Jeremiah 42:7-18

English Standard Version

^7 (A)At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then he summoned ^(B)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(C)all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people ^(D)from the least to the greatest, ⁹ and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(E)to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: ¹⁰ If you will remain in this land, ^(F)then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; ^(G)for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. ^11 (H)Do not fear the king of Babylon, ^(I)of whom you are afraid. ^(J)Do not fear him, declares the Lord, ^(K)for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ^12 (L)I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. ^13 (M)But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God ¹⁴ and saying, ‘No, ^(N)we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or ^(O)hear the sound of the trumpet or ^(P)be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(Q)If you set your faces to enter Egypt ^(R)and go to live there, ¹⁶ then the sword ^(S)that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, ^(T)and there you shall die. ¹⁷ All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have ^(U)no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.

¹⁸ “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(V)As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. ^(W)You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more.