Jeremiah 42:2

2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our ¹petition come before you, and ²pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a ³few out of many, as your own eyes now see us,

Jeremiah 42:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 42:2

And said unto Jeremiah the prophet
That is, some one of them, as the mouth of the whole body, very probably Johanan: let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee;
they treat the prophet with great respect, and are very humble and submissive, as if they were very hearty and sincere in their request: and pray for us unto the Lord thy God;
as if they were conscious of their own inability to pray for themselves, and of their unworthiness to call God their God; and as if they had a high opinion of, he prophet, as having an interest in God, and great power with him in prayer, whom he could not well deny anything: [even] for all this remnant;
this poor remnant, this handful of people, left of the sword, famine, and pestilence, left in the land by the Chaldeans, and who had escaped the cruelty of Ishmael; and for whom it might be hoped the Lord would still have a regard, since he had so mercifully and wonderfully preserved them: for we are left [but] a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us;
the number of the people had been very large, but by the judgments of the sword, famine, and pestilence, and captivity, they were greatly reduced; here was their whole number before the prophet; his eyes beheld them, and the condition they were in: this they said to move his compassion, and very likely to suggest to him how improbable it was that they should ever be able to continue in their own land; but that it would be better to put themselves under the protection of a neighbouring nation, Egypt, whither they were inclined to go; and hoped to have a word from the Lord by the prophet, to direct them thither.

Jeremiah 42:2 In-Context

1 Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached

2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us,

3 that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do."

4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you."

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 36:7; Jeremiah 37:20
• 2. Exodus 8:28; 1 Samuel 7:8; 1 Samuel 12:19; 1 Kings 13:6; Isaiah 37:4; Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 42:20; Acts 8:24; James 5:16
• 3. Leviticus 26:22; Deuteronomy 28:62; Isaiah 1:9; Lamentations 1:1

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "fall"