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 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,

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 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 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 your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the things 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 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 will happen that whatever thing the LORD answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back 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.

Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don’t do according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to tell 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 is good, or whether it is bad, 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.”

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

After ten days, the LORD’s word came to 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 he called 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,

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 said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him, says:

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 you will still live in this land, then I will 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.

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.

Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Don’t be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, ‘for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

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

I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to 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 you say, “We will not dwell in this land,” so that you don’t obey the LORD your God’s voice,

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 we will go into the land of Egypt, where we will see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there we will 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,

now therefore hear the LORD’s word, O remnant of Judah! The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live 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 it will happen that the sword, which you fear, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, will follow close behind you there in Egypt; and you will die there.

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 will it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there. They will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. None of them will remain or escape from the evil that I will bring on 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 the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you, when you enter into Egypt; and you will be an object of horror, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you will see this place no more.’

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 has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah, ‘Don’t go into Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have testified to you today.

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 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 says, so declare to 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.

I have declared it to you today; but you have not obeyed the LORD your God’s voice in anything for which he has sent me to 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.”

Now therefore know certainly that you will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”