Now at the (A)end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people from the small to the great, and said to them, “This is what the Lord (B)says, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before Him: 10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will (C)build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I [a]will (D)relent of the disaster that I have inflicted on you. 11 (E)Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares the Lord, ‘for (F)I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand. 12 I will also show you compassion, so that (G)he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil. 13 But if you are going to say, “We will (H)not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, 14 saying, “No, but we will (I)go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or (J)hear the sound of a trumpet, or hunger for bread, and we will stay there”; 15 then [b]in that case listen to the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “If you really set your [c]minds to enter (K)Egypt and go in to reside there, 16 then the (L)sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. 17 So all the people who set their [d]minds to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the (M)sword, by famine, or by plague; and they will (N)have no refugees or survivors from the disaster that I am going to bring on them.”’”

18 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “As My (O)anger and wrath have gushed out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will gush out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a (P)curse, an object of horror, [e]an imprecation, and a disgrace; and (Q)you will not see this place again.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 42:10 Or shall have changed my mind about
  2. Jeremiah 42:15 Lit now therefore
  3. Jeremiah 42:15 Lit face
  4. Jeremiah 42:17 Lit face
  5. Jeremiah 42:18 Lit a curse-formula

Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: 10 ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. 12 I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

13 “But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; 14 instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’ 15 then hear the Lord’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, 16 the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. 17 That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’

18 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.’

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