42 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 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 That
the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing
that we may do. 4 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 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 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. 7 And
it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. 8 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 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
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 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
And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause
you to return to your own land. 13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in
this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, 14 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 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 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 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 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. 19 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 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 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 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..