JeremiahChapter 43

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¹Jeremiah finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God. He told them everything the LORD had sent him to say. ²Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke to Jeremiah. "You are lying!" they said. "The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt to live there.' ³No, Baruch son of Neriah is turning you against us. He wants to hand us over to the Chaldeans. Then they can kill us or carry us away to Babylon!" ⁴So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders did not obey the LORD's command. He had told them to stay in the land of Judah. ⁵Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders took all the people left in Judah. These people had come back to the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. ⁶They took the men, the women, the children, and the king's daughters. They took everyone Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. They also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. ⁷They did not obey the voice of the LORD. So they went into the land of Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes. ⁸Then the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes. ⁹"Pick up some large stones while the Jews watch. Bury them in the clay of the brick path at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes. ¹⁰Then tell them this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones I have buried. He will spread his royal tent over them. ¹¹He will come and attack the land of Egypt. Those meant for death will die. Those meant for captivity will be taken captive. Those meant for the sword will die by the sword. ¹²I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples. He will carry off their gods as captives. A shepherd wraps himself in his cloak. In the same way, he will wrap himself in the land of Egypt. Then he will leave there unharmed. ¹³He will smash the sacred stone pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt. He will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.'"a