New English Translation
Jeremiah 42:16
16the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to Egypt. 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
14You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, or starve for lack of food.’ 15If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘If you are so determined to go to Egypt that you go and settle there, the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to Egypt. You will die there. 17All the people who are determined to go and settle in Egypt will die from war, starvation, or disease. No one will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. 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“You must not disobey the Lord your God by saying, ‘We will not stay in this land.’
- Jeremiah 44:13I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.
- Deuteronomy 28:15“But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:
- Proverbs 13:21Calamity pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.
- Ezekiel 11:8You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
- Amos 9:1I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.
- Zechariah 1:6But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, ‘The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
- John 11:48If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation.”
- Jeremiah 44:11“Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here.
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
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