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 unto the greatest, came near, 2And 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:)42.2 Let…: or, Let our supplication fall before thee 3That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4Then 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. 5Then 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. 6Whether 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. 8Then 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, 9And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; 10If 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. 11Be 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. 12And 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, 14Saying, 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: 15And 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; 16Then 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.42.16 shall follow…: Heb. shall cleave after you 17So 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.42.17 So…: Heb. So shall all the men be 18For 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.42.19 admonished…: Heb. testified against you 20For 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.42.20 ye dissembled…: or, ye have used deceit against your souls 21And 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. 22Now 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.42.22 to go…: or, to go to sojourn
Jeremias advarer folket imod at flygte til Egypten
1Johanan, Jezanja, de øvrige officerer og et stort antal civile ledere kom nu hen til mig og sagde: 2„Gå i forbøn for os hos Herren din Gud, for som du ser, er der ikke mange tilbage af os mere. 3Bed Herren, din Gud, om at vise os, hvad vi skal gøre, og hvor vi skal tage hen.”
4Jeg gav dem følgende svar: „Godt, jeg vil bede til Herren for jer, og alt, hvad han siger til mig, vil jeg fortælle jer i alle detaljer.”
5„Vi lover højtideligt ind for Herrens ansigt, at vi vil adlyde alt, hvad han beder dig om at sige til os,” sagde de. 6„Uanset om vi bryder os om det eller ej, vil vi adlyde Herren, din Gud, som vi nu rådspørger gennem dig. For hvis vi gør, hvad han siger, vil det gå os godt.”
7Ti dage senere svarede Herren på min bøn, 8og jeg kaldte så Johanan, officererne og de øvrige ledere sammen.
9Derpå sagde jeg til dem: „I bad mig spørge Herren, Israels Gud, til råds, og her er hans svar:
10Bliv boende her i landet. Hvis I gør det, vil jeg velsigne jer og give jer fremgang. Det gør mig ondt at se de lidelser, I har været igennem, selv om jeg var nødt til at straffe jer. 11I behøver ikke frygte den babyloniske konge, for jeg vil beskytte jer, så han ikke kan gøre jer noget ondt. 12Jeg vil være barmhjertig imod jer og sørge for, at han også er barmhjertig. I kan trygt blive boende i landet.
13-14Men hvis I nægter at blive boende i landet, som Herren, jeres Gud, har sagt, og hvis I absolut vil til Egypten, fordi I tror jer sikre for krig og hungersnød dernede, 15så hør, hvad Herren siger til den rest af judæere, som er tilbage: Hvis I rejser til Egypten, 16vil al den krig og hungersnød I frygter her, følge jer, så I mister livet dernede. 17Det er den skæbne, der venter hver eneste af jer: Hvis I slår jer ned i Egypten, vil I dø som ofre for krig, hungersnød og sygdom. Det bliver min straf for jeres ulydighed.
18Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, siger: På samme måde som jeg i min vrede straffede Jerusalems indbyggere, vil jeg straffe jer, så snart I ankommer til Egypten. I vil blive afskyet og hadet, forbandet og hånet, og I kommer aldrig hjem til jeres land igen.”
19Derefter sagde jeg til dem: „I er en rest af Judas folk, og Herren har advaret jer imod at tage til Egypten. Hvis I vælger ikke at lytte til Herren, 20kommer I til at bøde med jeres liv. Det var jer selv, der bad mig søge Herren om råd, og I lovede at adlyde ham, lige meget hvad det var, han sagde. 21I dag har jeg så givet jer Herrens svar, men I er åbenbart alligevel ikke villige til at gøre, som han siger. 22Derfor skal I vide, at hvis I gør alvor af at rejse til det land, som I ønsker at flygte til, vil I blive ramt af krig, hungersnød og sygdom.”
