Wycliffe WYC
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 And all the princes of (the) warriors nighed, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah, and the residue common people, from a little man unto a great man. (And all the leaders of the warriors, including Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah, along with the common people, from a little man unto a great man, came to the prophet Jeremiah.)
1
Then all of the army officers approached me. They included Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah. All of the people from the least important of them to the most important also came.
2 And they said to Jeremy, the prophet, Our prayer fall in thy sight, and pray thou for us to thy Lord God, for all these remnants; for we be left a few of many, as thine eyes behold us; (And they said to the prophet Jeremiah, May our prayer come before thee, and thou pray for us to the Lord thy God, yea, for all these remnants; for we who be left be but a few of many, as thine eyes do see;)
2
All of them said to me, "Please listen to our appeal. Pray to the LORD your God. Pray for all of us who are left here. Once there were many of us. But as you can see, only a few of us are left now.
3 and thy Lord God tell to us the way, by which we shall go, and the word which we shall do. (and the Lord thy God tell us the way, by which we shall go, and everything that we should do.)
3
So pray to the LORD your God. Pray that he'll tell us where we should go. Pray that he'll tell us what we should do."
4 Forsooth Jeremy, the prophet, said to them, I have heard (you); lo! I pray to our Lord God, by your words (lo! I shall pray to the Lord your God, with your words); I shall show to you each word, whatever word the Lord shall answer to me, neither I shall hide anything from you.
4
"I've heard you," I replied. "I'll certainly pray to the LORD your God. I'll do what you have asked me to do. In fact, I'll tell you everything the LORD says. I won't keep anything back from you."
5 And they said to Jeremy, The Lord be (a) witness of truth and of faith betwixt us; if not by each word, in which thy Lord God shall send thee to us, so we shall do, (And they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not do each command, which the Lord thy God shall give to thee, for us,)
5
Then they said to me, "We'll do everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us to do. If we don't, may he be a true and faithful witness against us.
6 whether it be good either evil. We shall obey to the voice of our Lord God, to whom we send thee, that it be well to us, when we have heard the voice of our Lord God. (whether it be good or evil. We shall obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee, so that it may be well with us, when we have heard the voice of the Lord our God.)
6
It doesn't matter whether what you say is in our favor or not. We're asking you to pray to the LORD our God. And we'll obey him. Things will go well with us. That's because we will obey the LORD our God."
7 Forsooth when ten days were [ful]filled, the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy.
7
Ten days later a message came to me from the Lord.
8 And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the princes of warriors, that were with him (and all the leaders of the warriors, who were with him), and all the people from the least unto the most;
8
So I sent for Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all of the other army officers who were with him. I also gathered together all of the people from the least important of them to the most important.
9 and he said to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, to whom ye sent me, that I should meekly set forth your prayers in his sight.
9
I said to all of them, "The LORD is the God of Israel. You asked me to present your appeal to him.
10 If ye rest, and dwell in this land, I shall build you, and I shall not destroy; I shall plant, and I shall not draw out; for now I am pleased on the evil which I did to you. (If ye rest, and live in this land, I shall build you, and I shall not destroy you; I shall plant you, and I shall not draw you out; for now I repent for the evil which I have done to you.)
10
He told me, 'Stay in this land. Then I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will plant you. I will not pull you up by the roots. I am very sad that I had to bring all of this trouble on you.
11 Do not ye dread of the face of the king of Babylon, whom ye that be fearful, dread; do not ye dread him, saith the Lord, for I am with you, to make you safe, and to deliver [you] from his hand. (Do not ye fear the king of Babylon, whom ye who be fearful, do fear; do not ye fear him, saith the Lord, for I am with you, to make you safe, and to deliver you out of his hands.)
11
" 'Do not be afraid of the king of Babylonia. You are afraid of him now. Do not be,' announces the Lord. 'I am with you. I will keep you safe. I will save you from his powerful hands.
12 And I shall give mercies to you, and I shall have mercy on you, and I shall make you dwell in your land (and I shall help you to live in your own land).
12
I will show you my loving concern. Then he will have concern for you. And he will let you return to your land.'
13 Forsooth if ye say, We shall not dwell in this land, neither we shall hear the voice of our Lord God, (But if ye say, We shall not live in this land, nor shall we listen to the voice of the Lord our God,)
13
"But suppose you say, 'We won't stay in this land.' If you do, you will be disobeying the LORD your God.
14 and say, Nay, but we shall go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see battle, and shall not hear the noise, either sound, of trump, and we shall not suffer hunger, and there we shall dwell; (and say, Nay! but we shall go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see battle, and shall not hear the sound of the trumpet, and we shall not suffer hunger, and we shall live there;)
14
And suppose you say, 'No! We'll go and live in Egypt. There we won't have to face war anymore. We won't hear the trumpets of war. And we won't get hungry.'
15 for this thing, ye remnants of Judah, hear now the word of the Lord. The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, If ye set your face, for to enter into Egypt, and if ye enter, to dwell there (If ye set your face, to enter into Egypt, and if ye go, to live there),
15
"Then listen to what the LORD says to you who are left in Judah. He is the LORD who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says, 'Have you already made up your minds to go to Egypt? Are you going to settle down there?
16 the sword which ye dread shall take you there in the land of Egypt, and the hunger for which ye be anguished shall cleave to you in Egypt; and there ye shall die (and ye shall die there).
16
" 'Then the war you fear will catch up with you there. The hunger you are afraid of will follow you into Egypt. And you will die there.
17 And all the men that setted their face, to enter into Egypt, and to dwell there, shall die by sword, and hunger, and pestilence; no man of them shall dwell still, neither shall escape from the face of [the] evil, which I shall bring on them. (And all those who set their face, to enter into Egypt, and to live there, shall die by the sword, and hunger, and pestilence; not one of them shall still remain, nor shall escape from the face of the evil, which I shall bring upon them.)
17
In fact, that will happen to all those who go and settle in Egypt. All of them will die of war, hunger and plague. Not one of them will live. None of them will escape the trouble I will bring on them.'
18 For why the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, As my strong vengeance and mine indignation is welled together on the dwellers of Jerusalem, so mine indignation shall be welled together on you, when ye have entered into Egypt; and ye shall be into swearing, and into wondering, and into cursing, and into shame; and ye shall no more see this place. (For the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things, As my strong vengeance and my indignation is welled together upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my indignation shall be welled together upon you, when ye have entered into Egypt; and ye shall be into swearing, and into wondering, and into cursing, and into shame; and ye shall no longer see this place.)
18
"He is the LORD who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says, 'My burning anger has been poured out on those who used to live in Jerusalem. In the same way, it will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. People will call down curses on you. They will be shocked at you. They will say bad things about you. And they will bring shame on you. You will never see this place again.'
19 The word of the Lord is on you, ye remnants of Judah; do not ye enter into Egypt; ye (that be) witting shall know, that I have witnessed (against that) to you today; (This word of the Lord is for you, ye remnant of Judah; do not ye enter into Egypt; ye who be witting, or who understand, now know, that I have witnessed against that to you today;)
19
"The LORD has spoken to you who are left in Judah. He has said, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Here is something you can be sure of. I am warning you about it today.
20 for ye have deceived your souls, for ye sent me to your Lord God, and said, Pray thou for us to our Lord God, and by all things whatever things our Lord [God] shall say to thee, so tell thou to us, and we shall do. (for ye have deceived your own souls, when ye sent me to the Lord your God, and said, Pray thou for us to the Lord our God, and everything that the Lord our God shall say to thee, tell thou to us, and we shall do it.)
20
You made a big mistake when you asked me to pray to the LORD your God. You said, 'Pray to the LORD our God for us. Tell us everything he says. We'll do it.'
21 And I told to you today, and ye heard not the voice of your Lord God, on all things for which he sent me to you. (And so I told it to you today, but ye have not listened to, or obeyed, the voice of the Lord your God, regarding anything for which he hath sent me to you.)
21
"I have told you today what the LORD your God wants you to do. But you still haven't obeyed him. You haven't done anything he sent me to tell you to do.
22 Now therefore, ye (that be) witting shall know, for ye shall die by sword, and hunger, and pestilence, in the place to which ye would enter, to dwell there. (And so, ye who be witting now know, or understand, that ye shall die by the sword, and hunger, and pestilence, in the place where ye would go, to live there.)
22
So here is something else you can be sure of. You will die of war, hunger and plague. You want to go and settle down in Egypt. But you will die there."
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.