The Remnant Flees to Egypt
Johanan and the others call Jeremiah a liar, denying our Father sent him, and blame Baruch, then take the whole remnant into Egypt, Jeremiah among them. At Tahpanhes he buries stones where Nebuchadnezzar's throne will stand. The danger they ran from is coming after them.
43 1When Jeremiah finished telling all the people all the words of their Father—all the words their Father sent him to speak to them. 2Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! Our Father did not send you to say, 'Do not go settle in Egypt.' 3No, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us, to hand us to the Babylonians to kill us or exile us to Babylon."
4So Johanan son of Kareah, all the force commanders, and all the people disobeyed our Father's voice to stay in the land of Judah. 5So Johanan son of Kareah and all the force commanders took the whole remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations where they were scattered, to live in Judah's land. 6The men, women, children, the king's daughters, and everyone Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. 7So they entered Egypt, disobeying our Father's voice, and came as far as Tahpanhes.
8Then the word of our Father came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:
9"Take large stones in your hand and bury them in the clay, in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, as the men of Judah watch. 10Then tell them: 'This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: I am sending for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I buried here, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11He will come and strike Egypt: death for those meant to die, captivity for those meant for captivity, the sword for those meant for the sword. 12I will set fire to the temples of Egypt's gods; Nebuchadnezzar will burn them and carry them off. He will wrap the land of Egypt around himself like a shepherd wrapping his cloak, and leave there unharmed. 13He will shatter the sacred pillars of Heliopolis in the land of Egypt and burn the temples of Egypt's gods.'" a a v13 Here "Beth-shemesh" ("house of the sun") is the Egyptian city the Greeks called Heliopolis, the center of Egypt's sun worship — not the town of the same name in Judah.
