Jeremiah 46:13-28

13The Lord gave this message to the prophet Jeremiah about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He said that Nebuchadnezzar would come to attack Egypt.

14‘Shout this message everywhere in Egypt. Let people hear it in Migdol, Memphis and in Tahpanhes. “Get ready to fight against your enemies! They are already killing the people all around you.”

15Your brave soldiers will fall. They will lie flat on the ground. They cannot stand and fight because the Lord will knock them down.

16They will continue to fall over each other. They will say to each other, “Get up! We must return to our homes where our own people live. We must escape from our enemies, who want to kill us.”

17When they get back home, they will say, “The king of Egypt is only a loud noise. He could not win when he had the chance.” ’

18The Lord Almighty is the great King. He says, ‘I promise you, as surely as I live, that a powerful army will come to fight against you! They will look as great as Tabor looks among the other mountains. They will seem like Carmel mountain that stands beside the sea.

19You dear people of Egypt, be ready to travel as prisoners to a foreign land! Your enemy will destroy Memphis city. It will become a heap of stones where nobody lives.

20Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But an army from the north will attack her, like a crowd of flies that bite.

21Egypt has paid soldiers from other countries to help her. But they are like fat calves that are too weak to fight. They will not stand and fight, but they will turn and run away. Yes, the day of Egypt's punishment has arrived! Their enemy has come to destroy them.

22Egypt's people will run away, like a snake along the ground. The enemy's strong army will march forward. They will attack Egypt with axes, like men who cut down trees.

23Egypt's soldiers are as many as the trees in a great forest. But the enemy's soldiers will cut them down. Their army is like a hungry crowd of locusts. They are too many to count.

24The people of Egypt will be ashamed. They will be under the power of the people from the north.’ That is what the Lord says.

25The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, also says, ‘Now I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes city, and the other gods of Egypt. I will also punish Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and Egypt's other rulers. I will punish Egypt's people and everyone who trusts in Pharoah's power.

26I will put them under the power of King Nebuchadnezzar and his army, who want to kill them. But in later years, people will again live in Egypt, as they did before.’ That is what the Lord says.

27‘My servants, descendants of Jacob, do not be afraid. People of Israel, do not be upset. You have been prisoners in countries far away. But I will rescue you and your descendants. You will return to your own land and you will live in peace. Jacob's descendants will be safe and nobody will make them afraid.

28So do not be afraid, descendants of my servant Jacob. I am with you to help you. I may completely destroy all the nations where I send you to live. But I will never completely destroy you. I will certainly punish you, to teach you what is right. But I will do that in a fair way.’ That is what the Lord says.