Jeremiah 46

¹The word of the Lord, that was maad to Jeremye, the profete, ayens hethene men;

²to Egipt, ayens the oost of Farao Nechao, kyng of Egipt, that was bisidis the flood Eufrates, in Charchamys, whom Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, smoot, in the fourthe yeer of Joachym, sone of Josie, kyng of Juda.

³Make ye redi scheeld and targat, and go ye forth to batel.

⁴Ioyne ye horsis, and stie, ye knyytis; stonde ye in helmes, polische ye speris, clothe ye you in haburiowns.

⁵What therfor? Y siy hem dredeful, and turnynge the backis, the stronge men of hem slayn; and thei fledden swiftli, and bihelden not; drede was on ech side, seith the Lord.

⁶A swift man schal not fle, and a strong man gesse not hym silf to be saued; at the north, bisidis the flood Eufrates, thei weren ouer comun, and fellen doun.

⁷Who is this, that stieth as a flood, and hise swelewis wexen greet as of floodis?

⁸Egipte stiede at the licnesse of a flood, and hise wawis schulen be mouyd as floodis; and it schal seie, Y schal stie, and hile the erthe; Y schal leese the citee, and dwelleris therof.

⁹Stie ye on horsis, and make ye ful out ioie in charis; and stronge men, come forth, Ethiopie and Libie, holdynge scheeld, and Lidii, takynge and schetynge arowis.

¹⁰Forsothe that dai of the Lord God of oostis is a dai of veniaunce, that he take veniaunce of hise enemyes; the swerd schal deuoure, and schal be fillid, and schal greetli be fillid with the blood of hem; for whi the slayn sacrifice of the Lord of oostis is in the lond of the north, bisidis the flood Eufrates.

¹¹Thou virgyn, the douyter of Egipt, stie in to Galaad, and take medicyn. In veyn thou schalt multiplie medecyns; helthe schal not be to thee.

¹²Hethene men herden thi schenschipe, and thi yellyng fillide the erthe; for a strong man hurtlide ayens a strong man, and bothe fellen doun togidere.

¹³The word which the Lord spak to Jeremye, the profete, on that that Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, was to comynge, and to smytynge the lond of Egipt.

¹⁴Telle ye to Egipt, and make ye herd in Magdalo, and sowne it in Memphis, and seie ye in Taphnys, Stonde thou, and make thee redi, for a swerd schal deuoure tho thingis that ben bi thi cumpas.

¹⁵Whi hath thi strong man wexe rotun? He stood not, for the Lord vndurturnede hym.

¹⁶He multipliede falleris, and a man felle doun to his neiybore; and thei schulen seie, Rise ye, and turne we ayen to oure puple, and to the lond of oure birthe, fro the face of swerd of the culuer.

¹⁷Clepe ye the name of Farao, kyng of Egipt; the tyme hath brouyt noise.

¹⁸Y lyue, seith the kyng, the Lord of oostis is his name; for it schal come as Thabor in hillis, and as Carmele in the see.

¹⁹Thou dwelleresse, the douyter of Egipt, make to thee vessels of passyng ouer; for whi Memfis schal be in to wildirnesse, and schal be forsakun vnhabitable.

²⁰Egipt is a schapli cow calf, and fair; a prickere fro the north schal come to it.

²¹Also the hirid men therof, that liueden as caluys maad fatte in the myddis therof, ben turned, and fledden togidere, and miyten not stonde; for the dai of sleynge of hem schal come on hem, the tyme of the visityng of hem.

²²The vois of hem schal sowne as of bras, for thei schulen haste with oost, and with axis thei schulen come to it. As men kittynge doun trees thei kittiden doun the forest therof,

²³seith the Lord, which mai not be noumbrid; thei ben multiplied ouer locustis, and no noumbre is in hem.

²⁴The douytir of Egipt is schent, and bitakun in to the hond of the puple of the north,

²⁵seide the Lord of oostis, God of Israel. Lo! Y schal visite on the noise of Alisaundre, and on Farao, and on Egipt, and on the goddis therof, and on the kyngis therof, and on hem that tristen in hym.

²⁶And Y schal yyue hem in to the hondis of men that seken the lijf of hem, and in to the hondis of Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, and in to the hondis of hise seruauntis; and aftir these thingis it schal be enhabitid, as in the formere daies, seith the Lord.

²⁷And thou, Jacob, my seruaunt, drede thou not, and Israel, drede thou not; for lo! Y schal make thee saaf fro fer place, and thi seed fro the lond of his caitiftee; and Jacob schal turne ayen, and schal reste, and schal haue prosperite, and noon schal be, that schal make hym aferd.

²⁸And Jacob, my seruaunt, nyle thou drede, seith the Lord, for Y am with thee; for Y schal waste alle folkis, to whiche Y castide thee out; but Y schal not waste thee, but Y schal chastise thee in doom, and Y schal not spare thee as innocent.

Jeremiah 46

¹The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;

²Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh–necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.

³Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

⁴Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.

⁵Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the Lord.

⁶Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

⁷Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

⁸Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

⁹Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.

¹⁰For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

¹¹Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.

¹²The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.

¹³The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.

¹⁴Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.

¹⁵Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive them.

¹⁶He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.

¹⁷They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

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

¹⁹O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

²⁰Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.

²¹Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation.

²²The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

²³They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable.

²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

²⁵The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

²⁶And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.

²⁷But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

²⁸Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.