1 Then all the 1Or princescommanders of the forces, AJer 40:8, 13; 41:11, 18Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people BJer 6:13; 8:10; 42:8; 44:12; Acts 8:10both small and great approached 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our AJer 36:7; 37:20petition 1Lit fallcome before you, and BEx 8:28; 1 Sam 7:8; 12:19; 1 Kin 13:6; Is 37:4; Jer 37:3; 42:20; Acts 8:24; James 5:16pray for us to the Loʀᴅ your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a CLev 26:22; Deut 28:62; Is 1:9; Lam 1:1few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, 3 that the Loʀᴅ your God may tell us the APs 86:11; Prov 3:6; Jer 6:16; Mic 4:2way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.” 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to AEx 8:29; 1 Sam 12:23pray to the Loʀᴅ your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole 1Lit wordmessage which the B1 Kin 22:14; Jer 23:28Loʀᴅ will answer you. I will C1 Sam 3:17, 18; Ps 40:10; Acts 20:20not keep back a word from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the AGen 31:50; Judg 11:10; Jer 43:2; Mic 1:2; Mal 2:14; 3:5Loʀᴅ be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole 1Lit wordmessage with which the Loʀᴅ your God will send you to us. 6  “Whether it is 1Lit goodpleasant or 2Lit evilunpleasant, we will AEx 24:7; Deut 5:27; Josh 24:24listen to the voice of the Loʀᴅ our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go BDeut 5:29, 33; 6:3; Jer 7:23well with us when we listen to the voice of the Loʀᴅ our God.”

7 Now at the APs 27:14; Is 30:18end of ten days the word of the Loʀᴅ came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the 1Or princescommanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, 9 and said to them, “Thus A2 Kin 19:4, 6, 20; 22:15says the Loʀᴅ the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will AJer 24:6; 31:28; 33:7; Ezek 36:36build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I 1Or shall have changed my mind aboutwill BJer 18:7, 8; Hos 11:8; Joel 2:13; Amos 7:3, 6; Jon 3:10; 4:2relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you. 11  ‘AJer 1:8; 27:12, 17; 41:18Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares the Loʀᴅ, ‘for BNum 14:9; 2 Chr 32:7, 8; Ps 46:7, 11; 118:6; Is 8:9, 10; 43:2, 5; Jer 1:19; 15:20; Rom 8:31I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12  ‘I will also show you compassion, so that ANeh 1:11; Ps 106:46; Prov 16:7he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil. 13  ‘But if you are going to say, “We will AEx 5:2; Jer 44:16not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of the Loʀᴅ your God, 14 saying, “No, but we will AIs 31:1; Jer 41:17go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or BEx 16:3; Num 11:4; Jer 4:19, 21hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there”; 15 then 1Lit now thereforein that case listen to the word of the Loʀᴅ, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Loʀᴅ of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your 2Lit facemind to enter ADeut 17:16; Jer 42:17; 44:12-14Egypt and go in to reside there, 16 then the AJer 44:13, 27; Ezek 11:8; Amos 9:1-4sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. 17  “So all the men who set their 1Lit facemind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the AJer 24:10; 38:2; 42:22; 44:13sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will BJer 44:14, 28have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.” ’ ”

18 For thus says the Loʀᴅ of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My A2 Chr 36:16-19; Jer 7:20; 33:5; 39:1-9anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a BDeut 29:21; Is 65:15; Jer 18:16; 24:9; 29:18; 44:12curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and CJer 22:10, 27you will see this place no more.” 19 The Loʀᴅ has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, “Do not ADeut 17:16; Is 30:1-7go into Egypt!” You should clearly BEzek 2:5understand that today I have CNeh 9:26, 29, 30testified against you. 20 For you have only 1Or acted errantly in your soulsAJer 43:2; Ezek 14:3deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the Loʀᴅ your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Loʀᴅ our God; and whatever the Loʀᴅ our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.” 21 So I have ADeut 11:26; Jer 43:1; Ezek 2:7; Zech 7:11; Acts 20:26, 27told you today, but you have BJer 43:4not 1Lit listened to the voice ofobeyed the Loʀᴅ your God, even in whatever He has sent me to tell you. 22 Therefore you should now clearly understand that you will AJer 43:11; Ezek 6:11die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, in the BHos 9:6place where you wish to go to reside.