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Chapter 43

When Jeremiah had finished relating to the people all these words that the Lord, their God, had sent him to reveal to them, Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the rest of the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling blatant lies. The Lord, our God, did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt and settle there.’ Rather it is Baruch, the son of Neriah, who continues to incite you against us and keeps urging you to hand us over to the Chaldeans so that they can put us to death or deport us into exile in Babylon.”

Therefore, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the military leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to remain in the land of Judah. Instead Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the military leaders led away the entire remnant of Judah who had been scattered among all the nations and who then had returned to settle in the land of Judah: men, women, and children, the daughters of the king, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had entrusted to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, the son of Neriah. In disobedience to the Lord’s command, they traveled to the land of Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.

Invasion of Egypt. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes. “Take some large stones and bury them in the cement in the terrace at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, while the men of Judah can see you. 10 Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I intend to send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will set his throne upon these stones that I have buried, and he will spread his canopy over them. 11 He will come and ravage the land of Egypt:

“ ‘Those destined for the plague, to plague,
    those for captivity, to captivity,
    and those for the sword, to the sword.

12 “ ‘He will set fire to the temple of the gods of Egypt, burning their gods and carrying them off. He will scour the land of Egypt as a shepherd scrubs off the vermin from his cloak, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will smash the obelisks of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will destroy the temples of the Egyptian gods with fire.’ ”

43 When Jeremiah had finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God—everything the Lord had sent him to tell them(A) Azariah son of Hoshaiah(B) and Johanan(C) son of Kareah and all the arrogant(D) men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying!(E) The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’(F) But Baruch(G) son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians,[a] so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”(H)

So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people(I) disobeyed the Lord’s command(J) to stay in the land of Judah.(K) Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered.(L) They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the men, the women,(M) the children and the king’s daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch(N) son of Neriah along with them. So they entered Egypt(O) in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.(P)

In Tahpanhes(Q) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “While the Jews are watching, take some large stones(R) with you and bury them in clay in the brick(S) pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace(T) in Tahpanhes. 10 Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant(U) Nebuchadnezzar(V) king of Babylon, and I will set his throne(W) over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy(X) above them. 11 He will come and attack Egypt,(Y) bringing death(Z) to those destined(AA) for death, captivity to those destined for captivity,(AB) and the sword to those destined for the sword.(AC) 12 He will set fire(AD) to the temples(AE) of the gods(AF) of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive.(AG) As a shepherd picks(AH) his garment clean of lice, so he will pick Egypt clean and depart. 13 There in the temple of the sun[b](AI) in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars(AJ) and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 43:3 Or Chaldeans
  2. Jeremiah 43:13 Or in Heliopolis