Jeremiah 42:7-22

7Now at the 1end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the 2commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, 9and said to them, “Thus 3says the Lord the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will 4build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I 5will 6relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you. 117Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares the Lord, ‘for 8I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12I will also show you compassion, so that 9he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil. 13But if you are going to say, “We will 10not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, 14saying, “No, but we will 11go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or 12hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there”; 15then 13in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your 14mind to enter 15Egypt and go in to reside there, 16then the 16sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. 17So all the men who set their 17mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the 18sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will 19have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.”’”

18For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My 20anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a 21curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and 22you will see this place no more.” 19The Lord has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, “Do not 23go into Egypt!” You should clearly 24understand that today I have 25testified against you. 20For you have only 2627deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.” 21So I have 28told you today, but you have 29not 30obeyed the Lord your God, even in whatever He has sent me to tell you. 22Therefore you should now clearly understand that you will 31die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, in the 32place where you wish to go to reside.