Chronological

41 ¶ Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, and some princes of the king, and ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam in Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah.

² Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword and slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

³ Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Chaldean soldiers that were found there.

⁴ And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, when no one knew of it yet

⁵ that there came certain men of Shechem, of Shiloh, and of Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

⁶ And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

⁷ And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he, and the men that were with him.

⁸ But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat and of barley and of oil and of honey. So he forbare, and did not slay them among their brethren.

⁹ Now the pit in which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was the same which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those that were slain.

¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

¹¹ ¶ But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the princes of the armies that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

¹² then they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

¹³ Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael heard Johanan the son of Kareah and all the princes of the armies that were with him, then they were glad.

¹⁴ So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.

¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the princes of the armies that were with him, took all the remnant of the people which had turned from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom Johanan had caused to turn from Gibeon:

¹⁷ and they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, that they might go and enter into Egypt

¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

42 ¶ Then all the princes of the armies, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

² and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us)

³ that the LORD thy God may show us the way in which we walk, and that which we should do.

⁴ Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.

⁶ Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hear the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that, obeying the voice of the LORD our God, it may be well with us.

⁷ ¶ And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

⁸ Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the princes of the armies which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

⁹ and said unto them, Thus hath the LORD, the God of Israel said, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him,

¹⁰ If ye will still abide in this land, then I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent of the evil that I have done unto you.

¹¹ Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; do not be afraid of him, said the LORD: for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.

¹² And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you and cause you to dwell in your own land.

¹³ But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, not listening to the voice of the LORD your God,

¹⁴ saying, No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the shofar, nor have hunger of bread; and there we will dwell:

¹⁵ and now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said: If ye altogether set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;

¹⁶ then it shall come to pass that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

¹⁷ So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

¹⁸ For thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said: As my anger and my fury have been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my fury be poured forth upon you when ye shall enter into Egypt, and ye shall be an execration and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

¹⁹ The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah. Do not go into Egypt; know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

²⁰ Why did ye cause your souls to err? For ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.

²¹ And now I have this day declared it to you, but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for which he has sent me unto you.

²² Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place where ye desire to go and to sojourn.

43 ¶ And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

² Then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou dost speak falsely; the LORD our God has not sent thee to say, Do not go into Egypt to sojourn there:

³ but Baruch the son of Neriah sets thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death and carry us away captives into Babylon.

⁴ So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the princes of the armies and all the people, did not hear the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.

⁵ But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the princes of the armies, took all the remnant of Judah, that had returned from among all the Gentiles, where they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;

⁶ men and women and children and the king’s daughters, and every soul that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;

⁷ and they left for the land of Egypt; because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD: thus they came even to Tahpanhes.

⁸ ¶ Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

⁹ Take great stones in thine hand and cover them with clay in a brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

¹⁰ and say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my slave and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

¹¹ And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.

¹² And I will put fire to the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.

¹³ He shall also break the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.

44 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwelt in the land of Egypt, which dwelt at Migdol and at Tahpanhes and at Noph and in the country of Pathros, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said: Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,

³ because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

⁴ Howbeit I sent unto you all my slaves the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

⁵ But they did not hearken, nor incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.

⁶ Therefore my fury and my anger was poured forth and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.

⁷ Therefore now thus hath the LORD, the God of the hosts, the God of Israel said: Why do ye commit this great evil against your souls, that ye be cut off, man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah. Why do ye not desire to have a remnant?

⁸ In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, where ye are gone to dwell. Why do ye cut yourselves off that ye might be a curse and a reproach to all the Gentiles of the earth?

⁹ Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which was committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰ They are not broken even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my rights, that I set before you and before your fathers.

¹¹ Therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil and to cut off all Judah.

¹² And I will take the remnant of Judah that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be for an oath and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach.

¹³ For I will visit those that dwell in the land of Egypt as I visited Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence:

¹⁴ so that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall escape or remain alive to return into the land of Judah, unto which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for none shall return but some fugitives.

¹⁵ ¶ Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶ As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

¹⁷ But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

¹⁸ But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have lacked all things and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

¹⁹ And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

²⁰ ¶ Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who had given him that answer, saying,

²¹ The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did it not come into his mind?

²² So that the LORD could no longer bear because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

²³ Because ye have burned incense and because ye have sinned against the LORD and have not listened to the voice of the LORD nor walked in his law nor in his rights, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has come upon you, as at this day.

²⁴ Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

²⁵ Thus hath spoken the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her; ye will surely accomplish your vows and surely perform your vows.

²⁶ Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, said the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD lives.

²⁷ Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine until there is an end of them.

²⁸ Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, so that all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.

²⁹ And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will visit you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

³⁰ thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those that seek his soul; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his soul.

45 ¶ The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

² Thus hath the LORD, the God of Israel said unto thee, O Baruch:

³ Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD has added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I have found no rest.

⁴ Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD said thus: Behold, I destroy those whom I have built up and those whom I have planted I pluck up, even this whole land.

⁵ And dost thou seek great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I bring evil upon all flesh, said the LORD: but I will give thee thy life as a spoil of battle in all places where thou goest.