Jeremiah 43
Expanded Bible
43 So Jeremiah finished telling the people the message from the Lord their God; he told them everything the Lord their God had sent him to tell them.
2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah [42:1], Johanan son of Kareah, and some other men were ·too proud [arrogant]. They said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to ·live [sojourn; wander] there.’ 3 Baruch son of Neriah [C Jeremiah’s assistant; chs. 35; 45] is causing you to be against us. He wants you to hand us over to the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans] so they can kill us or ·capture us and take [exile] us to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan, the army officers, and all the people ·disobeyed the Lord’s command [did not listen to the voice of the Lord] to stay in Judah. 5 But Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers ·led away [L took] ·those who were left alive from [the remnant of] Judah. They were the people who had ·run away from the Babylonians [been driven] to other countries but then had ·come back to live in [returned to] Judah. 6 They ·led away [L took] the men, women, and children, and the king’s daughters. Nebuzaradan commander of the guard had ·put Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan in charge of those people [L left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan; C who had been appointed governor]. Johanan also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. 7 These people did not listen to the voice of the Lord. So they all went to Egypt to the city of Tahpanhes [C in the eastern region of the Nile Delta].
8 In Tahpanhes the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 9 “Take some large stones. Bury them in the clay in the brick pavement in front of the ·king of Egypt’s palace [L house of Pharaoh] in Tahpanhes. Do this ·while the Jews are watching you [L before the eyes of the Judeans]. 10 Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: I will soon send for my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones I have buried, and he will spread his ·covering for shade [canopy] above them. 11 He will come here and ·attack [L strike] Egypt. He will bring death to those who are supposed to die. He will make ·prisoners [exiles] of those who are to be ·taken captive [exiled], and he will bring ·war to [L to the sword] those who are to be killed with a sword. 12 Nebuchadnezzar will ·set [kindle a] fire to the ·temples [L houses] of the gods of Egypt and burn them. And he will take ·the idols [L them] away as captives. As a shepherd ·wraps himself in [or picks lice from] his clothes, so Nebuchadnezzar ·will wrap Egypt around him [or picks the land of Egypt clean]. Then he will safely leave Egypt. 13 He will ·destroy [break] the stone pillars in the ·temple [L house] of the sun god in Egypt, and he will burn ·down [L with fire] the ·temples [L houses] of the gods of Egypt.’”
Jeremiah 43
Amplified Bible
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— 2 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.’ 3 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.” 4 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. 5 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— 6 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. 7 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.
8 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 “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
- Jeremiah 43:7 See note 2:16.
- Jeremiah 43:9 A secondary palace.
- Jeremiah 43:10 See note 21:2.
- Jeremiah 43:11 Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568-567 b.c. during the reign of Pharaoh Amasis.
- Jeremiah 43:13 Heb Beth-shemesh; i.e. the house of the sun-god. The site was famous for its tall (70’) “sacred” pillars.
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