Jeremias 26
1 In the beginning of the reign of king Sedekias, there came this word concerning Aelam.
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Jehovah, saying: —
2 FOR EGYPT, AGAINST THE POWER OF PHARAO NECHAO KING OF EGYPT, who was by the river Euphrates in Charmis, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Joakim king of Juda.
Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of the house of Jehovah, and speak to those who come from all the cities of Judah to worship in the house of Jehovah all the words which I have commanded thee to speak to them; abate not a word.
3 Take up arms and spears, and draw nigh to battle;
If peradventure they will hearken and turn every one from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of their evil doings.
4 and harness the horses: mount, ye horsemen, and stand ready in your helmets; advance the spears, and put on your breast-plates.
And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you,
5 Why do they fear, and turn back? even because their mighty men shall be slain: they have utterly fled, and being hemmed in they have not rallied, saith the Lord.
to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent to you, rising early and sending, and ye have not hearkened,
6 Let not the swift flee, and let not the mighty man escape to the north: the [forces] at Euphrates are become feeble, and they have fallen.
then will I make this house like Shiloh, and this city will I make a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 Who is this [that] shall come up as a river, and as rivers roll [their] waves?
And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah.
8 The waters of Egypt shall come up like a river: and he said, I will go up, and will cover the earth, and will destroy the dwellers in it.
And when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, and said, Thou shalt surely die!
9 Mount ye the horses, prepare the chariots; go forth, ye warriors of the Ethiopians, and Libyans armed with shields; and mount, ye Lydians, bend the bow.
Why dost thou prophesy in the name of Jehovah, and say, This house shall be as Shiloh, and this city shall be made desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were assembled together against Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.
10 And that day [shall be] to the Lord our God a day of vengeance, to take vengeance on his enemies: and the sword of the Lord shall devour, and be glutted, and be drunken with their blood: for the Lord [has] a sacrifice from the land of the north at the river Euphrates.
When the princes of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king's house to the house of Jehovah, and sat in the entrance of the new gate of the house of Jehovah.
11 Go up to Galaad, and take balm for the virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain hast thou multiplied thy medicines; there is no help in thee.
Then spake the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying: This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
12 The nations have heard thy voice, and the land has been filled with thy cry: for the warriors have fainted fighting one against another, [and] both are fallen together.
Then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying: Jehovah hath sent me to prophesy against this house, and against this city, all the words which ye have heard.
13 THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE by Jeremias, concerning the coming of the king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt.
But now amend ye your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah, your God, and Jehovah will repent of the evil which he hath pronounced against you.
14 Proclaim [it] at Magdol, and declare [it] at Memphis: say ye, Stand up, and prepare; for the sword has devoured thy yew-tree.
And as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do to me as it seemeth good and right in your eyes.
15 Wherefore has Apis fled from thee? thy choice calf has not remained; for the Lord has utterly weakened him.
But know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and its inhabitants; for of a truth Jehovah hath sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.
16 And thy multitude has fainted and fallen; and each one said to his neighbour, Let us arise, and return into our country to our people, from the Grecian sword.
Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and the prophets: This man is not worthy to die, for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, our God.
17 Call ye the name of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt, Saon esbeie moed.
Certain elders of the land also rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying:
18 [As] I live, saith the Lord God, he shall come as Itabyrion among the mountains, and as Carmel that is on the sea.
Micah, the Morasthite, prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Zion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of stones, and the mountain of the house [[of Jehovah]] as the heights of a forest.
19 O daughter of Egypt dwelling [at home], prepare thee stuff for removing: for Memphis shall be utterly desolate, and shall be called Woe, because there are no inhabitants in it.
Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah, put him to death? Did he not fear Jehovah, and beseech Jehovah, so that Jehovah repented of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Shall we then bring so great an evil upon ourselves?
20 Egypt is a fair heifer, [but] destruction from the north is come upon her.
There was also another man that prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Urijah, the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and this land, according to all the words of Jeremiah;
21 Also her hired [soldiers] in the midst of her are as fatted calves fed in her; for they also have turned, and fled with one accord: they stood not, for the day of destruction was come upon them, and the time of their retribution.
and when Jehoiakim the king, and all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled and went into Egypt.
22 Their voice is as [that] of a hissing serpent, for they go upon the sand; they shall come upon Egypt with axes, as men that cut wood.
But Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt,
23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, for [their number] cannot at all be conjectured, for it exceeds the locust in multitude, and they are innumerable.
and they brought Urijah out of Egypt, and carried him to King Jehoiakim, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
24 The daughter of Egypt is confounded; she is delivered into the hands of a people from the north.
Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah, that he should not be delivered into the hand of the people, to be put to death.
25 Behold, I [will] avenge Ammon her son upon Pharao, and upon them that trust in him.
27 But fear not thou, my servant Jacob, neither be thou alarmed, Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at ease, and sleep, and there shall be no one to trouble him.
28 Fear not thou, my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; for I am with thee: she [that was] without fear and in luxury, has been delivered up: for I will make a full end of every nation among whom I have thrust thee forth; but I will not cause thee to fail: yet will I chastise thee in the way of judgment, and will not hold thee entirely guiltless.
