Jeremiah 42
Christian Standard Bible
The People Seek Jeremiah’s Counsel
42 Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah,(A) Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest,(B) approached 2 the prophet Jeremiah and said, “May our petition come before you;(C) pray to the Lord your God on our behalf,(D) on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many,(E) as you can see with your own eyes), 3 that the Lord your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do.”
4 So the prophet Jeremiah said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and I will tell you every word that the Lord answers you; I won’t withhold a word from you.”(F)
5 And they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t act according to every word the Lord your God sends you to tell us.(G) 6 Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us.(H) We will certainly obey the Lord our God!”
Jeremiah’s Advice to Stay
7 At the end of ten days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, 8 and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
9 He said to them, “This is what the Lord says, the God of Israel to whom you sent me to bring your petition before him: 10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you,(I) and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you.(J) 11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon(K) whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘because I am with you to save you(L) and rescue you from him. 12 I will grant you compassion,(M) and he[a] will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.’
13 “But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’(N) in order to disobey the Lord your God, 14 and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt(O) where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn(P) or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’ 15 then hear the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel,(Q) says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt(R) and stay there for a while, 16 then the sword(S) you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels[b] there to Egypt, and you will die there. 17 All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.’
18 “For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents,(T) so will my fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an example for cursing, scorn,(U) execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’ 19 The Lord has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah: ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Know for certain that I have warned you today!(V) 20 You have gone astray at the cost of your lives[c] because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’ 21 For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the Lord your God in everything he has sent me to tell you. 22 Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to stay for a while.”
Jeremiah 42
International Standard Version
Jeremiah Asked to Pray for the People
42 Then all the military leaders, Kareah’s son Jonathan, Hoshaiah’s son Jezaniah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah.[a] 2 They told Jeremiah the prophet, “Please listen to what we have to ask of you. Pray to the Lord your God for us and for all these survivors. Indeed, only a few of us remain out of many, as you can see.[b] 3 Pray that the Lord your God may inform us as to how we should live[c] and what we should do.”
4 Jeremiah the prophet told them, “I’ve heard, and I’m going to pray to the Lord your God just as you have requested. Whatever the Lord answers, I’ll tell you. I won’t withhold anything from you.”
5 Then they told Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t do everything that the Lord your God tells us through you.[d] 6 Whether it seems good or bad, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we send you, so it may go well for us. Indeed, we will obey the Lord our God.”
The Lord’s Answer through Jeremiah
7 At the end of ten days a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8 So he called Kareah’s son Jonathan, all the military leaders who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest. 9 He told them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, to whom you sent me to take your request:
10 ‘If you will just remain in this land, I’ll build you up and not pull you down. I’ll plant you and not uproot you, for I’m sorry about the disaster I’ve brought on you. 11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon as you have been.[e] Don’t fear him,’ declares the Lord, ‘because I am with you to save you and deliver you from his control. 12 I’ll show you compassion, so he will have compassion on you and return you to your land. 13 But if you disobey the Lord your God by saying, “We won’t stay in this land,” 14 and you also say, “No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we won’t see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or hunger for bread, and there we will stay,” 15 then hear this message from the Lord, remnant of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “If you are really determined[f] to go into Egypt, and you go there to settle, 16 the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt. The famine that you dread will pursue you into Egypt, and there you will die. 17 All the people who are determined to go into Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, by famine, and by the plague. No one will survive the disaster that I’ll bring on them.” 18 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, ridicule, and scorn, and you will never again see this place.’ 19 The Lord has told you, remnant of Judah, ‘Don’t go to Egypt!’ So be fully aware that I’ve warned you, today, 20 that you have deceived yourselves. Indeed, you yourselves sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord your God for us, and whatever the Lord our God tells us we will do.’ 21 I’ve told you today, but you haven’t obeyed the Lord your God in all that he sent me to tell[g] you. 22 Now, be fully aware that you will die by the sword, by famine, and by plague in the place where you want to settle.”[h]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 42:1 The Heb. lacks Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 42:2 Lit. as your eyes see us
- Jeremiah 42:3 Lit. way we should walk
- Jeremiah 42:5 Lit. sends to you for us
- Jeremiah 42:11 Lit. whom you fear
- Jeremiah 42:15 Lit. really set your faces
- Jeremiah 42:21 The Heb. lacks tell
- Jeremiah 42:22 Lit. to go to settle
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