The People Ask About Escaping to Egypt

1Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest approached 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition be presented to you. Pray to YHWH your God for us, for all this remnant. For we are left but a few of many, you can see with your eyes, 3that YHWH your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the things that we should do.”

4Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard y’all. I will pray to YHWH y’all’s God according to your* words. Whatever YHWH answers, I will tell y’all. I will keep nothing back from y’all.”

5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May YHWH be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don’t do according the whole message YHWH your God sends you to tell us. 6Whether it is good, or whether it is bad, we will obey the voice of YHWH our God, to whom we send you, so that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of YHWH our God.”

YHWH’s Promise to Rebuild

7After ten days, the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah. 8Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9and said to them, “YHWH, the God of Israel, to whom y’all sent me to present your* petition before ʜɪᴍ, says: 10‘If y’all will stay in this land, then I will build y’all up and not tear y’all down. I will plant y’all and not uproot y’all up. For I am filled with sorry over the disaster that I have brought on y’all. 11Y’all must not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom y’all now fear. Don’t be afraid of him,’ says YHWH, ‘for I am with y’all to save and deliver y’all from his hand. 12I will grant y’all compassion, so that he will have compassion on y’all, and allow y’all to return to your* own land.

13“‘But if y’all say, “We will not dwell in this land,” and not obey the voice of YHWH y’all’s God’s, 14saying, “No, instead we will go into the land of Egypt, where we will see no war, or hear the sound of the trumpet, or be hungry of bread, that’s were we will live.”’ 15Then y’all must listen to the word of YHWH, O remnant of Judah! YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If y’all decide-decide to enter into Egypt, and go to settle there, 16then the sword that y’all fear will overtake y’all there in the land of Egypt, and the famine that worries y’all will follow close behind y’all there in Egypt, and y’all will die there. 17Indeed, all who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there will die by the sword, famine, and plague. None of them will remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring on them.’ 18For YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on y’all when y’all enter into Egypt. Y’all will become an object of horror and astonishment, a curse and a reproach. And y’all will never see this place again.’

19“YHWH has spoken concerning y’all, remnant of Judah, ‘Y’all are not to go to Egypt!’ Y’all must know-know that I have warned y’all today. 20For y’all have dealt deceitfully against your* own souls. For y’all sent me to YHWH y’all’s God, saying, ‘You must pray for us to YHWH our God. Declare to us all that YHWH our God says, and we will do it.’ 21I have declared it to y’all today. But y’all have not obeyed the voice of voice YHWH y’all’s God’s in anything he sent me to tell y’all. 22Now y’all will know-know that you* die by the sword, famine, and plague in the place where y’all desire to go to live.”