THE
BOOK OF JEREMIAH
Jeremiah Chapter 42
1 ¶ Then all the
military commanders, including Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son
of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,
2 And said to
Jeremiah the prophet, Please grant our request, and pray to the LORD your God
for us, even for all who remain; (for as you see, we are only a few left
of many:)
3 That the LORD your
God may show us where we should go, and what we should do.
4 Then Jeremiah the
prophet said to them, I have heard you; know that I will pray to the
LORD your God as you have asked; and I will tell you whatever the LORD says to
you in answer; I will keep nothing back from you.
5 Then they said to
Jeremiah, May the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not
do exactly as the LORD your God tells us, through you.
6 Whether it is
good, or whether it is bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God,
to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the
LORD our God.
7 ¶ And it came to
pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
8 Then he called
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the troops who were
with him, and all the people from the greatest to the least,
9 And said to them,
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your humble
plea;
10 If you will
remain in this land, then I will build you up, and not pull you down,
I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I am sorry for the disaster
that I have brought upon you.
11 Do not be afraid
of the king of
12 And I will grant
mercy to you, so that he will be merciful to you, and cause you to return to
your own land.
13 But if you say,
We will not remain in this land, or obey the voice of the LORD your God,
14 Saying, No; we will
go into the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or hear the sound of the
trumpet, or be hungry for bread; and we will remain there:
15 Then hear the
word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah; The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel
says; If you are fully determined to go to Egypt, and live there;
16 Then it will come
to pass, that the sword, which you feared, will overtake you there in
the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which you were afraid, will follow close
after you there in Egypt; and you will die there.
17 So all the men
who decide to go into Egypt to live there; will die by the sword, by famine,
and by pestilence: and none of them will remain or escape from the disaster
that I will bring upon them.
18 For the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel says this; As my anger and my fury has been poured out
on the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so my fury will be poured out upon you, when
you enter Egypt: and you will be a detested thing, and a horrible example,
cursed, and insulted; and you will never see this place again.
19 The LORD has said
concerning you, O you remnant of Judah; Do not go into Egypt: know for certain
that I have warned you this day.
20 You deceived
yourselves, when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, Pray to the LORD our
God for us; and tell us everything the LORD our God says, and we will do it.
21 For I have told
you this day; but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or
anything about which he has sent me to you.
22 So therefore know
for certain that you will now die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence,
in the place where you want to go and to live.