The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray
Study note
Johanan, the other military leaders, and all the people from the least to the greatest came to Jeremiah with a solemn request. They asked him to pray to God for guidance about where they should go and what they should do. They promised to obey whatever God said, whether the answer was what they wanted to hear or not. Their situation was desperate: they were a small remnant, afraid of Babylonian punishment for Gedaliah's assassination, and were already camped near Bethlehem on the road to Egypt.
1 Then all the army leaders came to talk with Jeremiah the prophet. This included Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah. Everyone came too, from the most important to the least. Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,
2 They begged him, "Please listen to what we are asking. Pray to the Lord your God for all of us who are left. As you can see, there are only a few of us remaining out of the large number we used to be." And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)
3 "Ask the Lord your God to show us which direction we should go and what we should do." That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
4 Jeremiah answered, "I hear your request. I will pray to the Lord your God just as you have asked. Whatever answer the Lord gives, I will pass along every word to you. I will not keep anything secret." Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.
5 The people told Jeremiah this. "We will follow all the Lord your God tells us. If we do not, may the Lord punish us." Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
6 "It does not matter if the answer makes us happy or not. We will do whatever the Lord our God says. Everything will turn out well for us if we obey him." Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
God's Answer: Stay in Judah
Study note
Ten days later, God's answer came to Jeremiah. He gathered all the people and told them God's message. If they would stay in the land, God promised to build them up, not tear them down. He said he was sorry for the disaster he had brought on them. He told them not to be afraid of the king of Babylon because God himself would be with them to save and deliver them. God promised to show them mercy so that they could return to their own land and live in peace.
7 Ten days went by, and then the Lord gave his message to Jeremiah. And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.
8 Jeremiah called everyone together. He called Johanan and all the army leaders. He called every person, high and low. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
9 He told them, "Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says -- the same God you asked me to bring your prayer to." And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
10 "If you stay here in this land, I will build you up and make you strong. I will not tear you down. I will plant you and not pull you up by the roots. I am deeply sorry about the terrible things I had to do to you." If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
11 "Stop being afraid of the king of Babylon. You do not need to fear him anymore, because I am right here with you. I will protect you and rescue you from his grip. This is the Lord speaking." Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
12 "I will make him feel kindness toward you, so that he will treat you with mercy and let you go back to your own land." And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
Warning Against Going to Egypt
Study note
God then gave a stern warning about what would happen if they disobeyed and went to Egypt. The very things they were trying to escape -- war, famine, and disease -- would follow them there. None of them would survive or return. Just as God had poured out his anger on Jerusalem, he would pour it out on them in Egypt. They would become an example of destruction that would horrify other nations.
13 "But what if you refuse and say, 'We will not stay here in this land'? What if you disobey the Lord your God?" But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,
14 "What if you say, 'No, we are going to Egypt instead. There we will not have to deal with war. We will not hear battle trumpets. We will not go hungry. That is where we want to live.'" Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
15 "Then listen carefully to what the Lord says, you who are left from Judah. The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, declares: If you are set on going to Egypt to settle there," And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
16 "the very war that scares you will track you down in Egypt. The hunger you are worried about will follow you all the way there, and that is where you will die." Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
17 "Every person who decides to move to Egypt will be killed by war, starvation, or sickness. Not even one of them will survive the disaster I will send." So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
18 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As my anger and my fury has been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when you shall enter into Egypt: and you shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.
Jeremiah Exposes Their True Intentions
Study note
Jeremiah saw through the people's pretense. He told them plainly that they had made a fatal mistake. When they sent him to pray, they had already decided in their hearts to go to Egypt. They were not truly willing to obey God's answer; they had only hoped God would confirm what they already wanted to do. Jeremiah warned them that they would die by war, famine, and disease in the place where they wanted to go.
19 "The Lord has given you this warning, you survivors of Judah: Do not go to Egypt! Remember, I am giving you a very serious warning right now today." The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
20 "You were not being honest when you came to me. You said, 'Please pray to the Lord for us, and we will do whatever he says.' But you did not truly mean it." For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.
21 "Today I told you exactly what God said. But you have refused to obey the Lord your God in anything he told me to pass on to you." And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.
22 "So let me make this very clear. You will die from war, hunger, and sickness in the very place you want to move to." Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.