1   All the captains of the armed bands, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah ^note son of Hoshaiah, together with the people, high and low, came to the prophet Jeremiah and said to him, 2   ‘May our petition be acceptable to you: Pray to the Lord your God on our behalf and on behalf of this remnant; for, as you see for yourself, only a few of us remain out of many. 3   Pray that the Lord your God may tell us which way we ought to go and what we ought to do.’ 4   Then the prophet Jeremiah said to them, ‘I have heard your request and will pray to the Lord your God as you desire, and whatever answer the Lord gives I will tell you; I will keep nothing back.’ 5   They said to Jeremiah, ‘May

Jeremiah after the capture of Jerusalem the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not keep our oath! We swear that we will do whatever the Lord your God sends you to tell us. 6   Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we send you, in order that it may be well with us; we will obey the Lord our God.’

7    8   Within ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah; so he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the captains of the armed bands with him, and all the people, both high and low. 9   He said to them, These are the words of the Lord the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition: 10   If you will stay in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down, I will plant you and not uproot you; I grieve for the disaster which I have brought upon you. 11   Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, says the Lord; for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his power. 12   I will show you compassion, and he too will have compassion on you; he will let you stay on your own soil. 13   But it may be that you will disobey the Lord your God and say, ‘We will not stay in this land. 14   No, we will go to Egypt, where we shall see no sign of war, never hear the sound of the trumpet, and not starve for want of bread; and there we will live.’ 15   Then hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. These are the words of the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: If you are bent on going to Egypt, 16   if you do settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you in Egypt, and the famine you dread will still be with you, even in Egypt, and there you will die. 17   All the men who are bent on going to Egypt and settling there will die by sword, by famine, or by pestilence; not one shall escape or survive the calamity which I will bring upon them. 18   These are the words of the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out upon you when you go to Egypt; you will become an object of execration and horror, of ridicule and reproach; you will never see this place again. 19   To you, then, remnant of Judah, the Lord says, Do not go to Egypt. Make no mistake, I can bear witness against you this day. 20   You deceived yourselves when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God; tell us all that the Lord our God says and we will do it.’ 21   I have told you everything today; but you have not obeyed the Lord your God in what he sent me to tell you. 22   So now be sure of this: you will die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go and make your home.

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