Jeremiah 43

1 After Jeremiah finished telling everyone all that the Lord their God had send him to say,

And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto the whole people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, [namely, ] all these words,

2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the proud and rebellious men told Jeremiah, “You're lying! The Lord our God hasn't sent you to tell us, ‘You are not to go and live in Egypt.’

That then spoke 'Azaryah the son of Hosha'yah, and Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the presumptuous men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there;

3 No, it's Baruch son of Neriah who's turned you against us in order to hand us over to the Babylonians so they can kill us or exile us to Babylon!”

But Baruch the son of Neriyah setteth thee on against us, in order to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, or carry us away as exiles to Babylon.

4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders refused to obey the Lord's command to stay in the land of Judah.

So Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies, and all the people, hearkened not to the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.

5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders took with them all who were left of the people of Judah, those who had returned to the country from all the nations where they had been scattered.

But Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations, whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;

6 These included men, women, and children, the king's daughters, and everyone Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah, as well as Jeremiah and Baruch.

The men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriyah;

7 They went to Egypt because they refused to obey the Lord's command. They went all the way to Tahpanhes.

And they entered into the land of Egypt; for they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord; and they came as far as Thachpanches.

8 A message from Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes:

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Thachpanches, saying,

9 As the people of Judah watch, get some large stones and set them into the cement of the brick pavement in the entrance way to Pharaoh's palace at Tahpanhes.

Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in the mortar in the brick-kiln which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Thachpanches, before the eyes of the Jewish men;

10 Tell them that this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bring him here. I will place his throne over these stones that I have set into the pavement, and he will spread out his royal tent over them.

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will send for and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

11 He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined to die, imprisonment to those destined to be imprisoned, and the sword to those destined to be killed by the sword.

And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt: such as are destined for death shall be given to death; and such as are destined for captivity, to captivity; and such as are destined for the sword, to the sword.

12 I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar will burn them and loot their idols. He will pick the land of Egypt clean like a shepherd picks his cloak clean of fleas, and he will leave unharmed.

And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall wrap around him the land of Egypt, as a shepherd wrappeth his garment around him; and he shall go forth from there in peace.

13 He will knock down the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.

And he shall break the statues of Bethshemesh, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.