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42 Then all the army officers, and Yochanan Ben Kareach, and Yezanyah Ben Hoshayah, and kol HaAm from the katon even unto the gadol, came near,

And said unto Yirmeyah HaNavi, Let, now, techinnatenu (our supplication) be accepted before thee, and pray on our behalf unto Hashem Eloheicha, even on behalf of all this she’erit (remnant); (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes canst see;)

That Hashem Eloheicha may show us the derech wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

Then Yirmeyah HaNavi said unto them, I have heard you; hineni, I will pray unto Hashem Eloheichem according to your devarim; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing Hashem shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

Then they said to Yirmeyah, Hashem be an ed emes v’ne’eman (true and faithful witness) against us, if we do not act even according to all things for the which Hashem Eloheicha shall send thee to us.

Whether it be tov, or whether it be rah, we will obey the voice of Hashem Eloheinu, to Whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Hashem Eloheinu.

And it came to pass after aseret yamim (ten days), that the Devar Hashem came unto Yirmeyah.

Then he called Yochanan Ben Kareach, and all the army officers which were with him, and kol HaAm from the katon even to the gadol,

And said unto them, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, unto Whom ye sent me to present your techinnah before Him;

10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you up, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not uproot you; for I relent Me of the ra’ah that I have brought upon you.

11 Be not afraid of Melech Bavel, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith Hashem; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his yad.

12 And I will show rachamim unto you, that he will have compassion upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, disobeying the voice of Hashem Eloheichem,

14 Saying, No; but we will go into Eretz Mitzrayim, where we shall see no milchamah, nor hear the sound of the shofar, nor have hunger for lechem; and there will we dwell;

15 And now therefore hear the Devar Hashem, ye She’erit Yehudah (Remnant of Judah). Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: If ye wholly set your faces to go to Mitzrayim, and go to sojourn there,

16 Then it shall come to pass, that the cherev, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in Eretz Mitzrayim, and the ra’av (famine), whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Mitzrayim; and there ye shall die.

17 So shall it be with all the anashim that set their faces to go into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; they shall die by the cherev, by the ra’av (famine), and by the dever; and none of them shall remain or escape from the ra’ah (disaster) that I will bring upon them.

18 For thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: As Mine anger and My wrath hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, so shall My wrath be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Mitzrayim; and ye shall be an oath, and a horror, and a kelalah (curse), and a cherpah; and ye shall see this makom no more.

19 Hashem hath said concerning you, O ye she’erit Yehudah; Go ye not into Mitzrayim; know certainly that I have warned you, this day.

20 For ye acted deceitfully, erring in your nafshot, when ye sent me unto Hashem Eloheichem, saying, Pray on our behalf unto Hashem Eloheinu; and according unto all that Hashem Eloheinu 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 Hashem Eloheichem, nor anything for the which He hath sent me unto you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the cherev, by the ra’av (famine), and by the dever, in the makom where ye desire to go and to sojourn.

42 Then all the army officers, including Johanan(A) son of Kareah and Jezaniah[a] son of Hoshaiah,(B) and all the people from the least to the greatest(C) approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray(D) to the Lord your God for this entire remnant.(E) For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few(F) are left. Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”(G)

“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray(H) to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell(I) you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”(J)

Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true(K) and faithful(L) witness(M) against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well(N) with us, for we will obey(O) the Lord our God.”

Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers(P) who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.(Q) He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition,(R) says:(S) 10 ‘If you stay in this land,(T) I will build(U) you up and not tear you down; I will plant(V) you and not uproot you,(W) for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.(X) 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon,(Y) whom you now fear.(Z) Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save(AA) you and deliver you from his hands.(AB) 12 I will show you compassion(AC) so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’(AD)

13 “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey(AE) the Lord your God, 14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt,(AF) where we will not see war or hear the trumpet(AG) or be hungry for bread,’(AH) 15 then hear the word of the Lord,(AI) you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16 then the sword(AJ) you fear(AK) will overtake you there, and the famine(AL) you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.(AM) 17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague;(AN) not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath(AO) have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem,(AP) so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse[b](AQ) and an object of horror,(AR) a curse[c] and an object of reproach;(AS) you will never see this place again.’(AT)

19 “Remnant(AU) of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’(AV) Be sure of this: I warn you today 20 that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’(AW) 21 I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you.(AX) 22 So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine(AY) and plague(AZ) in the place where you want to go to settle.”(BA)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 42:1 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also 43:2) Azariah
  2. Jeremiah 42:18 That is, your name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that you are cursed.
  3. Jeremiah 42:18 That is, your name will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that you are cursed.