1And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: 3But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. 4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; 6Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
8¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; 10And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. 11And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. 12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. 13He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.43.13 images: Heb. statues, or, standing images43.13 Beth-shemesh: or, The house of the sun
1Jeremiah finished telling the people everything the Lord their God had said. Jeremiah told them everything the Lord had sent him to tell them. 2After that, Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke to Jeremiah. And all the proud men joined them. They said, “You are lying! The Lord our God hasn’t sent you to speak to us. He hasn’t told you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt and make your homes there.’ 3But Baruch, the son of Neriah, is turning you against us. He wants us to be handed over to the Babylonians. Then they can kill us. Or they can take us away to Babylon.”
4So Johanan, the son of Kareah, disobeyed the Lord’s command. So did all the other army officers and all the people. They didn’t stay in the land of Judah. 5Instead Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the other army officers led away all the people who were left in Judah. Those people had returned to Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. 6Johanan and the other officers also led away many people Nebuzaradan had left at Mizpah. They included men, women and children. They also included the king’s daughters. Nebuzaradan had left them with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. They also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah along with them. Nebuzaradan was commander of the royal guard. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. 7So the Jewish leaders disobeyed the Lord. They took everyone to Egypt. They went all the way to Tahpanhes.
8In Tahpanhes a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 9“Make sure the Jews are watching you. Then get some large stones. Go to the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes. Bury the stones in the clay under the brick walkway there. 10Then tell the Jews, ‘The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And I will set his throne over these stones that are buried here. He will set up his royal tent over them. 11He will come and attack Egypt. He will bring death to those I have appointed to die. He will take away as prisoners those I have appointed to be taken away. And he will kill with swords those I have appointed to be killed. 12He will set the temples of the gods of Egypt on fire. He will burn down their temples. He will take away the statues of their gods. Nebuchadnezzar will be like a shepherd who picks his coat clean of lice. Nebuchadnezzar will pick Egypt clean and then depart. 13At Heliopolis in Egypt he will smash the sacred pillars to pieces. And he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.” ’ ”
