1Yahweh’s word which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
3“Prepare the buckler and shield,
and draw near to battle!
4Harness the horses, and get up, you horsemen,
and stand up with your helmets.
Polish the spears,
put on the coats of mail.
5Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed and are turned backward.
Their mighty ones are beaten down,
have fled in haste,
and don’t look back.
Terror is on every side,”
says Yahweh.
6“Don’t let the swift flee away,
nor the mighty man escape.
In the north by the river Euphrates
they have stumbled and fallen.
7“Who is this who rises up like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
8Egypt rises up like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
He says, ‘I will rise up. I will cover the earth.
I will destroy cities and its inhabitants.’
9Go up, you horses!
Rage, you chariots!
Let the mighty men go out:
Cush and Put, who handle the shield;
and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.
10For that day is of the Lord, Yahweh of Armies,
a day of vengeance,
that he may avenge himself of his adversaries.
The sword will devour and be satiated,
and will drink its fill of their blood;
for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11Go up into Gilead, and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt.
You use many medicines in vain.
There is no healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty,
they both fall together.”
13The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt:
14“Declare in Egypt,
publish in Migdol,
and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes;
say, ‘Stand up, and prepare,
for the sword has devoured around you.’
15Why are your strong ones swept away?
They didn’t stand, because Yahweh pushed them.
16He made many to stumble.
Yes, they fell on one another.
They said, ‘Arise! Let’s go again to our own people,
and to the land of our birth,
from the oppressing sword.’
17They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise;
he has let the appointed time pass by.’
18“As I live,” says the King,
whose name is Yahweh of Armies,
“surely like Tabor among the mountains,
and like Carmel by the sea,
so he will come.
19You daughter who dwells in Egypt,
furnish yourself to go into captivity;
for Memphis will become a desolation,
and will be burned up,
without inhabitant.
20“Egypt is a very beautiful heifer;
but destruction out of the north has come.
It has come.
21Also her hired men in the middle of her are like calves of the stall,
for they also are turned back.
They have fled away together.
They didn’t stand,
for the day of their calamity has come on them,
the time of their visitation.
22Its sound will go like the serpent,
for they will march with an army,
and come against her with axes, as wood cutters.
23They will cut down her forest,” says Yahweh,
“though it can’t be searched;
because they are more than the locusts,
and are innumerable.
24The daughter of Egypt will be disappointed;
she will be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.”
25Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. 26I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants. Afterwards it will be inhabited, as in the days of old,” says Yahweh.
27“But don’t you be afraid, Jacob my servant.
Don’t be dismayed, Israel;
for, behold, I will save you from afar,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob will return,
and will be quiet and at ease.
No one will make him afraid.
28Don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant,” says Yahweh,
“for I am with you;
for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you,
but I will not make a full end of you,
but I will correct you in measure,
and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, born immediately after Esau, and Abraham was his grandfather. He achieved the right of the firstborn by trickery, in offering his older brother, Esau, food in exchange for the birthright, who cared little for this position. He also received the blessing of firstborn from his father Jacob before his death by cunning, and with the assistance of his mother Rebekah.
After his deception of Esau, receiving the blessing from his father, Jacob escaped to his uncle Laban, who in turn deceived Jacob into working for fourteen years for the marriage of Jacob to Leah, and then his beloved Rachel. Laban also sought to deceive Jacob of wages, but God intervened to ensure he would prosper. In a time of trial, when he feared the wrath of Esau, upon returning to the land of Canaan, Jacob had an encounter with God, and his name was changed to Israel, the one who wrestles with God. Even though his early life was characterized by deception, God worked through the situation to ensure that Jacob would be the one in the line of the patriarchs, to create a great nation and ultimately fulfill His purposes in the earth, especially through the future Messiah. The Messiah would guarantee the promise of the land to Abram and a person who would rule over Abraham's descendants, but also He would bring blessings to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).
In spite of Jacob's early failure by deception, God worked through him, and finally, Jacob became a different type of man after his struggle with God. As one has said,
"Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan."
For more on Jacob, see "Who was Jacob in the Bible?", https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html