1Then allthe commandersof the forces,Johananthe sonof Kareah,Jezaniahthe sonof Hoshaiah,and allthe peoplebothsmalland greatapproached2and saidto Jeremiahthe prophet,"Pleaselet our petitioncomebeforeyou, and prayfor us to the LORDyour God,[that is] for allthisremnant;becausewe are left[but] a fewout of many,as your own eyes[now] seeus,3that the LORDyour Godmay tellus the wayin whichwe should walkand the thingthat we should do."4Then Jeremiahthe prophetsaidto them, "I have heard[you]. Behold,I am going to prayto the LORDyour Godin accordance with your words;and I will tellyou the wholemessagewhichthe LORDwill answeryou. I will not keepbacka wordfrom you."5Then they saidto Jeremiah,"May the LORDbe a trueand faithfulwitnessagainst us ifwe do not actin accordance with the wholemessagewith whichthe LORDyour Godwill sendyou to us.6"Whether[it] is pleasantorunpleasant,we will listento the voiceof the LORDour Godto whomwe are sendingyou, sothat it may gowellwith us whenwe listento the voiceof the LORDour God."
7Now at the endof tendaysthe wordof the LORDcameto Jeremiah.8Then he calledfor Johananthe sonof Kareahand allthe commandersof the forcesthat were with him, and for allthe peoplebothsmalland great,9and saidto them, "Thussaysthe LORDthe Godof Israel,to whomyou sentme to presentyour petitionbeforeHim:10Ifyou will indeedstayin thisland,then I will buildyou up and not tearyou down,and I will plantyou and not uprootyou; for I will relentconcerningthe calamitythat I have inflictedon you.11Do not be afraidof the kingof Babylon,whomyou are [now] fearing;do not be afraidof him,' declaresthe LORD,for I am with you to saveyou and deliveryou from his hand.12I will also showyou compassion,so that he will havecompassionon you and restoreyou to your own soil.13But ifyou are going to say,"We will not stayin thisland,"so as not to listento the voiceof the LORDyour God,14saying,"No,but we will goto the landof Egypt,wherewe will not seewaror hearthe soundof a trumpetor hungerfor bread,and we will staythere";15then in that caselistento the wordof the LORD,O remnantof Judah.Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,the Godof Israel,"Ifyou reallysetyour mindto enterEgyptand goin to residethere,16then the sword,whichyou are afraidof, will overtakeyou therein the landof Egypt;and the famine,about whichyou are anxious,will followcloselyafteryou there[in] Egypt,and you will diethere.17"So allthe menwhosettheir mindto goto Egyptto residetherewill dieby the sword,by famineand by pestilence;and they will havenosurvivorsor refugeesfrom the calamitythat I am going to bringon them."'"
18For thussaysthe LORDof hosts,the Godof Israel,"As My angerand wrathhave been pouredout on the inhabitantsof Jerusalem,soMy wrathwill be pouredout on you when you enterEgypt.And you will becomea curse,an objectof horror,an imprecationand a reproach;and you will seethisplacenomore."19The LORDhas spokento you, O remnantof Judah,"Do not gointo Egypt!"You should clearlyunderstandthat todayI have testifiedagainst you.20For you have [only] deceivedyourselves;for it is you who sentme to the LORDyour God,saying,"Prayfor us to the LORDour God;and whateverthe LORDour Godsays,tellus so,and we will doit."21So I have toldyou today,but you have not obeyedthe LORDyour God,even in whateverHe has sentme to [tell] you.22Therefore you should nowclearlyunderstandthat you will dieby the sword,by famineand by pestilence,in the placewhereyou wishto goto reside.
