Warning Against Going to Egypt

Jeremiah 42

1 Then y all the commanders of the forces, and z Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of a Hoshaiah, and all the people b from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let c our plea for mercy come before you, and d pray to the Lord your God for us, for all e this remnant - f because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us - 3 that g the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do." 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and h whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. h I will keep nothing back from you." 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, i "May the Lord be a true and j faithful witness against us k if we do not act according to all the word l with which the Lord your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, m that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God."

7 n At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned z Johanan the son of Kareah and y all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people b from the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, o to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, p then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; q for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 r Do not fear the king of Babylon, r of whom you are afraid. s Do not fear him, declares the Lord, s for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 t I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 u But if you say, 'We will not remain in this land,' disobeying the voice of the Lord your God 14 and saying, 'No, v we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or w hear the sound of the trumpet or x 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: y If you set your faces to enter Egypt z and go to live there, 16 then the sword a 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, b 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 c 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: d 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. e You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. 19 The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, f 'Do not go to Egypt.' g Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day 20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. h For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, h 'Pray for us to the Lord our God, and i whatever the Lord our God says declare to us and we will do it.' 21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything j that he sent me to tell you. 22 k Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live."

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:13
    Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
    Jeremiah 41:11
    But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:8
    They went to Gedaliah at Mizpah - Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 43:2
    Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:13
    For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 36:7
    It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:20
    That you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says declare to us and we will do it.
    1 Samuel 7:8
    And the people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.
    1 Samuel 12:19
    And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:15
    Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, "Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?
    Isaiah 37:4
    It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'
  8. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:22
    And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:17
    King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, "Is there any word from the Lord ?" Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
    Ezra 8:21
    Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
  10. Cross References
    1 Samuel 3:18
    So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.
    Numbers 22:18
    But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more.
  11. Cross References
    1 Samuel 3:18
    So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.
    Numbers 22:18
    But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more.
  12. Cross References
    Genesis 31:50
    If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.
  13. Cross References
    Revelation 1:5
    And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
    Revelation 3:14
    And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
  14. Cross References
    Judges 11:10
    And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:21
    And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:23
    But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
  17. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:16
    And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me:
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:1
    Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:1
    Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:1
    Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:2 - 3
    And said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant - because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us -
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 24:6
    I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:8
    And if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
    Genesis 6:6
    And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
    Deuteronomy 32:36
    For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:25
    And give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
    Jeremiah 41:18
    Because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:25
    And give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
    Jeremiah 41:18
    Because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:10 - 11
    Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.
    Romans 8:31
    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:10 - 11
    Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.
    Romans 8:31
    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  28. Cross References
    Nehemiah 1:11
    O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was cupbearer to the king.
  29. Cross References
    Jeremiah 43:4
    So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.
    Jeremiah 44:16 - 17
    As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.
  30. Cross References
    Jeremiah 41:17
    And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:19
    My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:21
    So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
  33. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:12
    I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
    Jeremiah 42:19
    The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day
    Deuteronomy 17:16
    Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.
  34. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:27
    Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
    Jeremiah 44:1
    The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros.
    Jeremiah 44:12 - 14
    I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
  35. Cross References
    Ezekiel 11:8
    You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:22
    Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.
    Jeremiah 44:12
    I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
  37. Cross References
    Lamentations 2:22
    You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the Lord no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed.
  38. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:20
    Therefore thus says the Lord God : behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.
  39. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:16
    Making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head.
  40. Cross References
    Jeremiah 43:2
    Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.
    Jeremiah 42:14 - 16
    And saying, 'No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there.
  41. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:5
    And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.
  42. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:2
    And said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant - because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us -
  43. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:2
    And said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant - because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us -
  44. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:3
    That the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.
  45. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:5
    Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us.
  46. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:16 - 17
    Then the sword 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, and there you shall die.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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