Jeremiah

Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

1Then all the army commanders came near, along with Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and everyone else, from the least important to the greatest.

2And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)

2They said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please listen to our request. Pray to the LORD your God for us, for all of us who are left. You can see for yourself that only a few of us remain out of many.

3That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

3Ask the LORD your God to show us where we should go and what we should do."

4Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

4Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. I will pray to the LORD your God, just as you asked. Whatever the LORD answers, I will tell you. I will not hide a single word from you."

5Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.

5Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not do everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.

6Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

6Whether we like the answer or not, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, the one we are sending you to. Obeying him will go well for us."

NoteThe KJV says "whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Here it does not mean right or wrong. It means whether the answer is one they like or one they do not like.

7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

7Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

8Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

8So Jeremiah called for Johanan son of Kareah, all the army commanders with him, and all the people, from the least important to the greatest.

9And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;

9He said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. You sent me to bring your request to him, and here is his answer.

10If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.

10'If you will stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down. I will plant you and not pull you up. I am sorry for the harm I brought on you.

Note"I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you" does not mean God did something wrong. In older English, "evil" often meant disaster or trouble, and "repent" meant to change course. God is saying he will hold back the trouble he sent.

11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon. You are afraid of him now, but do not fear him, says the LORD. I am with you to save you and rescue you from his power.

12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

12I will be kind to you, so that he will be kind to you too and let you go back to your own land.'

13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,

13But suppose you say, 'We will not stay in this land.' That would mean disobeying the voice of the LORD your God.

14Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:

14Suppose you say, 'No. We will go to Egypt and live there. There we will see no war, hear no war horn, and go hungry no more.'

NoteThe KJV says "trumpet." This was a curved ram's horn blown to warn a town that enemies were coming.

15And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;

15Then listen to the word of the LORD, you who are left of Judah. This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are set on going to Egypt to live there,

16Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

16then the war you fear will catch up with you in Egypt. The hunger you dread will follow right behind you there, and you will die there.

17So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

17Every man who is set on going to live in Egypt will die by the sword, by hunger, and by disease. Not one of them will live through the trouble I bring on them.'

18For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

18This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'My anger burned against the people of Jerusalem, and it poured out on them. My anger will pour out on you the same way if you go to Egypt. People will use your name as a curse. They will be shocked by you and look down on you. You will never see this place again.'

19The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

19The LORD has told you people who are left of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be very sure of this: I have warned you today.

20For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.

20You fooled yourselves when you sent me to the LORD your God. You said, 'Pray to the LORD our God for us. Tell us everything he says, and we will do it.'

21And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.

21Today I have told you what he says. But you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything he sent me to tell you.

22Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.

22So be very sure of this: you will die by the sword, by hunger, and by disease in the place where you want to go and live."