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In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

43 Now it happened when Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the proud and insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are not telling the truth! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go into Egypt to live there.’ But Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they may [either] put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people disobeyed the voice of the Lord [which told them] to stay in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— the men, women, and children, the king’s daughters (ladies of the court), and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; he also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and they went in as far as [a]Tahpanhes.

Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, “Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brickwork [of the terrace] which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s [b]house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the men of Judah; 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get [c]Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and his [majestic, royal] canopy will be spread over them.(A) 11 He will also come and [d]strike the land of Egypt, giving those who are [destined] for death, to death, and those who are [destined] for captivity, to captivity, and those who are [destined] for the sword, to the sword. 12 And [through him] I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them (Egyptian idols) captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will go away from there safely. 13 Nebuchadnezzar will also break the images and shatter the obelisks of [e]Heliopolis in the land of Egypt; and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:7 See note 2:16.
  2. Jeremiah 43:9 A secondary palace.
  3. Jeremiah 43:10 See note 21:2.
  4. Jeremiah 43:11 Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568-567 b.c. during the reign of Pharaoh Amasis.
  5. Jeremiah 43:13 Heb Beth-shemesh; i.e. the house of the sun-god. The site was famous for its tall (70’) “sacred” pillars.

In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

43 But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent to them, had (A)finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— Azariah the (B)son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are (C)telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; but (D)Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!” So (E)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, (F)did not obey the voice of the Lord to (G)stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the (H)entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah— the men, the women, the [a]children, the (I)king’s daughters, and (J)every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [b]and grandson of Shaphan, together with (K)Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as (L)Tahpanhes.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in (M)Tahpanhes, saying, “Take some large stones in your [c]hands and hide them in the [d]mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s [e]palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of [f]some of the Jews; 10 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to send men and get (N)My servant (O)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his [g](P)canopy over them. 11 He will also come and (Q)strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and (R)those for the sword to the sword. 12 And [h]I shall set fire to the temples of the (S)gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will [i](T)wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd [j]wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will also smash to pieces the [k]obelisks of [l]Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:6 Lit infants
  2. Jeremiah 43:6 Lit the son
  3. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit hand
  4. Jeremiah 43:9 Or clay floor
  5. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit house
  6. Jeremiah 43:9 Lit men
  7. Jeremiah 43:10 Or carpet
  8. Jeremiah 43:12 Some ancient versions He will set
  9. Jeremiah 43:12 Or delouse the land
  10. Jeremiah 43:12 Or delouses his garment
  11. Jeremiah 43:13 Or stone pillars
  12. Jeremiah 43:13 Heb Beth-shemesh; i.e., the house of the sun-god