(A)At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 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, 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.

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Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers(A) who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.(B) He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition,(C) says:(D) 10 ‘If you stay in this land,(E) I will build(F) you up and not tear you down; I will plant(G) you and not uproot you,(H) for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.(I) 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon,(J) whom you now fear.(K) Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save(L) you and deliver you from his hands.(M) 12 I will show you compassion(N) so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’(O)

13 “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey(P) the Lord your God, 14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt,(Q) where we will not see war or hear the trumpet(R) or be hungry for bread,’(S) 15 then hear the word of the Lord,(T) you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16 then the sword(U) you fear(V) will overtake you there, and the famine(W) you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.(X) 17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague;(Y) not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath(Z) have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem,(AA) so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse[a](AB) and an object of horror,(AC) a curse[b] and an object of reproach;(AD) you will never see this place again.’(AE)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 42:18 That is, your name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that you are cursed.
  2. Jeremiah 42:18 That is, your name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that you are cursed.