Jeremiah 43
1 [So] I finished telling to the people that message from Yahweh our God.
It happened that Jeremiah finished proclaiming to all the people all the words of Yahweh their God that Yahweh their God had told him to say.
2 But then Johanan and Azariah and some other insolent/arrogant men said to me, “You are lying! Yahweh our God has not told [us] that we should not go to Egypt!
Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling lies. Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.'
3 [We think that] Baruch has urged/persuaded you to say this, in order that [if we stay here], the soldiers from Babylonia will seize us and kill us or take us to Babylonia.”
For Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, for you to cause our death and to make us captives in Babylon.”
4 So Johanan and the other leaders of the [Israeli] soldiers and [many of] [HYP] the other people [who were there] refused to obey Yahweh’s command to stay in Judah.
So Johanan son of Kareah, all the princes of the army, and all the people refused to listen to Yahweh's voice to live in the land of Judah.
5 Johanan and all the [other] leaders gathered together all the people who had returned from the other countries to which they had been scattered.
Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders took away all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations where they had been scattered to live in the land of Judah.
6 [They included] men, women, children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan had left with Gedaliah, and they also took Baruch and me.
They took the men and women, the children and the king's daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king's bodyguards, had let remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. They also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.
7 They refused to obey Yahweh, and they took us all [to Egypt], as far as Tahpenes [city].
They went to the land of Egypt, to Tahpanhes, because they did not listen to Yahweh's voice.
8 [While we were] at Tahpenes, Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
So the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9 “While the people of Judah are watching you, take some large rocks and bury them under the brick pavement at the entrance to the king’s palace there at Tahpenes.
“Take some large stones in your hand, and, in the sight of the people of Judah, hide them in the mortar in the pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes.”
10 Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], says: “I will summon Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, who does my work, to come [with his army] to Egypt. I will set up his throne over these stones that I told Jeremiah to bury. And Nebuchadnezzar will set up his tent there [to show that he has become] the King [of Egypt].
Then say to them, “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to send messengers to take Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as my servant. I will place his throne over these stones that you, Jeremiah, have buried. Nebuchadnezzar will place his pavilion over them.
11 When his [army] comes, they will attack Egypt. Then those will die who [I have determined] must die, those who [I have determined] must be captured will be captured, and those who [I have determined] must be killed by swords will be killed by swords.
For he will come and attack the land of Egypt. Anyone who is assigned to death will be given to death. Anyone who is assigned to captivity will be taken captive. Anyone who is assigned to the sword will be given to the sword.
12 Nebuchadnezzar’s [soldiers] will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt. [But before they burn the temples], they will take away their idols [as souvenirs]. His [troops] will clean Egypt like a shepherd cleans lice from his cloak. They will tear down the sacred pillars that are in the temple of their sun god. And then Nebuchadnezzar’s [troops] will leave there, without having been harmed.”’”
Then I will light a fire in the temples of Egypt's gods. Nebuchadnezzar will burn them or capture them. He will clean out the land of Egypt just as shepherds clean vermin off their clothes. He will go out from that place in victory.
He will break the stone pillars at Heliopolis in the land of Egypt. He will burn the temples of Egypt's gods.'”
