THE PEOPLE SEEK JEREMIAH’S COUNSEL

42 Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah,c Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest,d approached 2 the prophet Jeremiah and said, “May our petition come before you;e pray to the Lord your God on our behalf,f on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many,g as you can see with your own eyes), 3 that the Lord your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do.”

4 So the prophet Jeremiah said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and I will tell you every word that the Lord answers you; I won’t withhold a word from you.”h

5 And they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t act according to every word the Lord your God sends you to tell us.i 6 Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us.j We will certainly obey the Lord our God!”