Jeremiah 46:14The Message“Tell Egypt, alert Migdol, post warnings in Noph and Tahpanhes: ‘Wake up! Be prepared! War’s coming!’ See the chapter |
23 Cross References
“Assyrians will fall dead, killed by a sword-thrust but not by a soldier, laid low by a sword not swung by a mortal. Assyrians will run from that sword, run for their lives, and their prize young men made slaves. Terrorized, that rock-solid people will fall to pieces, their leaders scatter hysterically.” God’s Decree on Assyria. His fire blazes in Zion, his furnace burns hot in Jerusalem.
“The barbarians will invade, swarm over hills and plains. The judgment sword of God will take its toll from one end of the land to the other. Nothing living will be safe. They will plant wheat and reap weeds. Nothing they do will work out. They will look at their meager crops and wring their hands. All this the result of God’s fierce anger!” * * *
The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros: “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what’s left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins, and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about. Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, “Please, please—don’t do this, don’t fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion.” But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one. So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they’re still in ruins and wasted.’
“But it’s not your day. It’s the Master’s, me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies— the day when I have it out with my enemies, The day when Sword puts an end to my enemies, when Sword exacts vengeance. I, the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will pile them on an altar—a huge sacrifice!— In the great north country, along the mighty Euphrates.
The Message to Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt at the time it was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon while camped at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah: “‘Present arms! March to the front! Harness the horses! Up in the saddles! Battle formation! Helmets on, spears sharpened, armor in place!’ But what’s this I see? They’re scared out of their wits! They break ranks and run for cover. Their soldiers panic. They run this way and that, stampeding blindly. It’s total chaos, total confusion, danger everywhere!” God’s Decree.
“But, son of man, your job is to prophesy. Tell them, ‘This is the Message from God, the Master, against the Ammonites and against their cruel taunts: “‘A sword! A sword! Bared to kill, Sharp as a razor, flashing like lightning. Despite false sword propaganda circulated in Ammon, The sword will sever Ammonite necks, for whom it’s punishment payday. Return the sword to the sheath! I’ll judge you in your home country, in the land where you grew up. I’ll empty out my wrath on you, breathe hot anger down your neck. I’ll give you to vicious men skilled in torture. You’ll end up as stove-wood. Corpses will litter your land. Not so much as a memory will be left of you. I, God, have said so.’”
“‘And now this is what God, the Master, says: “‘I’ll smash all the no-god idols; I’ll topple all those huge statues in Memphis. The prince of Egypt will be gone for good, and in his place I’ll put fear—fear throughout Egypt! I’ll demolish Pathros, burn Zoan to the ground, and punish Thebes, Pour my wrath on Pelusium, Egypt’s fort, and knock Thebes off its proud pedestal. I’ll set Egypt on fire: Pelusium will writhe in pain, Thebes blown away, Memphis raped. The young warriors of On and Pi-beseth will be killed and the cities exiled. A dark day for Tahpanhes when I shatter Egypt, When I break Egyptian power and put an end to her arrogant oppression! She’ll disappear in a cloud of dust, her cities hauled off as exiles. That’s how I’ll punish Egypt, and that’s how she’ll realize that I am God.’” * * *
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