New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached
1
All the army officers, led by Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, accompanied by all the people, small and great,
2 the prophet Jeremiah and said, "Be good enough to listen to our plea, and pray to the Lord your God for us—for all this remnant. For there are only a few of us left out of many, as your eyes can see.
2
came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, "We have a request. Please listen. Pray to your God for us, what's left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are!
3 Let the Lord your God show us where we should go and what we should do."
3
Pray that your God will tell us the way we should go and what we should do."
4 The prophet Jeremiah said to them, "Very well: I am going to pray to the Lord your God as you request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you; I will keep nothing back from you."
4
Jeremiah the prophet said, "I hear your request. And I will pray to your God as you have asked. Whatever God says, I'll pass on to you. I'll tell you everything, holding nothing back."
5 They in their turn said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the Lord your God sends us through you.
5
They said to Jeremiah, "Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don't do everything that your God directs you to tell us.
6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God."
6
Whether we like it or not, we'll do it. We'll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We'll do it."
7 At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
7
Ten days later God's Message came to Jeremiah.
8 Then he summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest,
8
He called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, including all the people, regardless of how much clout they had.
9 and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before him:
9
He then spoke: "This is the Message from God, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer.
10 If you will only remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I am sorry for the disaster that I have brought upon you.
10
He says, 'If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you.
11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, as you have been; do not be afraid of him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to rescue you from his hand.
11
You don't have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I'm on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do.
12 I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to your native soil.
12
I'll pour mercy on you. What's more, he will show you mercy! He'll let you come back to your very own land.'
13 But if you continue to say, "We will not stay in this land,' thus disobeying the voice of the Lord your God
13
"But do not say, 'We're not staying around this place,' refusing to obey the command of your God
14 and saying, "No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, or hear the sound of the trumpet, or be hungry for bread, and there we will stay,'
14
and saying instead, 'No! We're off to Egypt, where things are peaceful - no wars, no attacking armies, plenty of food. We're going to live there.' If
15 then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there,
15
what's left of Judah is headed down that road, then listen to God's Message. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: 'If you have determined to go to Egypt and make that your home,
16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there, in the land of Egypt; and the famine that you dread shall follow close after you into Egypt; and there you shall die.
16
then the very wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt and the starvation you dread will track you down in Egypt. You'll die there!
17 All the people who have determined to go to Egypt to settle there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I am bringing upon them.
17
Every last one of you who is determined to go to Egypt and make it your home will either be killed, starve, or get sick and die. No survivors, not one! No one will escape the doom that I'll bring upon you.'
18 "For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Just as my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an object of execration and horror, of cursing and ridicule. You shall see this place no more.
18
"This is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'In the same way that I swept the citizens of Jerusalem away with my anger and wrath, I'll do the same thing all over again in Egypt. You'll end up being cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. And you'll never see your homeland again.
19 The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, Do not go to Egypt. Be well aware that I have warned you today
19
'"God has plainly told you, you leftovers from Judah, 'Don't go to Egypt.' Could anything be plainer? I warn you this day
20 that you have made a fatal mistake. For you yourselves 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 and we will do it.'
20
that you are living out a fantasy. You're making a fatal mistake. "Didn't you just now send me to your God, saying, 'Pray for us to our God. Tell us everything that God says and we'll do it all'?
21 So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
21
"Well, now I've told you, told you everything he said, and you haven't obeyed a word of it, not a single word of what your God sent me to tell you.
22 Be well aware, then, that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go and settle."
22
So now let me tell you what will happen next: You'll be killed, you'll starve to death, you'll get sick and die in the wonderful country where you've determined to go and live."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.