Bible Strands
Jeremiah 46:19
Pack your bags for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt! For Memphis will be laid waste, destroyed and uninhabited.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Jeremiah to the inhabitants of Egypt, specifically those in Memphis, announcing impending destruction. This oracle is delivered within a broader prophetic declaration concerning Egypt’s defeat by a northern military force.
The words — The Hebrew imperative עֲשִׂי (‘a.Si) combined with כְּלֵי (kelei) and גוֹלָה (golāh) literally commands the preparation of baggage for exile. The phrase בַּת־מִצְרַיִם (bat-mitzrayim) addresses the nation as the "daughter of Egypt," while נֹף (nōp) identifies Memphis as the city to be laid waste.
The thread — This pattern of northern conquest and Egyptian exile recurs in Isaiah 20:4, where Assyria leads away captives from Egypt and Cush. Jeremiah later adapts the "daughter dwelling in" address in Jeremiah 48:18 for Moab and references Egyptian Jewish settlements in Jeremiah 44:1.
Why it lands — The text states that Memphis will be destroyed and rendered uninhabited, making exile unavoidable for its inhabitants. It requires the reader to acknowledge that geographic location and national identity provide no immunity against the declared judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
- Jeremiah 48:18 Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
- Jeremiah 44:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
- Ezekiel 30:13 This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.
- Jeremiah 26:9 How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!” And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 34:22 Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
- Jeremiah 51:29 The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
- Ezekiel 12:3 Therefore, son of man, pack your bags for exile. In broad daylight, set out from your place and go to another as they watch. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
- Zephaniah 2:5 Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will be left.”