Warning against Going to Egypt

42 Then all the commanders of the forces, ^(A)Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(B)from the small to the great approached ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our ^(C)pleading ^[a]come before you, and ^(D)pray for us to the Lord your God for all this remnant—since we have been left only a ^(E)few out of many, just as your own eyes now see us— ³ that the Lord your God will tell us the ^(F)way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to ^(G)pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole ^[b]message which the ^(H)Lord gives you as an answer. I will ^(I)not withhold a word from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the ^(J)Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole ^[c]message with which the Lord your God will send you to us. ⁶ Whether it is ^[d]pleasant or ^[e]unpleasant, we will ^(K)listen to the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go ^(L)well for us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God.”

⁷ Now at the ^(M)end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.