiah then said further to all the people, and in particular to all the women, "Listen to the word of THE LORD, all you Judeans in the land of Egypt. Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: You and your wives have accomplished with your hands what you promised with your mouths when you said, 'We are determined to fulfill the vows we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.' Very well, keep your vows and do what you promised.

       "However, listen attentively to the word of THE LORD, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. I swear by MY great name, says THE LORD, that MY name will never issue forth from the lips of any of the people of Judah throughout the land of Egypt. No one of them will ever say. 'As THE LORD GOD lives.'

       "I intend to watch over them to ensure their harm rather than their well-being. All the people of Judah who have settled in the land of Egypt will perish either by the sword or by famine, until not a single one remains. Those who escape the sword and return from the land of Egypt to Judah will be few in number. Then the entire remnant of Judah who were determined to settle in Egypt will come to the realization that it has been MY word that prevailed, and not theirs.

       "This is the sign from ME to you that I will punish you in this place, says THE LORD, in order that you may realize that MY promise to you will be carried out. Thus says THE LORD: Behold, I will hand over Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed over Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to his enemy who sought his life, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 43, VERSES 8 - 13 & CHAPTER 44

Encouraging Message to Baruch.

This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah addressed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when Baruch inscribed these words on a scroll at Jeremiah's dictation in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah:

       Thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, to you, Baruch: You said, "Woe is me, for THE LORD has added further grief to my pain. I am exhausted from groaning, and I can find no respite."

       Say this to him, "Thus says THE LORD: I intend to tear down what I have built, and to uproot what I have planted throughout the entire land. Should you therefore seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them, for I intend to inflict evil upon all mankind, says THE LORD. However, I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you may go."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 45

Against Egypt.

This is the word of THE LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah in regard to the nations.

       Concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, which was stationed at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, defeated in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah:

       Prepare your bucklers and

          shields and march forth for battle.

       Harness the horses;

          let the riders mount.

       Don your helmets

          and take your stations.

       Sharpen your spears

          and put on your breastplates.

       What is this shameful spectacle I behold?

          They fall back in terror.

       Their warriors are routed

          and are in headlong flight

          without glancing back.

       There is terror on every side,

          says THE LORD.

       The swift cannot flee,

          nor can the brave warriors escape.

       In the north, by the River Euphrates,

          they have stumbled and fallen.

       Who is this that rises like the Nile,

          like rivers of torrential waters?

       Egypt rises up like the Nile,

          like rivers of torrential waters.

       I will rise up, Egypt says, and cover the earth;

          I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.

       Advance, O horses,

          and drive madly, O chariots.

       Let the warriors advance:

          men from Ethiopia and Put bearing shields,

          and men from Lud who draw their bows.

       This day belongs to THE LORD GOD OF

              HOSTS,

          a day of retribution

          and vengeance on HIS enemies.

       The sword will devour and be sated

          until drunk with their blood.

       For THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS

          is holding a sacrificial feast

       in the land of the north

          by the River Euphrates.

       Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,

          O virgin daughter Egypt.

       The many medicines you have used

          have afforded you no healing.

       The nations have heard of your shame;

          the earth is filled with your cries.

       Warrior stumbles against warrior,

          and both fall down together.

       The word that THE LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah in regard to the advance of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to attack the land of Egypt:

       Announce it in Egypt and proclaim it in

              Migdol;

          proclaim it also in Noph and Tahpanhes.

       Say, "Take your stations and be prepared,

          for the sword will devour those around

              you."

       Why have your warriors been laid low?

          They were unable to stand

          because THE LORD has thrust them down.

       They stumbled and fell,

          and then they said to one another,

       "Come, let us return to our own people

          and to the land of our birth,

          far from the swords of our oppressors."

       They gave this nickname to Pharaoh, the king

              of Egypt:

          "One who boasts but never succeeds."

       As I live, says THE KING,

          whose name is THE LORD OF HOSTS,

       one is coming like Tabor among the

          mountains,

          like Carmel by the sea.

       Prepare your baggage to go into exile,

          you inhabitants of Egypt.

       Memphis will become a desert waste,

          a desolate, uninhabited ruin.

       Egypt is a beautiful heifer,

          but a gadfly from the north

          is preparing to move against her.

       Even the mercenaries in her midst

          are like fatted calves,

       but they have turned and fled together

          rather than stand their ground.

       For the day of disaster has overtaken them,

          the time of their punishment.

       Egypt is hissing like a retreating snake,

          for her enemies are advancing in force.

       They move against her with axes,

          like men who fell her trees.

       They will cut down her forest, says

              THE LORD,

          even though it appears impenetrable,

       because they are more numerous than

              locusts;

          they are beyond counting.

       Daughter Egypt will be disgraced,

          handed over to a people from the north.

       THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, has said: Behold, I will punish Amon of Thebes, and Egypt, her gods and her kings, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his officials. At a later time, Egypt will be inhabited again as in times past, says THE LORD.

       But as for you, MY servant Jacob, fear not;

          Israel, do not be dismayed.

       Behold, I will rescue you from afar

          and your descendants from the land of their

              exile.

       Jacob will return and be at peace again,

          tranquil, with no one to trouble him.

       Have no fear, MY servant Jacob,

          for I am with you, says THE LORD.

       I will make an end of all the nations

          where I have dispersed you,

          but I will not make an end of you.

       I will discipline you only as you deserve;

          I will not allow you to escape totally

              unpunished.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 46

Against the Philistines.

This is the word of THE LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. Thus says THE LORD:

       Behold how the waters are rising from the

              north;

          they will become an everlasting torrent.

       They shall flood the land and all that is in it,

          the towns and those who live in them.

       People will cry out for help,

          and all the inhabitants of the land will wail.

       On hearing the thundering hooves of the

              stallions,

          the noise of the chariots and their rumbling

              wheels,

       fathers do not turn to help their children;

          their hands fall limp,

       because the day has come

          to destroy all the Philistines,

       and to cut off Tyre and Sidon

          from any allies who could support them.

       THE LORD is destroying the Philistines,

          the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.

       Baldness has afflicted Gaza;

          Ashkelon has been silenced.

       O remnant of the Philistine strength,

          how long will you continue to gash

              yourselves?

       Ah, sword of THE LORD,

          how long will it be before you rest?

       Return back to your scabbard.

          Cease and be still.

       But how can you be at rest

          when THE LORD has given you an order,

       when he has commanded you to subdue

          Ashkelon and the seacoast?

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 47

Against Moab.

In regard to Moab, thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL:

       How sad it is that Nebo has been laid waste;

          Kiriathaim has been captured and put to

              shame.

       The fortress has been disgraced and

             overthrown;

          the glory of Moab no longer exists.

       In Heshbon, they plot her downfall:

          "Come, let us put an end to her as a

              nation."

       And you too, inhabitants of Madmen,

          will be reduced to silence,

          slain by the sword.

       Cries of anguish rise up from Horoniam,

          speaking of devastation and complete

              destruction.

       Moab has been crushed;

          the agonized cries of her little ones

          can be heard as far away as Zoar.

       On the ascent to Luhith

          they climb weeping bitterly.

       On the descent to Horonaim

          the anguished cry of destruction is heard:

       "Flee! Save your lives!

          Survive like a wild ass in the desert!"

       Because you placed your trust

          in your strongholds and your treasures,

          you also will be captured.

       Chemosh will go into exile,

          along with all his priests and attendants.

       The destroyer will move against every town;

          not a single town will escape.

       The valley will be laid waste,

          and the plain will be destroyed,

          as THE LORD has said.

       Set aside salt for Moab,

          for she will be laid waste;

       her towns will be left in ruins,

          without a single inhabitant.

       Accursed are those who are negligent

          in doing the work of THE LORD,

       and accursed also is the one

          who withholds his sword from bloodshed.

       From its earliest days

          Moab has been undisturbed

          and never has gone into exile.

       It has been like wine settled on its lees

          that has never been transferred

          from one decanter to another.

       Thus its flavor has remained unaltered,

          and its aroma has stayed unchanged.

       Therefore, the days are coming, says

              THE LORD,

          when I will send men to him

          to tilt the jars.

       They will empty the vessels

          and smash the jars.

       Moab will then be ashamed of Chemosh,

          as the house of Israel was ashamed of

              Bethel

          in which they placed their trust.

       How can you say, "We are heroes,

          men who are valiant in battle"?

       The destroyer of Moab and its towns

          has launched an attack,

       and the flower of its youth has been

              slaughtered,

       says THE KING, whose name is

              THE LORD OF HOSTS.

       The destruction of Moab is near at hand,

          and its doom will come shortly.

       Grieve, all you neighbors of Moab

          and all who were familiar with its name.

       Say, "How the mighty staff is broken,

          the glorious scepter!"

       Descend from your seat of glory

          and sit on the parched ground,

          you who dwell in Dibon.

       For the ravager of Moab has advanced

              against you

          and destroyed your strongholds.

       Stand by the roadside and watch,

          you who dwell in Aroer.

       Question the man fleeing and the woman

              escaping;

          ask them, "What has happened?"

       Moab has been destroyed and reduced to

              shame.

          Wail and cry out, proclaim by the Arnon,

          that Moab has been laid waste.

       Judgment has come upon the plateau: upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, upon Kiriath, and Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.

       The horn of Moab has been cut off,

          and her arm has been broken, says

              THE LORD.

       Make Moab drunk, because she has placed herself on an equal level with THE LORD. Let Moab wallow in her vomit and become a laughingstock. Israel was once a laughingstock for you, although she was never caught in the company of thieves. Yet each time you spoke about her, you would shake your head.

       Leave your towns, O inhabitants of Moab,

          and make your home among the rocks.

       Be like a dove that makes its nest

          along the edge of a gorge.

       We have heard about the pride of Moab,

          pride that exceeds all bounds:

       her pride and her arrogance

          and the haughtiness of her heart.

       I am fully aware of her arrogance, says

              THE LORD;

          her boasts are false, her deeds are false.

       Therefore, I wail over Moab;

          I cry out in anguish for all of Moab;

          I mourn for the men of Kir-heres.

       More than for Jazer I weep for you,

          O vineyard of Sibmah.

       Your branches stretched beyond the sea,

          reaching all the way to Jazer.

       Upon your harvest and your vintage,

          the despoiler has descended.

       Gladness and joy have been removed

          from the orchards of Moab.

       I have stanched the flow of wine from the

              vats;

          the joyful shouts of the treader of grapes

          can no longer be heard.

       Heshbon and Elealeh utter cries of anguish that can be heard as far away as Jahaz. The shrieks echo from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim have become a desert waste. In Moab, I will bring to an end the practice of those who offer holocausts on the high places or burn incense to their gods, says THE LORD.

       That is the reason why MY heart wails like a flute for Moab and laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres. The wealth that they accumulated has been lost. Every head has been shaved, and every beard has been cut off. There are gashes on every hand, and every waist is covered with sackcloth.

       On all the housetops of Moab and in all its squares nothing is heard but cries of lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a piece of pottery that no one wants, says THE LORD. How terrified Moab is, and how loudly does it wail as it retreats in shame. Moab has become a laughingstock and a source of horror to all of its neighbors.

       For thus says THE LORD:

          Behold, like an eagle I will swoop down

          and spread MY wings over Moab.

       The towns will be captured

          and the strongholds will be seized.

       On that day, the hearts of Moab's warriors

          will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

       Moab will be destroyed as a nation,

          for it established itself in opposition to

              THE LORD.

       Terror, the pit, and the snare await you,

          O inhabitants of Moab, says THE LORD.

       Everyone who flees from the terror

          will fall into the pit,

       and everyone who climbs out of the pit

          will be caught in the snare.

       For I will bring all this upon Moab

          in the year of her punishment, says

              THE LORD.

       In the shadow of Heshbon,

          the fugitives stop in exhaustion.

       For a fire has blazed forth from Heshbon,

          and flames from the house of Sihon,

       consuming the brow of Moab

          and the skulls of the noisy revelers.

       Woe to you, O Moab!

          You have been destroyed, O people of

              Chemosh.

       For your sons have been led forth in exile

          and your daughters into captivity.

       Even so, I will restore the fortunes of Moab

          in the days to come, says THE LORD.

Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 48