The big picture
Survivors in Judah, the land left after conquest, fear reprisals for their governor's murder. Led by military captains, they are considering flight to Egypt, the neighbouring southern kingdom. They ask Jeremiah, God's prophet, to pray and promise to obey whatever answer comes. Ten days later, he tells them to remain in their own land under God's protection. The place they imagine as safe will instead bring the dangers they fear. Their request for guidance is tested by an answer that opposes their preferred route.
In this chapter
- The Survivors Pledge to Obey Any Answer Jeremiah 42:1-6
The captains and people come to Jeremiah, led by Johanan, son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, son of Hoshaiah.
- Staying Is Joined to a Promise of Protection Jeremiah 42:7-12
After ten days, God's word comes to Jeremiah.
- The Imagined Refuge Will Carry the Same Dangers Jeremiah 42:13-18
God names the alternative the people want: Egypt, where they imagine no war, alarms, or hunger.
- The Prophet Exposes the False Pledge Jeremiah 42:19-22
Jeremiah repeats the command not to enter Egypt.
Central truth
The survivors promise to obey God's answer, but his command to stay exposes their desire for approval of an escape already chosen.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 22Jeremiah 42:1-6
The Survivors Pledge to Obey Any Answer
The captains and people come to Jeremiah, led by Johanan, son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, son of Hoshaiah. Both men are leaders of the remaining group. They point to how few are left and ask the prophet to pray for guidance. They want God to show where to go and what to do. Jeremiah agrees to pray and promises to report every part of the answer. They call God as witness that they will obey whether the message seems favourable or unwelcome. Their spoken pledge leaves no exception for a result they dislike.
In everyday life
An evicted family asks a housing adviser to examine every option and promises to follow the soundest route. They place their preferred town at the bottom of the file, saying the evidence should decide. The promise will be tested when advice arrives. Jeremiah seeks God's command for a surviving people, not a professional recommendation.
Notice
Jeremiah 42:6 The pledge includes an answer they find unwelcome. That phrase matters because obedience is promised before they know whether God's direction will match their plans.
Jeremiah 42:1-6
King James Version1Then 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,
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:)
3That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may 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.
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.
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.
Jeremiah 42:7-12
Staying Is Joined to a Promise of Protection
After ten days, God's word comes to Jeremiah. He gathers every rank of the people and their captains to hear it. If they stay in the land, God will build and plant them rather than tear them down. He has relented concerning the disaster brought upon them. They need not fear Babylon's king, the foreign ruler whose forces conquered them. God will save them from his hand and show mercy, bringing a merciful response from that ruler too. The answer addresses their fear directly while telling them to remain where they feel threatened.
In everyday life
A village nurse asks an anxious household to remain near a functioning clinic while roads outside are unsafe. She explains the help available where they are and takes their fear seriously. Remaining does not feel brave to them, but it preserves access to care. God promises deliverance from a king's hand, which a nurse cannot assure.
Notice
Jeremiah 42:7 The answer comes after ten days. Jeremiah's delay distinguishes waiting for a word from supplying an immediate response shaped to the people's urgency.
Jeremiah 42:7-12
King James Version7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto 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,
9And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
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.
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.
12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
Jeremiah 42:13-18
The Imagined Refuge Will Carry the Same Dangers
God names the alternative the people want: Egypt, where they imagine no war, alarms, or hunger. If they insist on going there, the sword they fear will catch them and famine will follow. Disease will also strike, and the group choosing that refuge will meet disaster. God compares the judgement to what happened in Jerusalem, their ruined capital. They will become objects of horror and disgrace and will not see this place again. They asked for God's word. Leaving the land will not take them outside its reach.
In everyday life
A shopkeeper fleeing repeated theft signs for a distant storeroom without checking its conditions. She imagines that leaving the old street ends every threat, while the new site has the same unguarded access. Distance alone has become her evidence of safety. God announces certain judgement in Egypt, not a risk that a property inspection can settle.
Notice
Jeremiah 42:16 The very sword and hunger they fear are named as following them. The warning answers their stated reasons for leaving rather than introducing unrelated dangers.
Jeremiah 42:13-18
King James Version13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey 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:
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;
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.
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.
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.
Jeremiah 42:19-22
The Prophet Exposes the False Pledge
Jeremiah repeats the command not to enter Egypt. They must know that he has warned them. They deceived themselves when they asked him to pray while claiming they would do whatever God said. He has now given them the answer, but they have not obeyed. Therefore they should know that war, famine, and disease will kill them in the place they want to live. They asked for guidance. Now they have it. That will not help if they have already chosen to reject it.
In everyday life
A relocation adviser lays her findings beside a client's signed request for impartial help. He rejects every option except the one he chose before the meeting, revealing that he wanted endorsement rather than assessment. She names that conflict plainly. Jeremiah declares God's judgement on a broken pledge, not an adviser's conclusion about a client's priorities.
Notice
Jeremiah 42:20 Jeremiah points back to the promise made when they sent him to pray. The charge concerns the gap between that pledge and their response to the actual answer.
Jeremiah 42:19-22
King James Version19The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
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.
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.
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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 42:1 begins with “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…”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 42:13 forms a natural hinge: “But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,”
The final note
Jeremiah 42:22 leaves the reader with “Now 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.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, Egypt, land, afraid, Jeremiah, voice help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- supplication
- An earnest request for help, here carried to God in prayer.
- dissembled
- Concealed true intentions while presenting a different outward claim.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
