Jeremiah46
King James Version · Public Domain
1The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh–neco 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 Ludim, 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 Memphis 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 Memphis 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.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Jeremiah 46.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The defeat of the Egyptians. (1-12). Their overthrow after the siege of Tyre. (13-26). A promise of comfort to the Jews. (27-28).
vv1-12
The whole word of God is against those who obey not the gospel of Christ; but it is for those, even of the Gentiles, who turn to Him. The prophecy begins with Egypt. Let them strengthen themselves with all the art and interest they have, yet it shall be all in vain. The wounds God inflicts on his enemies, cannot be healed by medicines. Power and prosperity soon pass from one to another in this changing world.
vv13-28
Those who encroached on others, shall now be themselves encroached on. Egypt is now like a very fair heifer, not accustomed to the yoke of subjection; but destruction comes out of the north: the Chaldeans shall come. Comfort and peace are spoken to the Israel of God, designed to encourage them when the judgments of God were abroad among the nations. He will be with them, and only correct them in measure; and will not punish them with everlasting destruction from his presence.
Key Words
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
יִרְמְיָה: Jirmejah, the name of eight or nine Israelites
נָבִיא: a prophet or (generally) inspired man
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
גּוֹי: a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts
מִצְרַיִם: Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt
חַיִל: probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength
פַּרְעֹה נְכֹה: Paroh-Nekoh (or -Neko), an Egyptian king
מֶלֶךְ: a king
Cross References
Jeremiah 46Historical context of Pharaoh-necho's campaign at Megiddo where King Josiah was slain.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Verbal echo regarding Gilead and balm, demonstrating the futility of seeking healing for Egypt's terminal defeat.
Supported by JFB
Virtually identical comforting promise of preservation and return given to Jacob/Israel amidst Gentile judgments.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallels the promise to correct Israel in measure while making a full end of other nations.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Records the historical aftermath: the King of Egypt lost all territory from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Carchemish mentioned as a strategic Syrian location of previous conflict and ultimate Babylonian conquest.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The same metaphor of an overflowing flood/river is used to describe an invading army from the north.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the metaphor of a great, rising river (Euphrates) representing an overwhelming foreign military invasion.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the sacrificial imagery of divine vengeance, where slaughter is described as a sacrifice to the Lord.
Supported by JFB
Jeremiah's explicit prediction in Egypt that Nebuchadnezzar would come and smite the land.
Supported by JFB
Mentions Tahpanhes and Noph (Memphis) as sources of Israel's undoing and objects of divine judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the promise of Egypt's restoration to being inhabited after the period of desolation.
Ezekiel's parallel prophecy against the same key Egyptian cities: Noph (Memphis) and others.
Uses the heifer metaphor for a pampered, prosperous nation unaccustomed to the yoke.
Supported by Matthew Henry