Jeremiah 42:16

16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

Jeremiah 42:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 42:16

Then it shall come to pass
That the various judgments following should come upon them: [that] the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land
of Egypt;
that is, the sword; of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, which they feared they should fall by in Judea; this should come after them in Egypt, and there overtake them, as it did; Egypt being destroyed by the king of Babylon, as it was foretold it should, ( Jeremiah 46:25 Jeremiah 46:26 ) ; and the famine, whereof you were afraid, shalt follow close after you
there in Egypt;
the famine they were afraid would come upon them in Judea, should pursue them, overtake them, seize on them, and cleave unto them, in Egypt; thus the evils they thought to escape, by moving from one place, should befall them in another; there is no fleeing from the presence, power, and hand of God: and there ye shall die;
either by the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence, as in the ( Jeremiah 42:17 ) .

Jeremiah 42:16 In-Context

14 and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’

15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,

16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

17 So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’

18 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’