Jeremiah 42:16

16 the sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, of which you are afraid, will pursue you relentlessly there in Egypt; and there you will die.

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 instead say, 'No, we will go to the land of Egypt; because there we will not see war or hear the shofar sounding its alarm or be short of food; so we'll stay there';

15 then hear what ADONAI says, remnant of Y'hudah - this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and stay there,

16 the sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, of which you are afraid, will pursue you relentlessly there in Egypt; and there you will die.

17 This is how it will be for all the people determined to go to Egypt and stay there - they will die by sword, famine and plague; none of them will remain or escape the disaster that I will bring upon them.'

18 For here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, so likewise my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt; so that you will become an object of condemnation, astonishment, cursing and reproach; and you will see this place no more.'