Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 42:16
16then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels there to Egypt, and you will die there.
Jeremiah 42:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
- English Standard Version (ESV)then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die.
- New King James Version (NKJV)then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.
Context of Jeremiah 42:16
14and if you say, ‘No, instead we’ll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for food, and we’ll live there,’ 15then hear the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah! This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and stay there for a while, then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels there to Egypt, and you will die there. 17All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18“For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will my fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’
Read all of Jeremiah 42Jeremiah 42:16 word by word
וְהָיְתָ֣ה הַחֶ֗רֶב אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתֶּם֙ יְרֵאִ֣ים מִמֶּ֔נָּה שָׁ֛ם תַּשִּׂ֥יג אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְהָרָעָ֞ב אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֣ם׀ דֹּאֲגִ֣ים מִמֶּ֗נּוּ שָׁ֣ם יִדְבַּ֧ק אַחֲרֵיכֶ֛ם מִצְרַ֖יִם וְשָׁ֥ם תָּמֻֽתוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- which ye fearedיָרֵאyârê' · afraidH3373
- shall overtakeנָשַׂגnâώag · to overtakeH5381
- you there in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- and the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- whereof ye were afraidדָּאַגdâ'ag · be anxiousH1672
- shall follow closeדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- and there ye shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Jeremiah 42:16
- Jeremiah 42:13“But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ in order to disobey the Lord your God,
- Jeremiah 44:13I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague.
- Deuteronomy 28:15“But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all his commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:
- Proverbs 13:21Disaster pursues sinners, but good rewards the righteous.
- Ezekiel 11:8You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
- Amos 9:1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: Strike the capitals of the pillars so that the thresholds shake; knock them down on the heads of all the people. Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Zechariah 1:6But didn’t my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? ’” So the people repented and said, “As the Lord of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us.”
- John 11:48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- Jeremiah 44:11“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster, to cut off all Judah.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 42:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The sword - and the famine - shall follow close after you - Shall be at your heels; shall overtake and destroy you; for there ye shall die.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Translate it: “Then shall the sword of which ye are afraid reach you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye pine shall cleave close unto you in Egypt, and there shall ye die; and all the men who have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there shall die by the pestilence, nor shall they have anyone that is left or escaped from the evil which I will bring upon them.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-22Verses 7-22 If we would know the mind of the Lord in doubtful cases, we must wait as well as pray. God is ever ready to return in mercy to those he has afflicted; and he never rejects any who rely on his promises. He has declared enough to silence even the causeless fears of his people, which discourge them in the way of duty. Whatever loss or suffering we may fear from obedience, is provided against in God's word; and he will protect and deliver all who…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-22Jeremiah had already predicted Egypt's fate; the Babylonians would destroy it (Jeremiah 46:2–26). This remaining group from Judah would face the Lord's judgment if they went to Egypt.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you--The very evils we think to escape by sin, we bring on ourselves thereby. What our hearts are most set on often proves fatal to us. Those who think to escape troubles by changing their place will find them wherever they go (Eze 11:8). The "sword" here is that of Nebuchadnezzar, who fulfilled the prediction in his expedition to Africa (according to Megasthenes, a heathen writer), 300 B.C.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 42:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 42
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries