14 `Declare ye in Egypt, and sound in Migdol, Yea, sound in Noph, and in Tahpanhes say: Station thyself, yea, prepare for thee, For a sword hath devoured around thee,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, `Take in thy hand great stones, and thou hast hidden them, in the clay, in the brick-kiln, that `is' at the opening of the house of Pharaoh in Tahpanhes, before the eyes of the men of Judah,
`Set ye in array shield and buckler, And draw nigh to battle. Gird the horses, and go up, ye horsemen, And station yourselves with helmets, Polish the javelins, put on the coats of mail.
Strengthen yourselves, sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa blow ye a trumpet, And over Beth-Haccerem lift ye up a flame, For evil hath been seen from the north, And great destruction. The comely and the delicate one I have cut off, The daughter of Zion. Unto her come do shepherds and their droves, They have stricken tents by her round about, They have fed each `in' his own station. Sanctify ye against her the battle, Rise, and we go up at noon. Wo to us, for turned hath the day, For stretched out are the shades of evening, `Rise, and we go up by night, And we destroy her palaces.'
And I have given fire against Egypt, Greatly pained is Sin, and No is to be rent, And Noph hath daily distresses. The youths of Aven and Pi-Beseth by sword do fall, And these into captivity do go. And in Tehaphnehes hath the day been dark, In My breaking there the yokes of Egypt, And ceased in her hath the excellency of her strength, She -- a cloud doth cover her, And her daughters into captivity do go.
Proclaim ye this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come nigh, come up, let all the men of war. Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, `I `am' mighty.' Haste, and come in, all ye nations round, And be gathered together, Thither cause to come down, O Jehovah, Thy mighty ones. Wake and come up let the nations unto the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I sit to judge all the nations around.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 46
Commentary on Jeremiah 46 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 46
How judgment began at the house of God we have found in the foregoing prophecy and history; but now we shall find that it did not end there. In this and the following chapters we have predictions of the desolations of the neighbouring nations, and those brought upon them too mostly by the king of Babylon, till at length Babylon itself comes to be reckoned with. The prophecy against Egypt is here put first and takes up this whole chapter, in which we have,
Jer 46:1-12
The first verse is the title of that part of this book, which relates to the neighbouring nations, and follows here. It is the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah against the Gentiles; for God is King and Judge of nations, knows and will call to an account those who know him not nor take any notice of him. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied against these nations that Jeremiah here has a separate saying to, and with reference to the same events. In the Old Testament we have the word of the Lord against the Gentiles; in the New Testament we have the word of the Lord for the Gentiles, that those who were afar off are made nigh.
He begins with Egypt, because they were of old Israel's oppressors and of late their deceivers, when they put confidence in them. In these verses he foretells the overthrow of the army of Pharaoh-necho, by Nebuchadnezzar, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was so complete a victory to the king of Babylon that thereby he recovered from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt, and so weakened him that he came not again any more out of his land (as we find, 2 Ki. 24:7), and so made him pay dearly for his expedition against the king of Assyria four years before, in which he slew Josiah, 2 Ki. 23:29. This is the event that is here foretold in lofty expressions of triumph over Egypt thus foiled, which Jeremiah would speak of with a particular pleasure, because the death of Josiah, which he had lamented, was now avenged on Pharaoh-necho. Now here,
Jer 46:13-28
In these verses we have,