Jeremiah 43

Chapter 43

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

1 When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the LORD their God to all the people,2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!

3 Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonianst or be carried off into exile.”
4 So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the LORD’s command to stay in Judah.5 Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.6 In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.

7 The people refused to obey the voice of the LORD and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
8 Then at Tahpanhes, the LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,9 “While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.10 Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar,t king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.11 And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.12 He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.

13 He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sunt in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

JEREMIAH 43

The People Go to Egypt

1 I told the people everything the [Lord] had told me. 2 But Azariah, Johanant and some other arrogant men said to me, “You're lying! The [Lord] didn't tell you to say that we shouldn't go to Egypt.

3 Baruch son of Neriah must have told you to say that. He wants the Babylonians to capture us, so they can take us away to Babylonia or even kill us.”
4 Johanan, the other army officers, and everyone else refused to stay in Judah in spite of the [Lord]'s command. 5 t So Johanan and the officers led us away toward Egypt. The group that left Judah included those who had been scattered in other countries and who had then come back to live in Judah.

6 Baruch and I and others in the group had been staying with Gedaliah, because Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian officer in charge of the guard, had ordered him to take care of the king's daughters and quite a few men, women, and children.
7 The people disobeyed the [Lord] and went to Egypt. The group had settled in Tahpanhes,

8 when the [Lord] told me:

9 Jeremiah, carry some large stones to the entrance of the government building in Tahpanhes. Bury the stones underneath the brick pavementt and be sure the Jews are watching.
10 Then tell them that I, the [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel, have sent for my servant, Nebuchadnezzart of Babylonia. I will bring him here and have him set up his throne and his royal tent over these stones that I told you to bury. 11 He will attack Egypt and kill many of its people; others will die of disease or be dragged away as prisoners. 12-13 I will let him set Egypt's temples on fire, and he will either burn or carry off their idols. He will destroy the sacred monuments at the temple of the sun-god.t Then Nebuchadnezzar will pick the land clean, just like a shepherd picking the lice off his clothes. And he will return safely home.