Jeremiah 42:17-22

17 "So all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the ¹sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will ²have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.""'

18 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "As My ³anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a ⁴curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and ⁵you will see this place no more."

19 The LORD has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, "Do not ⁶go into Egypt!" You should clearly ⁷understand that today I have ⁸testified against you.

20 For you have only ⁹deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever * the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it."

21 So I have ¹⁰told you today, but you have ¹¹not obeyed * the LORD your God, even in whatever * He has sent me to tell you.

22 Therefore you should now clearly understand that you will ¹²die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, in the ¹³place where * you wish to go to reside.

Jeremiah 42:17-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH CAHPTER 42

This chapter contains a request of the Jews to Jeremiah, to pray to the Lord for them to direct them, and the Lord's answer to it. The request is made by the captains and all the people, Jer 42:1-3; which Jeremiah undertook to present to the Lord, Jer 42:4; they promising to go according to the direction that should be given, Jer 42:5,6. After ten days an answer is returned, and the prophet calls the captains and people together to hear it, Jer 42:7,8; the purport of which was, that if they continued in the land of Judah, it would be well with them, and they would be safe, Jer 42:9-12; but if they went into Egypt, they should die by the sword, famine, and pestilence, and be a curse and reproach, and never see their own land more, Jer 42:13-18; they are charged with dissimulation and disobedience, Jer 42:19-21; and the chapter is concluded with an assurance of their perishing by the above judgments in the place they were desirous of dwelling in, Jer 42:22.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 42:22; Jeremiah 44:13
• 2. Jeremiah 44:14, 28
• 3. 2 Chronicles 36:16-19; Jeremiah 7:20; Jeremiah 33:5; Jeremiah 39:1-9
• 4. Deuteronomy 29:21; Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 44:12
• 5. Jeremiah 22:10, 27
• 6. Deuteronomy 17:16; Isaiah 30:1-7
• 7. Ezekiel 2:5
• 8. Neh 9:26, 29, 30
• 9. Jeremiah 43:2; Ezekiel 14:3
• 10. Deuteronomy 11:26; Jeremiah 43:1; Ezekiel 2:7; Zechariah 7:11; Acts 20:26, 27
• 11. Jeremiah 43:4
• 12. Jeremiah 43:11; Ezekiel 6:11
• 13. Hosea 9:6

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "face"
• [b] Or "acted errantly in your souls"
• [c] Lit "listened to the voice of"