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The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 42

Jeremiah 42: the remnant asks for a word and is told not to go to Egypt

General context

The captains, Johanan, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah and all the people, least to greatest, come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray to the Lord his God for the remnant, few left of many, so that the Lord may show them the way to walk. Jeremiah agrees to pray and promises to keep nothing back. They call the Lord as witness that they will do whatever he sends, good or evil, so that it may go well with them. After ten days the word comes, and Jeremiah gathers them. If they stay in the land, the Lord will build and plant them, not pull down or pluck up, for he repents of the evil he has done; they need not fear the king of Babylon, since the Lord is with them to deliver them and will move him to mercy. But if they refuse to stay and go to Egypt, saying they will see no war, hear no trumpet and have no hunger there, then the sword they fear will overtake them in Egypt and the famine will follow them, and they will die there by sword, famine and pestilence with none escaping. As the Lord's fury was poured on Jerusalem, it will be poured on them in Egypt, and they will be a curse and a reproach and never see this place again. Jeremiah says the Lord has told them not to go, that he has warned them this day, and that they dissembled in their hearts when they sent him to pray, promising to do all the Lord said. Since they have not obeyed, they will die by sword, famine and pestilence in the place they want to go.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 42:1, Jeremiah 42:2, Jeremiah 42:3, Jeremiah 42:4, Jeremiah 42:5, Jeremiah 42:6, Jeremiah 42:7, Jeremiah 42:10, Jeremiah 42:11, Jeremiah 42:12, Jeremiah 42:14, Jeremiah 42:16, Jeremiah 42:17, Jeremiah 42:18, Jeremiah 42:19, Jeremiah 42:20, Jeremiah 42:21, Jeremiah 42:22

Jeremiah 42 (KJV)

1Then 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,

2And 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:)

3That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

4Then 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.

5Then 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.

6Whether 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.

7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

8Then 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,

9And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

10If 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.

11Be 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.

12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God,

14Saying, 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:

15And 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;

16Then 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.

17So 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.

18For 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.

19The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

20For 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.

21And 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.

22Now 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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah is named among the leaders here, while chapter 43 names Azariah the son of Hoshaiah in the same role; chapter 40 lists a Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite. The text gives these names without saying whether they belong to one man or several. The people speak of "the Lord thy God" when addressing Jeremiah and then swear by "the Lord our God," and Jeremiah answers with "the Lord your God." The wait for the answer is stated as ten days. The Lord's promise to build and plant and not pluck up uses the verbs of Jeremiah's commission in chapter 1. The Lord says "I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you," a statement in the text about the Lord's own turning. The people's intended speech about Egypt is quoted as what they may say, and Jeremiah's charge that they dissembled comes before the refusal that chapter 43 narrates. The chapter does not say where the group is when they ask, beyond the previous chapter's note of the habitation of Chimham near Bethlehem.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 42:1, Jeremiah 43:2, Jeremiah 40:8, Jeremiah 42:2, Jeremiah 42:6, Jeremiah 42:4, Jeremiah 42:7, Jeremiah 1:10, Jeremiah 42:10, Jeremiah 42:13, Jeremiah 43:4, Jeremiah 41:17

Literary context

The request is solemn and formal: the people come near, ask for prayer, invoke the Lord as witness and promise obedience whether the answer is good or evil. The answer is delayed ten days, and the delay is stated without explanation. The reply is built as two conditions. Staying brings building and planting, stated with the verbs of Jeremiah's call; going brings the very things the people hope to escape, and each item of their imagined speech, war, trumpet, hunger, is answered by sword and famine following them into Egypt. The phrase "set your faces" marks the decision, and "from the least even unto the greatest" frames both the asking and the hearing. The chapter ends with Jeremiah's accusation of dissembling before any refusal is narrated, so the reader meets the verdict before the act, and chapter 43 supplies the act. The three-part formula sword, famine and pestilence closes the speech as it has closed so many earlier ones.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 42:1, Jeremiah 42:8, Jeremiah 42:5, Jeremiah 42:6, Jeremiah 42:7, Jeremiah 42:10, Jeremiah 42:14, Jeremiah 42:16, Jeremiah 42:15, Jeremiah 42:20, Jeremiah 42:22

Key moments

  1. Pray for this remnant (Jeremiah 42:2). The captains and people ask Jeremiah to seek the Lord for them.
  2. Good or evil, we will obey (Jeremiah 42:6). The people swear to do whatever the Lord answers.
  3. After ten days (Jeremiah 42:7). The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah.
  4. Stay and be planted (Jeremiah 42:10). The Lord promises to build and plant those who remain in the land.
  5. The dream of Egypt (Jeremiah 42:14). The people's hope of a land without war or hunger is quoted.
  6. The sword will follow (Jeremiah 42:16). What they fear will overtake them in Egypt.
  7. Ye dissembled (Jeremiah 42:20). Jeremiah says their promise to obey was not sincere.

For reflection

The people swear to obey whatever answer comes, good or evil, and Jeremiah later says they were dissembling. Can a person know in advance whether they will accept an answer they do not want?

People in this chapter

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