“1 Then 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
unto the greatest, came near, 2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let,
we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for
us unto the LORD thy God, [even] for all this remnant; (for we are left
[but] a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3 That the LORD thy
God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may
do. 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard [you];
behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and
it shall come to pass, [that] whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer
you, I will declare [it] unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5
Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness
between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the
LORD thy God shall send thee to us. 6 Whether [it be] good, or whether
[it be] evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we
send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the
LORD our God.”
“7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came
unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
captains of the forces which [were] with him, and all the people from
the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them, Thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your
supplication before him; 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then
will I build you, and not pull [you] down, and I will plant you, and not
pluck [you] up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not
afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I [am] with you to save you, and to
deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he
may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13
But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of
the LORD your God, 14 Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt,
where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have
hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: 15 And now therefore hear the
word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go
to sojourn there; 16 Then it shall come to pass, [that] the sword, which
ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the
famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in
Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 So shall it be with all the men that
set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the
sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall
remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. 18 For thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury
hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my
fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye
shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a
reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. 19 The LORD hath said
concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know
certainly that I have admonished you this day. 20 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]. 21 And [now] I have
this day declared [it] to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the
LORD your God, nor any [thing] for the which he hath sent me unto you.
22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the
famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go
[and] to sojourn.” (Jeremiah 42:1-22 AV)