Then aall the captains of the forces, and bJohanan the son of Kareah, and bJezaniah the son of cHoshaiah, and all the people dfrom the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, ||Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and epray for us unto the Lord thy God, even ffor all this remnant; (for we are left but ga few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3 That the Lord thy God may shew us hthe way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4 Then 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 iwhatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; jI will keep nothing back from you. 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, kThe Lord be a true and lfaithful witness between us, mif we do not even according to all things nfor the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; othat it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.

7 And it came to pass pafter ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he bJohanan the son of Kareah, and aall the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people dfrom the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me qto present your supplication before him; 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then rwill I build you, and not pull you down, and I rwill plant you, and not pluck you up: for sI repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; tbe not afraid of him, saith the Lord: tfor I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will shew mercies unto you, uthat he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13 vBut if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, 14 Saying, No; but wwe will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor xhear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: 15 And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; xxIf ye wholly yset your faces to enter into Egypt, and zgo to sojourn there; 16 Then it shall come to pass, that athe sword, bwhich ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and athe famine, whereof ye were afraid, †shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 †So shall it be with all the men that yset their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; cthey shall die aby the sword, aby the famine, and by the pestilence: and dnone of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. 18 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As emine 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 fye shall be fkan execration, and gjkan astonishment, and hijka curse, and bjkla reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. 19 The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; xxGo ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have †admonished you this day. 20 For ||ye dissembled in your hearts, mwhen ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, mPray for us unto the Lord our God; nand according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. 21 And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing ofor the which he hath sent me unto you. 22 Now therefore know certainly that cye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire ||to go and to sojourn.