Warning to Stay in Judah

1Then all the military leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniaha son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached 2Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. 3Pray that the LORD your God will show us what to do and where to go.”

4“All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the LORD your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”

5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! 6Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”

7Ten days later the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah. 8So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. 9He said to them, “You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: 10‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. 11Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. 12I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

13“But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; 14instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’ 15then hear the LORD’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, 16the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. 17That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’

18“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.’

19“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. 20For 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!’ 21And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past. 22So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”