Jeremiah 43

1 And it cometh to pass, when Jeremiah doth finish to speak unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, with which Jehovah their God hath sent him unto them — all these words —

[So] I finished telling to the people that message from Yahweh our God.

2 that Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the proud men, speak unto Jeremiah, saying, 'Falsehood thou art speaking; Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Do not enter Egypt to sojourn there;

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!

3 for Baruch son of Neriah is moving thee against us, in order to give us up into the hand of the Chaldeans, to put us to death, and to remove us to Babylon.'

[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.”

4 And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces, and all the people, have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, to dwell in the land of Judah;

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.

5 and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces, take all the remnant of Judah who have turned from all the nations whither they were driven to sojourn in the land of Judah,

Johanan and all the [other] leaders gathered together all the people who had returned from the other countries to which they had been scattered.

6 the men, and the women, and the infant, and the daughters of the king, and every person that Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch son of Neriah,

[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.

7 and they enter the land of Egypt, for they have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and they enter unto Tahpanhes.

They refused to obey Yahweh, and they took us all [to Egypt], as far as Tahpenes [city].

8 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

[While we were] at Tahpenes, Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

9 'Take in thy hand great stones, and thou hast hidden them, in the clay, in the brick-kiln, that [is] at the opening of the house of Pharaoh in Tahpanhes, before the eyes of the men of Judah,

“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.

10 and thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: 'Lo, I am sending, and I have taken Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have set his throne above these stones that I have hid, and he hath stretched out his pavilion over them,

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].

11 and he hath come, and smitten the land of Egypt — those who [are] for death to death, and those who [are] for captivity to captivity, and those who [are] for the sword to the sword.

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.

12 And I have kindled a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and it hath burned them, and he hath taken them captive, and covered himself with the land of Egypt, as cover himself doth the shepherd with his garment, and he hath gone forth thence in peace;

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.”’”

13 and he hath broken the standing pillars of the house of the sun, that [is] in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt he doth burn with fire.'