1Then all the army commanders, together with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah ¹¹²son of Hoshaiah, and everyone from the least to the most important came to

2Jeremiah the prophet and said, “Please listen to our request.

3Pray to the Lord your God for all of us. As you can see there are only a few of us left compared to how many there were before. In your prayer please ask the Lord your God to tell where to go and what to do.”

4“I'll do as you ask,” Jeremiah replied. “I will definitely pray to the Lord your God as you've requested, and I'll tell you everything he says. I won't keep anything back from you.”

5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don't do everything that the Lord your God tells you we should.

6Good or bad, we will obey what the Lord our God says, the one we're asking you to speak to. That way everything will go well with us, because we will be obeying what the Lord our God says.”

7Ten days later a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah.

8He summoned Johanan, all the army commanders, and everyone from the least to the most important.

9Jeremiah told them, This what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to those of who you sent to me to present your request:

10If you will stay right here in this country, then I will build you up and I won't tear you down; I will plant you and I won't uproot you; because I'm very sad about the disaster I have brought down on you.

11I know you fear the king of Babylon, but you don't need to be afraid of him, declares the Lord. I am with you to save you and rescue you from him.

12I will be merciful to you, so that he will be merciful to you and will let you stay in your own country.

13But if you say, “We won't stay here in this country,” and by doing so disobey what the Lord your God says;

14or if you say instead, “No, we're going to Egypt to live there, where we won't experience war or hear trumpets sounding or go hungry;”

15then listen to what the Lord says, you survivors from Judah! This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: If you're absolutely determined to go to Egypt and live there,

16then the war you're so frightened of will catch up with you there, and the famine you're so terrified of will chase after you into Egypt, and you will die there.

17Everyone who decides to go to Egypt and live there will die by war and famine and disease. Not a single one will survive or escape the disaster I will bring down on them.

18This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: In the same way that my furious anger was poured out on the people living in Jerusalem, so will my anger be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. People will be horrified at what happens to you, and you will become a curse word, an insult, an expression of condemnation. You won't ever see your homeland again.

19“The Lord has told you, survivors from Judah, ‘Don't go to Egypt,’” Jeremiah concluded. “Be absolutely clear about this warning I'm giving you today!

20You've made a big mistake that will cost you your lives by sending me to the Lord your God, asking, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us, and let us know everything the Lord our God says and we'll do it.’

21I have told you today what he said, but you have not obeyed everything the Lord your God sent me to tell you.

22So you should know that without question you're going to die by war and famine and disease in Egypt where you want to go and live.”