Jeremiah 42

¹¹When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the crimes that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed,

¹³Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

¹³“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

⁸and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.

⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

⁷Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”

²²I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.

⁴Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

²⁴Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

⁸and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

¹How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.

¹¹Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

²¹And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

²And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.

⁵Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.

²³As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.

¹⁷“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”

¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the Lord,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

²⁹“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the Lord, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.”

¹⁰I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation; I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness from the great assembly.

²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the Lord.

²⁰I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house,

⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is our witness if we do not do as you say.”

¹⁴Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,

¹⁴To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

²³but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

²⁹If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

³³You must walk in all the ways that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

²so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the Lord your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.

³Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

¹³Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

¹⁴Wait patiently for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the Lord!

¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

¹Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached

²Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’

³Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, so that they may put us to death or exile us to Babylon!”

¹¹When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the crimes that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed,

¹²they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. And they found him near the great pool in Gibeon.

¹³Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

⁴Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

⁶who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

²Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the Lord your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.

²⁰Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.

²¹This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.

¹⁵And Huldah said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell the man who sent you

¹⁶that this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,

³⁶Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed, and I have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.

²⁸Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.

⁶I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.

¹³So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.

⁷I will restore Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as in former times.

⁶So the Lord relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord God.

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

¹⁹They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

⁵Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.

⁷“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.

⁸With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁴⁵And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.

⁴⁶He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.

⁷When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.

¹¹O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)

¹⁶“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you!

²But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”

¹⁰‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you.

¹⁹My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.

¹⁷And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, near Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt

²¹How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?

³“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”

⁴Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?

⁵We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

¹Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the Lord.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

¹³I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

¹⁶But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the Lord has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

¹⁷So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’

¹⁷He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

⁵¹As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

²¹So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

²⁷I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.

⁸You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord God.

¹I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.

²Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.

⁴⁸If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will set My face to bring disaster and to cut off all Judah.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

⁶But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the Lord of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

²²Now therefore, know for sure that by sword and famine and plague you will die in the place where you desire to go to reside.”

¹³I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”

²⁸Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs!

¹⁰And I will send against them sword and famine and plague, until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”

²⁰Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.

¹⁶They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.

¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.

²And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.

¹⁸I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.

²¹and single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

²²Then the generation to come—your sons who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land—will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the Lord has inflicted on it.

¹²And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

¹⁶But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the Lord has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

¹“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.

²They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.

¹⁵But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’

¹Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the Lord.

²Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers.

²⁹You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They turned a stubborn shoulder; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

³⁰You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

²⁶But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.

¹⁶They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

⁷Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

³“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?

⁴Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him according to his great idolatry,

⁷But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.

¹¹But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.

¹²They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts.

²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

²⁷For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.

²⁴Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

²⁵From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.

¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

²⁶See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse—

²⁷a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today,

¹⁷So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’

¹¹This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague.

⁶For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.

¹¹He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.

³But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.

⁴Again, take a few of these, throw them into the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.