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Jeremiah Is Forced to Go to Egypt
1 So Jeremiah finished telling all the people the message from the Lord their God. He told them everything the Lord their God sent him to tell them. 2 Azariah (son of Hoshaiah), Johanan (son of Kareah), and all the arrogant people said to Jeremiah, “You’re lying! The Lord our God didn’t send you to tell us that we must not go to live in Egypt. 3 But Baruch, son of Neriah, has turned you against us in order to hand us over to the Babylonians. Then they will kill us or take us as captives to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan (son of Kareah), all the army commanders, and all the people didn’t obey the Lord. They didn’t stay in Judah. 5 Johanan (son of Kareah) and all the army commanders took all the people who were left in Judah to Egypt. These were all the people who had come back to Judah from the places where they had been scattered. 6 They took men, women, children, and the king’s daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. 7 They didn’t listen to the Lord, so they went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah Prophesies That Egypt Will Be Invaded by Nebuchadnezzar
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes. He said, 9 “Take some large stones, and bury them under the brick pavement at the entrance to the Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Do this while the people of Judah watch you. 10 Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones that I buried, and I will spread his royal canopy above them. 11 He will defeat Egypt. He will bring death to those who are supposed to die. He will capture those who are supposed to be captured. He will kill in battle those who are supposed to be killed in battle. 12 He * Greek; Masoretic Text “I.” will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods. He will burn down the temples and take their gods captive. Nebuchadnezzar will put on Egypt as his coat as a shepherd puts on his coat. He will leave Egypt peacefully. 13 At Beth Shemesh he will break the monuments in Egypt and burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’ ”