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Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

43 When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people, Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The Lord our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians[a] or be carried off into exile.”

So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah. Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled. In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included. The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

Then at Tahpanhes, the Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes. 10 Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar,[b] king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war. 12 He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed. 13 He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun[c] in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

Footnotes

  1. 43:3 Or Chaldeans.
  2. 43:10 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
  3. 43:13 Or in Heliopolis.

Off to Egypt with Jeremiah and Baruch

43 When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God—he didn’t omit anything the Lord sent him to convey— Azariah, Hoshaiah’s son, and Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You’re lying to us! The Lord our God didn’t send you to tell us not to go to Egypt to live. It’s Baruch, Neriah’s son, who put you up to it so that we end up in the hands of the Babylonians, who will either kill us or deport us to Babylon.”

So Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all the army officers and the rest of the people disobeyed the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah. Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all the army officers took the remaining Judeans who had returned to the land of Judah after being scattered among the nations— men, women, children, the king’s daughters, everyone Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard had left with Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son and Shaphan’s grandson, including Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch, Neriah’s son. They went to the land of Egypt, as far as Tahpanhes, for they wouldn’t obey the Lord.

The Lord’s word came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: Take some large stones and set them in the clay pavement[a] in front of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes while the people of Judah are watching. 10 After that, say to the people: The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I’m sending for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who[b] will set his throne over these stones and will spread his canopy over them. 11 He will come and ravage the land of Egypt:

those marked for disaster, to disaster,
    and those marked for exile, to exile.
        and those marked for war, to war.

12 He will set on fire[c] the temples of the Egyptian gods. He will burn them down and carry off their gods. He will wrap the land of Egypt around himself, just as a shepherd wraps[d] his garment around himself, and he will move on unharmed.[e] 13 He will shatter the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:9 Heb uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 43:10 LXX; MT I
  3. Jeremiah 43:12 LXX, Syr; MT I will set on fire
  4. Jeremiah 43:12 Or picks clean
  5. Jeremiah 43:12 Heb uncertain