Jeremiah 42

1 And they come near—all the heads of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest—

Then came near all the captains of the armies, and Jochanan the son of Kareach, and Yezanyah the son of Hosha'yah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest,

2 and they say to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our supplication fall before you, and pray for us to your God YHWH for all this remnant; for we have been left a few out of many, as your eyes see us;

And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our humble supplication be accepted before thee, and pray in our behalf unto the Lord thy God, in behalf of all this remnant; [for we are left but a few of many, as thy own eyes do see us: ]

3 and your God YHWH declares to us the way in which we walk, and the thing that we do.”

That the Lord thy God may tell us the way whereon we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

4 And Jeremiah the prophet says to them, “I have heard: behold, I am praying to your God YHWH according to your words, and it has come to pass, the whole word that YHWH answers you, I declare to you—I do not withhold a word from you.”

Then said Jeremiah the prophet 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 will answer you, I will tell unto you; I will withhold not a word from you.

5 And they have said to Jeremiah, “YHWH is against us for a true and faithful witness, if—according to all the word with which your God YHWH sends you to us—we do not do so.

But they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not act entirely according to all the word with which the Lord thy God may send thee to us:

6 Whether [it is] good or evil, to the voice of our God YHWH, to whom we are sending you, we listen; because it is good for us when we listen to the voice of our God YHWH.”

Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; in order that it may be well with us, when we hearken to the voice of the Lord our God.

7 And it comes to pass, at the end of ten days, that there is a word of YHWH to Jeremiah,

And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

8 and he calls to Johanan son of Kareah, and to all the heads of the forces that [are] with him, and to all the people, from the least even to the greatest,

Then called he Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

9 and he says to them, “Thus said YHWH, God of Israel, to whom you sent me, to cause your supplication to fall before Him:

And he said unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your humble supplication before him:

10 If you certainly dwell in this land, then I have built you up, and I do not throw down; and I have planted you, and I do not pluck up; for I have relented concerning the calamity that I have done to you.

If ye will indeed remain in this land, then will I build you up, and I will not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I have bethought me of the evil that I have done unto you.

11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are afraid of; do not be afraid of him—a declaration of YHWH—for I [am] with you, to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

Be ye not afraid because of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid: have no fear of him, saith the Lord; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you out of his hand.

12 And I give mercies to you, and he has pitied you, and caused you to return to your own ground.

And I will give unto you mercy, that he may have mercy upon you, and let you return to your own land.

13 And if you are saying, We do not dwell in this land—not to listen to the voice of your God YHWH,

But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so as not to hearken to the voice of the Lord your God,

14 saying, No; but we enter the land of Egypt, that we see no war, and do not hear the sound of a horn, and are not hungry for bread; and we dwell there—

Saying, No; but into the land of Egypt will we go, that we may not see war, nor hear the sound of the cornet, and that we may not have hunger for bread; and there will we dwell;

15 And now, therefore, hear a word of YHWH, O remnant of Judah! Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: If you really set your faces to enter Egypt, and have gone to sojourn there,

And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye will indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go thither to sojourn there:

16 then it has come to pass, the sword that you are afraid of, overtakes you there, in the land of Egypt; and the hunger, because of which you are sorrowful, cleaves after you there in Egypt, and there you die.

Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, there overtake you in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are in dread, shall there cleave close unto you in Egypt; and there shall ye die.

17 Thus are all the men who have set their faces to enter Egypt to sojourn there; they die—by sword, by hunger, and by pestilence, and there is not a remnant and an escaped one to them, because of the calamity that I am bringing in on them;

So shall be all the men that have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there, —they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and they shall have none that remaineth or escapeth from the evil that I am bringing over them.

18 for thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: As My anger and My fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My fury is poured out on you in your entering Egypt, and you have been for an execration, and for an astonishment, and for a reviling, and for a reproach, and you do not see this place anymore.

For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, As my anger and my fury were poured forth over the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so shall my fury be poured forth over you, when ye enter into Egypt; and ye shall become an oath, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace; and ye shall never see this place again.

19 YHWH has spoken against you, O remnant of Judah, do not enter Egypt: certainly know that I have testified against you today;

The Lord hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, “Ye shall not go into Egypt:” ye must know for certain that I have warned you this day.

20 for you have showed yourselves perverse in your souls, for you sent me to your God YHWH, saying, Pray for us to our God YHWH, and according to all that our God YHWH says, so declare to us, and we have done [it];

For ye have dissembled in regard to what your intentions are; for ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray in our behalf unto the Lord our God: and in accordance with all that the Lord our God may say, so tell unto us, and we will do it.

21 and I declare to you today, and you have not listened to the voice of your God YHWH, and to anything with which He has sent me to you.

And I have told it to you this day; but ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord your God, and this in all with which he hath sent me unto you.

22 And now, certainly know that by sword, by famine, and by pestilence you die, in the place that you have desired to go to sojourn there.”

But now know for certain that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn there.