This verse may be interpreted in one of two ways:
(1) it refers to a single alliance in which Israel attempts to join with Egypt and Assyria against Babylonia; or
(2) it refers to separate alliances (once with Egypt, and on another occasion with Assyria).

Jeremiah opposed all such alliances because they encouraged the worship of foreign deities and led the nation to depend upon military might rather than upon the strength of the LORD to protect them. If the reference is to a single alliance of the three powers, the common enemy would be Babylonia.

The Nile is the river that made Egypt famous, whereas the Euphrates was the river that gave strength to Assyria. To drink the waters of is here used figuratively in the sense of “to draw strength from,” but translators should not put that interpretation in the text itself. It can be left for a note perhaps. Another problem is that the expression could be misinterpreted in some languages to mean Israel would drink up all the water. “Drink from” or “drink of” would then be better.

Many translators will render the two rivers as “River Nile” and “River Euphrates.” Others, however, will feel that their readers are either sufficiently familiar with these rivers, or that the context makes it clear enough that they are rivers so that “River” is not necessary. (At least the Nile is well known even today.) So also with the countries of Egypt and Assyria.

The Hebrew text here actually uses the name of an eastern branch of the Nile, which is why some translations have “Shihor” (New International Version) instead of the Nile. Similarly, the Euphrates represents “the River” in the Hebrew, which is what that river was commonly called.

Again this verse consists of two rhetorical questions. They presuppose the answer “Nothing!” and they are very forceful statements, in fact. Some translators have rendered them slightly differently, as in “Do you think you can gain anything by going to Egypt and drinking from the Nile?” Others have used statements, such as “You cannot gain a thing by going to Egypt and drinking from the Nile.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .