The big picture
Jeremiah has told the survivors of Judah, their conquered homeland, that God commands them to stay there. Their leaders now reject his answer and accuse him of lying. They blame Baruch, the prophet's scribe. They say he has turned the prophet against them. The group then travels to Egypt, the southern kingdom they expect to shelter them from Babylon. Jeremiah and Baruch are taken along. At Tahpanhes, an Egyptian town, God gives a sign that the power they fear will reach the place where they seek safety.
In this chapter
- The Leaders Call the Answer a Lie Jeremiah 43:1-3
Jeremiah finishes giving the people all the words God sent.
- The Whole Remaining Group Is Taken South Jeremiah 43:4-7
Johanan, the captains, and the people refuse the command to remain in Judah.
- Hidden Stones Mark the Coming Conqueror Jeremiah 43:8-13
At the Egyptian town, God tells Jeremiah to set large stones in clay by the entrance of Pharaoh's house before the survivors' eyes.
Central truth
The survivors reject God's answer and enter Egypt, where Jeremiah announces that Babylon's king will reach their chosen refuge and overthrow its protections.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 13Jeremiah 43:1-3
The Leaders Call the Answer a Lie
Jeremiah finishes giving the people all the words God sent. Azariah, son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, son of Kareah, speak with the proud leaders. They accuse him of falsehood and deny that God forbade a move to Egypt. They claim Baruch has stirred him against them so the Chaldeans, Babylon's forces, can kill or deport them. They asked God for an answer. Now they say a man has plotted to mislead them. They bring no new word from God. They refuse to hear the one he gave.
In everyday life
A planning consultant presents a review opposing a client's chosen move. Instead of answering the findings, the client says her assistant must have manipulated her to benefit a rival. The advice is set aside. A claimed motive takes its place. Jeremiah's hearers reject God's word; a consultant's findings remain open to ordinary evidence and challenge.
Notice
Jeremiah 43:3 The leaders assign the message to Baruch's influence. That claim lets them preserve their preferred plan by denying the stated source of the warning.
Jeremiah 43:1-3
King James Version1And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
2Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
3But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
Jeremiah 43:4-7
The Whole Remaining Group Is Taken South
Johanan, the captains, and the people refuse the command to remain in Judah. They take the survivors who had returned from other countries to live there. Men, women, children, and royal daughters are included, along with everyone left in the care of the murdered governor. Jeremiah and Baruch also go with the group. They enter Egypt and reach Tahpanhes. The account explicitly calls this disobedience. They had returned home. Now they leave again. God has given no new command; the leaders have refused his answer.
In everyday life
A camp coordinator loads buses for a move after leaders dismiss the agreed safety advice. Families, children, and the adviser who objected all travel together. The decision of those directing the group determines where many others must go. Jeremiah's account names disobedience to God's command, while a camp move involves human judgement that can be mistaken.
Notice
Jeremiah 43:7 Arrival in Egypt is directly linked to not obeying God's voice. They had asked for guidance. Their move is now named as a refusal of the answer.
Jeremiah 43:4-7
King James Version4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.
5But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
6Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah 43:8-13
Hidden Stones Mark the Coming Conqueror
At the Egyptian town, God tells Jeremiah to set large stones in clay by the entrance of Pharaoh's house before the survivors' eyes. Pharaoh is Egypt's ruler. The prophet must say that Nebuchadrezzar, Babylon's king, will place his throne and royal tent over those stones. He will strike the land with death, captivity, and the sword. Its temples will burn and its gods be carried away. He will take the land as a shepherd puts on a garment and leave safely. The chosen refuge will not keep Babylon or God's judgement outside.
In everyday life
A refugee legal adviser stands with arrivals before the building they believe guarantees permanent safety. She shows them documents revealing that the same hostile authority reaches this place too. A border has not removed the threat. Jeremiah marks a conqueror's future throne by God's command and predicts the overthrow of temples, not only a legal vulnerability.
Notice
Jeremiah 43:10 The stones mark where the foreign king will sit. He will stand inside their chosen refuge. The place they trust will not keep him out.
Jeremiah 43:8-13
King James Version8Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
9Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
10And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
11And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
13He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 43:1 begins with “And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God…”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 43:8 forms a natural hinge: “Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,”
The final note
Jeremiah 43:13 leaves the reader with “He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, Egypt, land, Jeremiah, Judah, death help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- pavilion
- A large royal tent or canopy set up over a ruler.
- images
- Sacred objects or monuments treated as representations of divine powers.
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.
