Jeremiah 46 - Easy To Read Version

¹ These messages came to Jeremiah the prophet. These messages are about different nations.

² This message is about the nation of Egypt. This message is about the army of Pharaoh Neco. Neco was the king of Egypt. His army was defeated at the town of Carchemish. Carchemish is on the Euphrates River. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated the army of Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. {\cf2\super [365]} Jehoiakim was the son of King Josiah. This is the Lord’s message to Egypt:

³ “Get your large and small shields ready.\par March out for battle.\par

⁴ Get the horses ready.\par Soldiers, get on your horses.\par Go to your places for battle.\par Put your helmets on.\par Sharpen your spears.\par Put your armor on.\par

⁵ What do I see?\par That army is scared.\par The soldiers are running away.\par Their brave soldiers are defeated.\par They run away in a hurry.\par They don’t look back.\par There is danger all around.”\par The Lord said these things.\par

⁶ “Fast men can’t run away.\par Strong soldiers can’t escape.\par They will all stumble and fall.\par This will happen in the north,\par by the Euphrates River.\par

⁷ Who is coming like the Nile River?\par Who is coming like that strong, fast river?\par

⁸ It is Egypt that comes\par like the rising Nile River.\par It is Egypt that comes\par like that strong, fast river.\par Egypt says,\par ‘I will come and cover the earth.\par I will destroy the cities\par and the people in them.’\par

⁹ Horse soldiers, charge into battle.\par Chariot drivers, drive fast.\par March on, brave soldiers.\par Soldiers from Cush and Put,\par carry your shields.\par Soldiers from Lydia,\par use your bows.\par

¹⁰ “But at that time, our Master,\par the Lord All-Powerful, will win.\par At that time, he will give the punishment\par that they deserve.\par The Lord’s enemies will get the punishment\par that they should have.\par The sword will kill until it is finished.\par The sword will kill until it satisfies\par its thirst for blood.\par This will happen because there is a sacrifice\par for our Master, the Lord All-Powerful.\par That sacrifice is \{Egypt’s army\}\par in the land of the north,\par by the Euphrates River.\par

¹¹ “Egypt, go to Gilead and get some medicine.\par You will make up many medicines,\par but they will not help.\par You will not be healed.\par

¹² The nations will hear you crying.\par Your cries will be heard all over the earth.\par One ‘brave soldier’ will run into another\par ‘brave soldier.’\par And both ‘brave soldiers’\par will fall down together.”\par

¹³ This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet. This message is about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack Egypt.

¹⁴ “Announce this message in Egypt.\par Tell it in the city of Migdol.\par Tell it in Memphis and Tahpanhes.\par ‘Get ready for war.\par Why? Because people all around you\par are being killed with swords.’\par

¹⁵ Egypt, your strong soldiers will be killed.\par They won’t be able to stand\par because the Lord will push them down.\par

¹⁶ Those soldiers will stumble again and again.\par They will fall over each other.\par They will say,\par ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people.\par Let us go back to our homeland.\par Our enemy is defeating us.\par We must get away.’\par

¹⁷ In their homelands, those soldiers will say,\par ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only\par a lot of noise.\par His time of glory is over.’”\par

¹⁸ This message is from the King.\par The King is the Lord All-Powerful.\par “I promise, as surely as I live,\par a powerful leader\} will come.\par He will be great like Mount Tabor\par and Mount Carmel near the sea.\par

¹⁹ People of Egypt, pack your things.\par Get ready for captivity.\par Why? Because Memphis will be\par a ruined, empty land.\par Those cities will be destroyed,\par and no person will live there.\par

²⁰ “Egypt is like a beautiful cow.\par But a horsefly {\cf2\super [366]} is coming from the north {\cf2\super [367]} \par to bother her.\par

²¹ The hired soldiers in Egypt’s army\par are like fat calves.\par They will all turn and run away.\par They will not stand strong\par against the attack.\par Their time of destruction is coming.\par They will soon be punished.\par

²² Egypt is like a snake hissing\par and trying to escape.\par The enemy comes closer and closer,\par and the Egyptian army is trying\par to slither away (escape).\par The enemy will attack Egypt with axes,\par like men cutting down trees.”\par

²³ The Lord says these things.\par “They will chop down Egypt’s\par forest (army).\par There are many trees (soldiers)\par in that forest (army)\par but they will all be cut down.\par There are more enemy soldiers than locusts. {\cf2\super [368]} \par There are so many soldiers,\par that no person can count them.\par

²⁴ Egypt will be ashamed.\par The enemy from the north will defeat her.\par

²⁵ The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “Very soon I will punish Amon, {\cf2\super [369]} the god of Thebes. And I will punish Pharaoh, Egypt, and her gods. I will punish the kings of Egypt. And I will punish the people that depend on Pharaoh.

²⁶ I will let all those people be defeated by their enemies—and those enemies want to kill them. I will give those people to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his servants.”

²⁷ “Jacob, {\cf2\super [370]} my servant, don’t be afraid.\par Don’t be scared, Israel.\par I will save you from those faraway places.\par I will save your children from the countries\par where they are captives. {\cf2\super [371]} \par Jacob will have peace and safety again.\par And no person will make him afraid.”\par

²⁸ The Lord says these things.\par “Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid.\par I am with you.\par I sent you away to many different places.\par But I will not destroy you completely.\par But I will destroy all those nations.\par You must be punished\par for the bad things you did.\par So I won’t let you escape your punishment.\par I will discipline you, but I will be fair.”\par