Jeremiah 43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Taken to Egypt, Jeremiah Warns of Judgment
43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words,(A) 2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to settle there,’(B) 3 but Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us, to hand us over to the Chaldeans, in order that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.”(C) 4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah.(D) 5 But Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to settle in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— 6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, also the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah.(E) 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:(F) 9 Take some large stones in your hands, and bury them in the clay pavement[a] that is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Let the Judeans see you do it, 10 and say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to send and take my servant King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have buried, and he will spread his royal canopy over them.(G) 11 He shall come and ravage the land of Egypt, giving
those who are destined for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are destined for captivity, to captivity,
and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword.(H)
12 “I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive, and he shall pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks his cloak clean of vermin, and he shall depart from there safely.(I) 13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.”
Footnotes
- 43.9 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Jeremiah 43
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah’s Counsel Rejected
43 When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God—all these words the Lord their God had sent him to give them— 2 then Azariah[a] son of Hoshaiah,(A) Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other arrogant men responded to Jeremiah, “You are speaking a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to live there for a while!’ 3 Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!”
4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah. 5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies took the whole remnant of Judah,(B) those who had returned from all the nations where they had been banished to live in the land of Judah for a while— 6 the men, women, children, king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan,(C) along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah— 7 and they went to the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. They went as far as Tahpanhes.(D)
God’s Sign to the People in Egypt
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes: 9 “Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men 10 and tell them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will place his throne on these stones that I have embedded, and he will pitch his pavilion over them. 11 He will come and strike down the land of Egypt(E)—those destined for death, to death; those destined for captivity, to captivity; and those destined for the sword,(F) to the sword. 12 I[b] will kindle a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods,(G) and he will burn them and take them prisoner. He will clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks lice off[c] his garment,(H) and he will leave there unscathed. 13 He will smash the sacred pillars of the sun temple[d][e] in the land of Egypt and burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 43:2 = Jezaniah
- Jeremiah 43:12 LXX, Syr, Vg read He
- Jeremiah 43:12 Or will wrap himself in the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in
- Jeremiah 43:13 Or Beth-shemesh
- Jeremiah 43:13 = of Heliopolis
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