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Jeremiah 42

KJV · Chapter 42/52

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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The remaining people ask Jeremiah to inquire of God about going to Egypt, promising to obey the answer. God responds that they should stay in Judah, warning that fleeing to Egypt would bring the very destruction they feared.

Explanation

This passage reveals a tension common in the experience of faith: asking for guidance while promising obedience in advance, yet already leaning toward a decision different from the answer received. The people wait ten days for Jeremiah's answer, a detail suggesting genuine seriousness in the process, but the final answer — to stay in the devastated land rather than seek apparent safety in Egypt — is not what they were hoping to hear. The promise that 'the sword you fear' would overtake them precisely in Egypt shows how fleeing a problem can, paradoxically, lead straight into it, when the flight goes against clear guidance already received.

Fun facts

  • The ten-day waiting period for the prophetic answer (v. 7) is cited by commentators as a rare biblical example of a clearly defined span of time between a request and a divine answer recorded in the text.
  • The fear of famine and war that drove the flight to Egypt was understandable: Egypt, though politically unstable at the time, was still seen as a region agriculturally more stable than a Judah devastated by war.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremiah 42:1After Ishmael’s defeat, all the remaining people -- from the greatest to the least -- gather to consult Jeremiah before deciding what to do next, afraid of Babylonian retaliation for Gedaliah’s death.
  2. Jeremiah 42:2The request is humble and explicit: only a small remnant is left of a people that was once great, and they need guidance from God through Jeremiah to know what to do.
  3. Jeremiah 42:3They ask specifically for practical direction: what way to go and what to do -- not a theoretical answer, but instruction for action regarding whether or not to go to Egypt.
  4. Jeremiah 42:4Jeremiah agrees to pray and promises complete honesty: he will pass on everything God answers, hiding nothing, even if the answer is unwelcome to them.
  5. Jeremiah 42:5The people make a formal oath, calling on God as witness that they will faithfully obey whatever the answer brings -- a promise that will soon be broken.
  6. Jeremiah 42:6They reinforce the commitment, saying they will obey “whether it be good, or whether it be evil” -- promising to accept the answer even if they do not like it, which in the end will not happen.
  7. Jeremiah 42:7Jeremiah waits ten days before receiving God’s answer -- an interval showing that prophetic revelation did not come on instant demand.
  8. Jeremiah 42:8After the wait, Jeremiah gathers the same group -- Johanan, the commanders, and all the people -- to deliver the answer they received.
  9. Jeremiah 42:9He emphasizes that the message comes directly from God, exactly in answer to the request for guidance they themselves had made.
  10. Jeremiah 42:10The group led by Johanan promises to obey God before even knowing the answer (42:5-6). And when the answer comes back against what they wanted -- not to go to Egypt -- they change their minds right away, showing that the question already had a decided answer beforehand.
  11. Jeremiah 42:11The main answer: they do not need to fear the king of Babylon, because God promises to be with them to save them and deliver them from his hand, if they stay in the land.
  12. Jeremiah 42:12It promises that God will make the Babylonian king himself show them mercy, to the point of letting them remain safely in their own land.
  13. Jeremiah 42:13Anticipates the objection the people probably already had in mind: refusing to stay in the land would mean directly disobeying the answer they had asked for.
  14. Jeremiah 42:14Describes the reasoning that would lead them to Egypt: the illusion that there would be no war, famine, or violence there -- a hope for safety that God is about to disprove.
  15. Jeremiah 42:15Introduces the second part of the answer: what will happen specifically if they insist on going to Egypt against the guidance they received.
  16. Jeremiah 42:16The irony of the warning: the very dangers they want to avoid -- sword and famine -- will overtake them precisely in Egypt, the place they chose to flee them.
  17. Jeremiah 42:17Extends the threat: everyone who insists on going to Egypt will die by sword, famine, or plague, with no one escaping the announced disaster.
  18. Jeremiah 42:18Directly compares what will happen in Egypt to what already happened in Jerusalem: the same wrath of God poured out, resulting in them becoming an object of cursing and mockery among the nations.
  19. Jeremiah 42:19Restates the prohibition solemnly, making clear that this is not a suggestion, and that the warning had already been officially given that very same day.
  20. Jeremiah 42:20Jeremiah accuses the people of deceiving themselves: they asked for an answer from God while promising to obey, but their real intention was already to go to Egypt regardless -- a sham consultation.
  21. Jeremiah 42:21Confirms that the message was faithfully delivered, but the people simply paid no attention to any part of it -- the disobedience was already decided before the answer even arrived.
  22. Jeremiah 42:22Closes the chapter by repeating the sentence: whoever insists on going to Egypt will die there, by sword, famine, or plague -- the most direct warning possible before the wrong decision of the next chapter.

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