Jeremiah 42

42 ¹Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, least to greatest, approached, ²and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please hear our plea: pray to your Father for us, for all this remnant—for we are few left from many, as you see, ³that your Father may show us the way we should go and the thing we should do."

⁴Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. I will pray to your Father as you ask and tell you all your Father answers, holding nothing back."

⁵They told Jeremiah, "May our Father be a true, faithful witness against us if we don't act on everything your Father sends you to tell us. ⁶Good or bad, we'll obey our Father's voice, to whom we send you, so it's well with us when we obey our Father's voice."

⁷At the end of ten days the word of our Father came to Jeremiah. ⁸So he called Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders with him, and all the people, least to greatest,

⁹and said, "So says our Father of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea:

¹⁰If you truly stay in this land, I will build you up, not tear down; plant you, not uproot—for I relent of the disaster I brought on you.

¹¹Don't fear the king of Babylon you now fear. Don't fear him, declares our Father, for I am with you to save and rescue you from his hand.

¹²I will show you compassion, so the king of Babylon will have compassion on you and let you return to your land.

¹³But if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' disobeying the voice of your Father, ¹⁴saying, 'No, we'll go to Egypt, where we'll see no war, hear no trumpet, never hunger for bread, and live there,' ¹⁵then hear our Father's word, remnant of Judah. This is what the Father of heaven's armies, the Father of Israel says: If you are set on going to Egypt to settle there, ¹⁶then the sword you fear will catch you in Egypt, the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. ¹⁷All determined to settle in Egypt will die by sword, famine, and plague; none will survive or escape the disaster I bring on them.

¹⁸This is what the Father of heaven's armies, the Father of Israel says: As my anger and wrath poured out on Jerusalem's people, so my wrath will pour out on you when you enter Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, horror, ridicule, and disgrace, and never see this place again."

¹⁹"Our Father has spoken to you, remnant of Judah: Do not go to Egypt. Know for certain I warn you today. ²⁰You misled yourselves at the cost of your lives, for you sent me to your Father, saying, 'Pray for us to our Father; whatever he says, tell us and we'll do it.' ²¹Today I told you, but you haven't obeyed your Father's voice in anything he sent me to tell you. ²²So know for certain: you will die by sword, famine, and plague in the place you want to settle."