Jeremiah 42

1 Then drew near all the captains of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, —and all the people from the least even unto the greatest;

Then all the army commanders and Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet.

2 and said unto Jeremiah the prophet—Let our supplication we beseech thee fall prostrate before thee, and pray thou in our behalf unto Yahweh thy God, in behalf of all this remnant, —for we are left a few out of many, just as thine own eyes do behold us:

They said to him, “Let our pleas come before you. Pray for us to Yahweh your God for these people who remain since we are so few in number, as you see.

3 that Yahweh thy God may tell us the way wherein we should walk, —and the thing that we should do.

Ask Yahweh your God to tell us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4 And Jeremiah the prophet, said unto them, I have heard; behold me! praying unto Yahweh your God according to your words, —and it shall come to pass that the whole thing that Yahweh shall answer you, I will tell you, I will keep back from you, nothing.

So Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Look, I will pray to Yahweh your God as you have requested. Whatever Yahweh answers, I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.”

5 They, therefore said unto Jeremiah, Yahweh be against us, as a witness true and faithful, —if according to all the word which Yahweh thy God shall send thee unto us, so we do not perform:

They said to Jeremiah, “May Yahweh be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not do everything that Yahweh your God tells us to do.

6 whether for good or for ill, unto the voice of Yahweh our God for which we are sending thee unto him, will we hearken, —to the end it may be well with us, because we will hearken unto the voice of Yahweh our God.

Whether it is good or if it is bad, we will obey the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Yahweh our God.”

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

At the end of ten days, the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah.

8 Then called he for Johanan son of Kareah, and for all the princes of the forces who were with him—and for all the people from the least even unto the greatest;

So Jeremiah called to Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him, and to all the people from the least to the greatest.

9 and said unto them, Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel—unto whom ye sent me, to cause your supplication to fall prostrate before him: —

Then he said to them, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel—to whom you sent me so I might lay your pleas before him—says,

10 If ye will indeed abide, in this land, then will I build you up, and not pull [you] down, and plant you and not uproot [you], —for I have compassion as touching the calamity which I have caused you.

'If you go back and live in this land, then I will build you and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up, for I will turn back the disaster that I have brought on you.

11 Do not fear the face of the king of Babylon, of whose face ye are afraid, —do not fear him, Urgeth Yahweh, for with you, am I, to save you, and to deliver you out of his hand:

Do not fear the king of Babylon, whom you are fearing. Do not fear him—this is Yahweh's declaration—since I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.

12 that I may grant you compassions and he may have compassion upon you, —and suffer you to return unto your own soil.

For I will give you mercy. I will have compassion on you, and I will bring you back to your land.

13 But, since ye are saying, —We will not dwell in this land, —nor hearken unto the voice of Yahweh your God:

But suppose that you say, “We will not stay in this land”—if you do not listen to my voice, the voice of Yahweh your God.

14 saying, —No! for, into the land of Egypt, will we go, where we shall not see war, nor the sound of a horn, shall we hear, —nor for bread, shall we be famished, —there, then will we dwell

Suppose that you say, “No! We will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see any war, where we will not hear the sound of the trumpet, and we will not go hungry for food. We will live there.”

15 Now, therefore, for this cause, hear ye the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah, —Thus! saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, —If, ye do indeed set your faces to enter Egypt and do enter to sojourn there,

Now listen to this word of Yahweh, you remnant of Judah. Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'If you actually set out to go to Egypt, to go and live there,

16 then shall it come to pass that the sword which ye are fearing shall, there, overtake you, in the land of Egypt, —and the famine which ye are dreading, shall, there, lay fast hold of you, in Egypt, and, there, shall ye die.

then the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt. The famine that you are worrying about will pursue you to Egypt, and you will die there.

17 So shall it be with all the men who have set their faces to enter Egypt to sojourn there, they shall die by sword, by famine or by pestilence, —and they shall have neither survival nor escape, from the face of the calamity which I am about to bring in upon them.

So it will happen that all the men who set out to go to Egypt to live there will die by sword, famine, or plague. There will be no survivor of them, no one to escape the disaster that I will bring on them.

18 For—Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, —Just as mine anger and mine indignation have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall mine indignation be poured out upon you when ye enter into Egypt, —thus shall ye become a curse, and an astonishment and a contempt and a reproach, and ye shall no more see this place.

For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Just as my wrath and my fury were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the same way my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and a horror, an object for speaking curses, and something dishonorable, and you will not see this place again.'”

19 Yahweh hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, Do not enter into Egypt: Know certainly, that I have taken you to witness to-day.

Then Jeremiah said, “Yahweh has spoken concerning you—the remnant of Judah. Do not go to Egypt! You certainly know that I have been a witness against you today.

20 For ye have deceived yourselves at the cost of your lives, for, ye yourselves, sent me unto Yahweh your God, saying, —Pray thou in our behalf, unto Yahweh our God, —and according to all that Yahweh our God shall say, so, tell us and we will do it.

For you fatally deceived yourselves when you sent me to Yahweh your God and said, 'Pray to Yahweh our God for us. Everything that Yahweh our God says, tell us, and we will carry it out.'

21 Therefore have I told you to-day, —and yet ye have not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh your God, even in any thing for which he hath sent me unto you.

For I have reported to you today, but you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God or to anything about which he sent me to you.

22 Now, therefore, know ye certainly, that by sword, by famine, or by pestilence, shall ye die, —in the place whither ye have desired to go, to sojourn.

So now, you should certainly know that you will die by sword, famine, and plague in the place where you desired to go to live.”