In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

43 But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent, had (A)finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— Azariah the (B)son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are (C)telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; but (D)Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” So (E)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the [a]commanders of the forces, and all the people, (F)did not obey the voice of the Lord to (G)stay in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the [b]commanders of the forces took the (H)entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah— the men, the women, the [c]children, the (I)king’s daughters and (J)every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [d]and grandson of Shaphan, together with (K)Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as (L)Tahpanhes.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in (M)Tahpanhes, saying, “Take some large stones in your [e]hands and hide them in the mortar in the [f]brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s [g]palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of [h]some of the Jews; 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get (N)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (O)My servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his (P)canopy over them. 11 He will also come and (Q)strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and (R)those for the sword to the sword. 12 And [i]I shall set fire to the temples of the (S)gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will (T)wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will also shatter the [j]obelisks of [k]Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:4 Or princes
  2. Jeremiah 43:5 Or princes
  3. Jeremiah 43:6 Lit infants
  4. Jeremiah 43:6 Lit the son
  5. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit hand
  6. Jeremiah 43:9 Or brickwork
  7. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit house
  8. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit men
  9. Jeremiah 43:12 Some ancient versions read He will set
  10. Jeremiah 43:13 Or stone pillars
  11. Jeremiah 43:13 Heb Beth-shemesh; i.e. the house of the sun-god

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in (A)Migdol, (B)Tahpanhes, (C)Memphis, and the land of (D)Pathros, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in (E)ruins and no one lives in them, (F)because of their wickedness which they committed so as to (G)provoke Me to anger by continuing to (H)burn [a]sacrifices and to (I)serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. Yet I (J)sent you all My servants the prophets, [b]again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this (K)abominable thing which I hate.” But (L)they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn [c]sacrifices to other gods. Therefore My (M)wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the (N)cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a (O)desolation as it is this day. Now then thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Why are you (P)doing great harm to yourselves, so as to (Q)cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant, (R)provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, (S)burning [d]sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a (T)curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the (U)wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 But they (V)have not become [e]contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor (W)walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’

11 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to (X)set My face against you for [f]woe, even to cut off all Judah. 12 And I will (Y)take away the remnant of Judah who have set their [g]mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all [h](Z)meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a (AA)curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach. 13 And I will (AB)punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with pestilence. 14 So there will be (AC)no refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are [i](AD)longing to return and live; for none will (AE)return except a few refugees.’”

15 Then (AF)all the men who were aware that their wives were burning [j]sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, [k]including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the [l](AG)message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (AH)we are not going to listen to you! 17 But rather we will certainly (AI)carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, [m]by burning [n]sacrifices to the (AJ)queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as (AK)we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had (AL)plenty of [o]food and were well off and saw no [p]misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning [q]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have (AM)lacked everything and have [r]met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women, “when we were (AN)burning [s]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and [t]were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it (AO)without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes [u]in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Calamity for the Jews

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying, 21 “As for the [v](AP)smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the (AQ)streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord (AR)remember them and did not all this come into His [w]mind? 22 So the Lord was (AS)no longer able to endure it, (AT)because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a (AU)ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned [x]sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and (AV)not obeyed the voice of the Lord or (AW)walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this (AX)calamity has befallen you, as it has this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “(AY)Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are (AZ)in the land of Egypt, 25 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will (BA)certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn [y]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” [z](BB)Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!’ 26 [aa]Nevertheless hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have (BC)sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘(BD)never shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “(BE)As the Lord [ab]God lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them (BF)for harm and not for good, and (BG)all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will [ac]meet their end by the sword and by famine until they [ad]are completely gone. 28 (BH)Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah [ae](BI)few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know (BJ)whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 This will be the (BK)sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that (BL)My words will surely stand against you for harm.’ 30 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to give over (BM)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over (BN)Zedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 44:3 Or incense
  2. Jeremiah 44:4 Lit rising early and sending
  3. Jeremiah 44:5 Or incense
  4. Jeremiah 44:8 Or incense
  5. Jeremiah 44:10 Lit crushed
  6. Jeremiah 44:11 Lit evil
  7. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit face
  8. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit be finished
  9. Jeremiah 44:14 Lit lifting up their soul
  10. Jeremiah 44:15 Or incense
  11. Jeremiah 44:15 Lit and
  12. Jeremiah 44:16 Lit word
  13. Jeremiah 44:17 Or so as to burn
  14. Jeremiah 44:17 Or incense
  15. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit bread
  16. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit evil
  17. Jeremiah 44:18 Or incense
  18. Jeremiah 44:18 Lit been finished
  19. Jeremiah 44:19 Or incense
  20. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to pour
  21. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to make an image of her
  22. Jeremiah 44:21 Or incense
  23. Jeremiah 44:21 Lit heart
  24. Jeremiah 44:23 Or incense
  25. Jeremiah 44:25 Or incense
  26. Jeremiah 44:25 Lit Surely cause to stand
  27. Jeremiah 44:26 Lit Therefore
  28. Jeremiah 44:26 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  29. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit be finished
  30. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit come to an end
  31. Jeremiah 44:28 Lit men of number

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

46 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet (A)concerning the nations.

To (B)Egypt, concerning the army of (C)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at (D)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the (E)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

(F)Line up the shield and [a]buckler,
And draw near for the battle!
“Harness the horses,
And [b]mount the steeds,
And take your stand with helmets on!
(G)Polish the spears,
Put on the (H)scale-armor!
“Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are (I)drawing back,
And their (J)mighty men are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back;
[c](K)Terror is on every side!”
Declares the Lord.
Let not the (L)swift man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have (M)stumbled and fallen.
Who is this that (N)rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge about?
Egypt rises like the Nile,
Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;
And He has said, “I will (O)rise and cover that land;
I will surely (P)destroy the city and its inhabitants.”
Go up, you horses, and [d](Q)drive madly, you chariots,
That the mighty men may [e]march forward:
Ethiopia and [f](R)Put, that handle the shield,
And the [g](S)Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
10 For (T)that day belongs to the Lord [h]God of hosts,
A day of (U)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the (V)sword will devour and be satiated
And [i]drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a (W)slaughter for the Lord [j]God of hosts,
In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
11 Go (X)up to Gilead and obtain balm,
(Y)O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied [k]remedies;
There is (Z)no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your (AA)shame,
And the earth is full of your (AB)cry of distress;
For one (AC)warrior has stumbled over [l]another,
And both of them have fallen down together.

13 This is the [m]message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the (AD)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to (AE)smite the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in (AF)Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and (AG)Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the (AH)sword has devoured those around you.’
15 “Why have your (AI)mighty ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the Lord has (AJ)thrust them down.
16 “They have repeatedly (AK)stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up! And (AL)let us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the [n](AM)sword of the oppressor.’
17 [o]They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but (AN)a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 “As I live,” declares the (AO)King
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
“Surely one shall come who looms up like (AP)Tabor among the mountains,
Or like (AQ)Carmel by the sea.
19 “Make your baggage ready for (AR)exile,
O (AS)daughter dwelling in Egypt,
For (AT)Memphis will become a desolation;
It will even be burned down and [p]bereft of inhabitants.
20 “Egypt is a pretty (AU)heifer,
But a [q]horsefly is coming (AV)from the north—it is coming!
21 “Also her (AW)mercenaries in her midst
Are like [r]fattened (AX)calves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their (AY)punishment.
22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on [s]like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 “They have cut down her (AZ)forest,” declares the Lord;
“Surely it will no more be found,
Even though [t]they are now more numerous than (BA)locusts
And are without number.
24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the [u]power of the (BB)people of the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of (BC)Thebes, and (BD)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her (BE)gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who (BF)trust in him. 26 I shall give them over to the [v]power of those who are (BG)seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his [w]officers. (BH)Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

27 “But as for you, O Jacob My servant, (BI)do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For, see, I am going to (BJ)save you from afar,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be (BK)undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him tremble.
28 “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For (BL)I am with you.
For I will make a full end of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will (BM)not make a full end of you;
But I will (BN)correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 46:3 I.e. small shield
  2. Jeremiah 46:4 Or go up, you horsemen
  3. Jeremiah 46:5 Heb Magor-missabib; i.e. Terror is on every side
  4. Jeremiah 46:9 Lit act like madmen
  5. Jeremiah 46:9 Lit go forth
  6. Jeremiah 46:9 I.e. Libya (or Somaliland)
  7. Jeremiah 46:9 Heb Ludim
  8. Jeremiah 46:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  9. Jeremiah 46:10 Lit be saturated with
  10. Jeremiah 46:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  11. Jeremiah 46:11 Lit healings
  12. Jeremiah 46:12 Lit warrior
  13. Jeremiah 46:13 Lit word
  14. Jeremiah 46:16 Lit oppressing sword
  15. Jeremiah 46:17 Some ancient versions read Call the name of Pharaoh a big noise
  16. Jeremiah 46:19 Lit without
  17. Jeremiah 46:20 Or possibly mosquito
  18. Jeremiah 46:21 Lit of the stall
  19. Jeremiah 46:22 Or in force
  20. Jeremiah 46:23 I.e. trees of the forest, the Egyptians
  21. Jeremiah 46:24 Lit hand
  22. Jeremiah 46:26 Lit hand
  23. Jeremiah 46:26 Lit servants

Growth in Christian Virtue

[a]Simon Peter, a (A)bond-servant and (B)apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received (C)a faith of the same [b]kind as ours, [c]by (D)the righteousness of (E)our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: (F)Grace and peace be multiplied to you in (G)the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His (H)divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true (I)knowledge of Him who (J)called us [d]by His own glory and [e]excellence. [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent (K)promises, so that by them you may become (L)partakers of the divine nature, having (M)escaped the (N)corruption that is in (O)the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith (P)supply (Q)moral [g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, (R)knowledge, and in your knowledge, (S)self-control, and in your self-control, (T)perseverance, and in your perseverance, (U)godliness, and in your godliness, (V)brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor (W)unfruitful in the true (X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is (Y)blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his (Z)purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His (AA)calling and (AB)choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never (AC)stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into (AD)the eternal kingdom of our (AE)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be (AF)abundantly (AG)supplied to you.

12 Therefore, (AH)I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in (AI)the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it (AJ)right, as long as I am in (AK)this earthly dwelling, to (AL)stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that (AM)the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, (AN)as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my (AO)departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Eyewitnesses

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised (AP)tales when we made known to you the (AQ)power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were (AR)eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an [h](AS)utterance as this was [i]made to Him by the (AT)Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this [j]utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the (AU)holy mountain.

19 [k]So we have (AV)the prophetic word made more (AW)sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to (AX)a lamp shining in a dark place, until the (AY)day dawns and the (AZ)morning star arises (BA)in your hearts. 20 But (BB)know this first of all, that (BC)no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for (BD)no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men (BE)moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 1:1 Two early mss read Simeon
  2. 2 Peter 1:1 Or value
  3. 2 Peter 1:1 Or in
  4. 2 Peter 1:3 Or to
  5. 2 Peter 1:3 Or virtue
  6. 2 Peter 1:4 Lit Through which (things)
  7. 2 Peter 1:5 Or virtue
  8. 2 Peter 1:17 Lit voice
  9. 2 Peter 1:17 Lit brought
  10. 2 Peter 1:18 Lit voice brought
  11. 2 Peter 1:19 Or We have the even more sure prophetic word