Jeremiah 42

¹Then 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 to the greatest, came near,

²And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let our request come before you, and make prayer for us to the Lord your God, even for this small band of us; for we are only a small band out of what was a great number, as your eyes may see:

³That the Lord your God may make clear to us the way in which we are to go and what we are to do.

⁴Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have given ear to you; see, I will make prayer to the Lord your God, as you have said; and it will be that, whatever the Lord may say in answer to you, I will give you word of it, keeping nothing back.

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true witness against us in good faith, if we do not do everything which the Lord your God sends you to say to us.

⁶If it is good or if it is evil, we will be guided by the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you; so that it may be well for us when we give ear to the voice of the Lord our God.

⁷And it came about that after ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

⁸And he sent for Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were still with him, and all the people, from the least to the greatest,

⁹And said to them, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to put your request before him:

¹⁰If you still go on living in the land, then I will go on building you up and not pulling you down, planting you and not uprooting you: for my purpose of doing evil to you has been changed.

¹¹Have no fear of the king of Babylon, of whom you are now in fear; have no fear of him, says the Lord: for I am with you to keep you safe and to give you salvation from his hands.

¹²And I will have mercy on you, so that he may have mercy on you and let you go back to your land.

¹³But if you say, We have no desire to go on living in this land; and do not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God,

¹⁴Saying, No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or be hearing the sound of the horn, or be in need of food; there we will make our living-place;

¹⁵Then give ear now to the word of the Lord, O you last of Judah: the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, If your minds are fixed on going into Egypt and stopping there;

¹⁶Then it will come about that the sword, which is the cause of your fear, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and need of food, which you are fearing, will go after you there in Egypt; and there death will come to you.

¹⁷Such will be the fate of all the men whose minds are fixed on going into Egypt and stopping there; they will come to their end by the sword, by being short of food, and by disease: not one of them will keep his life or get away from the evil which I will send on them.

¹⁸For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: As my wrath and passion have been let loose on the people of Jerusalem, so will my passion be let loose on you when you go into Egypt: and you will become an oath and a cause of wonder and a curse and a name of shame; and you will never see this place again.

¹⁹The Lord has said about you, O last of Judah, Go not into Egypt: be certain that I have given witness to you this day.

²⁰For you have been acting with deceit in your hearts; for you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, Make prayer for us to the Lord our God, and give us word of everything he may say, and we will do it.

²¹And this day I have made it clear to you, and you have not given ear to the voice of the Lord your God in anything for which he has sent me to you.

²²And now be certain that you will come to your end by the sword and by being short of food and by disease, in the place to which you are pleased to go for a living-place.

Jeremiah 42

¹Then 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 to the greatest, came near,

²and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us:

³that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do."

⁴Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you; behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall happen that whatever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you."

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, "The Lord be a true and faithful witness among us, if we do not do according to all the word with which the Lord your God shall send you to us.

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

⁷It happened after ten days, that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

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

⁹and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him:

¹⁰'If you will still live 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 grieve over the distress that I have brought on you.

¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him, says the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

¹²I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to return to your own land.'

¹³But if you say, 'We will not dwell in this land'; so that you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God,

¹⁴saying, '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':

¹⁵now therefore hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there;

¹⁶then it shall happen, that the sword, which you fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, shall follow close behind you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.

¹⁷So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live 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 on them.'

¹⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'As my anger and my wrath has been poured forth on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured forth on you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.'

¹⁹The Lord has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah, 'Do not go into Egypt': know certainly that I have testified to you this day.

²⁰For you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the Lord our God; and according to all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it':

²¹and I have this day declared it to you; but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything for which he has sent me to you.

²²Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to live there."