The Refugees Reject the Lord’s Instruction

43 When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words that the Lord their God had sent him to tell them—that is, all these words— ² Hoshaiah’s son Azariah, Kareah’s son Johanan, and all the arrogant men told Jeremiah, “You’re lying! The Lord our God didn’t send you to say, ‘Don’t go to Egypt to settle there.’ ³ Indeed, Neriah’s son Baruch is inciting you against us in order to give us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, or to take us into exile to Babylon.”

⁴ So Kareah’s son Johanan, all the military leaders, and all the people did not obey the instructions given by^[a] the Lord to remain in the land of Judah. ⁵ Kareah’s son Johanan and all the military leaders took the entire remnant of Judah that had returned from all the nations where they had been scattered to settle in the land of Judah— ⁶ the young men, the women, the children, the daughters of the king, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Neriah’s son Baruch. ⁷ So they went into the land of Egypt, because they did not obey the Lord, and they travelled as far as Tahpanhes.^[b]

Nebuchadnezzar’s Invasion of Egypt Predicted

⁸ Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: ⁹ “Take large stones in your hands, and, in the sight of the men of Judah, bury them in the mortar of the brickwork at the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes. ¹⁰ Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I’m going to send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I’ll take him and set his throne over these stones that I’ve buried, and he will spread his canopy over them. ¹¹ He will come and attack the land of Egypt—those meant for death will be put to death, those meant for captivity will be taken captive, and those meant for the sword will be put to the sword. ¹² He^[c] will set fire to the temples^[d] of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their idols^[e] and take them captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt like a shepherd wraps himself with a garment, and then he will leave from there in peace. ¹³ He will shatter the pillars of Heliopolis^[f] in the land of Egypt and will burn the temples of the gods of Egypt with fire.”’”