Jeremiah 42

1 Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached

2 Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.

3 Pray that the LORD your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.”

4 “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the LORD your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the LORD answers. I will not withhold a word from you.”

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.

6 Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God!”

7 After ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah,

8 and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.

9 Jeremiah told them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition:

10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you.

11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from him.

12 And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own land.’

13 But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and you thus disobey the voice of the LORD your God,

14 and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’

15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,

16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

17 So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’

18 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

19 The LORD has told you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for sure that I have warned you today!

20 For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us and we will do it.’

21 For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in all He has sent me to tell you.

22 Now therefore, know for sure that by sword and famine and plague you will die in the place where you desire to go to reside.”

1 ¶ Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, [even] for all this remnant; (for we are left [but] a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)

3 That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard [you]; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, [that] whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare [it] unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.

6 Whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

7 ¶ And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which [were] with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull [you] down, and I will plant you, and not pluck [you] up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.

11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I [am] with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,

14 Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:

15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;

16 Then it shall come to pass, [that] the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

18 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

19 The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

20 For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do [it].

21 And [now] I have this day declared [it] to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any [thing] for the which he hath sent me unto you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go [and] to sojourn.

1 Then came all the captains of the host, Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, both small and great,

2 And they said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let our prayer be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God for all these remnant: for ours, alas, are few of many, as thou thyself seest us with thine eyes,

3 That the LORD thy God would shew us whither we should go, and what we should do.

4 And Jeremiah the prophet said unto them: Now therefore I will obey; and, behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God, as ye have said: and whatsoever the LORD shall answer you, that will I shew you, and will not restrain you.

5 And they said unto Jeremiah, Let the LORD be a sure and true witness between us, that we will not do all that the LORD thy God shall command thee concerning us.

6 Whether it be good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, unto whom we send thee; that it may go well with us, if we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

7 And after ten days the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

8 And he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the host that were with him, and all the people, both small and great,

9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to bring your prayer before him:

10 If ye abide in this land, I will build you, and not break you; I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for the evil that I have done unto you hath already repented me.

11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid, saith the LORD; be not afraid of him: for I will be with you to help you, and to deliver you out of his hand.

12 I will show you mercy, and have compassion on you, and will bring you again into your own land.

13 And ye shall say, We will not dwell in the land, lest ye obey the voice of the LORD your God,

14 But say, Nay, we will go into the land of Egypt, that we may not see war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor famine for bread: there will we dwell:

15 Hear therefore the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Will ye set your faces to go into the land of Egypt, that ye may dwell there?

16 And the sword, of which ye are afraid, shall fall upon you in the land of Egypt: and the famine, of which ye are troubled, shall always be after you in Egypt, and ye shall die there.

17 For let them be who they will, that set their faces to go into Egypt to dwell there: they shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none shall survive, nor escape the evil that I will bring upon them.

18 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my wrath is upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall it be upon you, when ye go into Egypt, that ye shall be a curse, and a wonder, and an oath, and a reproach, and shall see this place no more.

19 The word of the LORD is unto you, O remnant of Judah, that ye go not into Egypt. Know therefore that I testify unto you this day.

20 Or else ye shall make your lives desolate. For ye have sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Ask the LORD our God for us: and whatsoever the LORD our God shall say, shew us, and we will do it.

21 These things have I made known unto you this day: but ye will not obey the voice of the LORD your God, nor all that he hath commanded me concerning you.

22 Know ye therefore that ye shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, in the place whither ye go to dwell.