13. The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14. “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,for the sword shall devour around you.’
15. Why are your mighty ones face down?They do not standbecause the Lord thrust them down.
16. He made many stumble, and they fell,and they said one to another,‘Arise, and let us go back to our own peopleand to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.’