Jeremiah 46:19-28

English Standard Version

¹⁹^(A)Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ^(B)inhabitants of Egypt!
For ^(C)Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, ^(D)without inhabitant.

²⁰“A beautiful ^(E)heifer is Egypt,
    but a biting fly ^(F)from the north has come upon her.
²¹Even her hired soldiers in her midst
    are like ^(G)fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
    they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    ^(H)the time of their punishment.

²²“She makes ^(I)a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
    ^(J)like those who fell trees.
²³^(K)They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
    though it is impenetrable,
because ^(L)they are more numerous than locusts;
    they are without number.
²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
    she shall be delivered into the hand of ^(M)a people from the north.”

²⁵The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^(N)Amon of ^(O)Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^(P)and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ²⁶^(Q)I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^(R)Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^(S)as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

²⁷^(T)“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
²⁸^(U)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
    for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
    to which I have driven you,
    but of you I will not make a full end.
^(V)I will discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”