New International Version
Jeremiah 42:20
20that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’
Jeremiah 42:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’
- New Living Translation (NLT)For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the Lord your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the Lord our God says, and we will do it!’
Context of Jeremiah 42:20
18This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’ 19“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ 21I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. 22So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”
Read all of Jeremiah 42Jeremiah 42:20 word by word
כִּ֣י הִתְעֵיתֶם֮ בְּנַפְשֽׁוֹתֵיכֶם֒ כִּֽי־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֣ם אֹתִ֗י אֶל־יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל בַּעֲדֵ֔נוּ אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וּכְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֹאמַ֜ר יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ כֵּ֥ן הַגֶּד־לָ֖נוּ וְעָשִֽׂינוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For ye dissembledתָּעָהtâ‛âh · to go astrayH8582
- in your heartsנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
- when ye sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- me unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Prayפָּלַלpâlal · to prayH6419
- so declareנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
- unto us, and we will doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
Cross-references for Jeremiah 42:20
- Jeremiah 3:10In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 17:10“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
- Psalms 18:44foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
- Psalms 65:3When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.
- Ezekiel 14:3“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
- Ezekiel 33:31My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.
- Matthew 22:15Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
- Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
- Numbers 16:38the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
- James 1:22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
- Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 42:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20For ye dissembled in your hearts - What a most miserable and incorrigible people! Ingratitude, hypocrisy, rebellion, and cruelty seem to have been enthroned in their hearts! And what are they still? Just what their fathers were, except in the mere article of idolatry; and that they do not practice because they are indifferent to their own religion and to that of all others. Examine their devotions and their lives, and see whether Charity herself can say…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Ye dissembled in your hearts - Or, “ye have led yourselves astray,” i. e., your sending me to ask counsel of God was an act of self-delusion. You felt so sure that God would direct you to go into Egypt, that now that He has spoken to the contrary, you are unable to reconcile yourselves to it.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. 2020. dissembled in your hearts--rather, "ye have used deceit against your (own) souls." It is not God, but yourselves, whom ye deceive, to your own ruin, by your own dissimulation (Ga 6:7) [Calvin]. But the words following accord best with English Version, ye have dissembled in your hearts (see on Jr 42:3) towards me, when ye sent me to consult God for you.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 42:20
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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