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

And all the leaders of the warriors, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and the rest of the common people, from the least even to the greatest, drew near.

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.

And they said to Jeremiah the prophet: “Let our supplication fall before your sight. And pray for us to the Lord your God, on behalf of this entire remnant. For few out of many have been left behind, just as your eyes behold us.

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

And so, may the Lord your God announce to us the way that we must travel, and the word that we must accomplish.”

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.”

Then Jeremiah, the prophet, said to them: “I have listened. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words. And whatever word he will respond to me, I will declare to you. And I will conceal nothing 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.

And they said to Jeremiah: “May the Lord be the witness between us of truth and fidelity, if we do not act according to whatever word the Lord your God will send by you to 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, for we will obey the voice of the LORD our God!”

Whether it is for good or for harm, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you. So may it be well with us, when we heed the voice of the Lord our God.”

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

Then, when ten days had been completed, 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.

And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of warriors who were with him, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest.

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

And he said to them: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you have sent me, so that I may present your petitions in his sight:

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.

If you dwell quietly in this land, I will build you up, and I will not tear you down. I will plant you, and I will not uproot you. For now I have been appeased by the harm that I have done to 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.

Do not be afraid before the face of the king of Babylon, whom you have dreaded with great fear. Do not dread him, says the Lord. For I am with you, so that I may accomplish your salvation, and so that I may rescue you from his hand.

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

And I will give you mercies, and I will take pity on you, and I will cause you to live in 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,

But if you say: ‘We will not live in this land, nor will we heed the voice of the Lord our 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,’

saying: ‘Never! Instead, we will travel to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, and we will not hear the blast of the trumpet, and we will not endure famine. And there we shall live.’

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,

Because of this, hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces so as to advance into Egypt, and if you enter so that you may live 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.

the sword which you dread will overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and the famine, about which you are anxious, will cling to you in Egypt, and there you shall die.

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.’

And all the men, who have set their faces so that they may advance to Egypt in order to live there, will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. None of them will remain, nor will they escape from the face of the evil that I will bring over 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.’

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Just as my fury and my indignation has been enflamed over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will my indignation be enflamed over you, when you will have entered into Egypt. And so you will be an oath, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a 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!

This is the word of the Lord concerning you, O remnant of Judah: Do not choose to enter into Egypt, for certainly you understand what I have sworn to you this day.

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.’

For you have deceived your own souls. For you have sent me to the Lord our God, saying: ‘Pray on our behalf to the Lord our God. And in accord with anything whatsoever that the Lord our God will tell you, announce this 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.

And I have announced it to you this day, and you have not heeded the voice of the Lord your God, concerning everything about which he has sent me to 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.”

Therefore, know with certainty now, that you will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, in the place which you wish to enter so that you may live there.”