1 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,

2 and they said to Jeremiah the prophet, Please let us prostrate our supplication to you, and intercede for us to Jehovah your God, even for all this remnant, (for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes behold us),

3 that Jehovah your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

4 And Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard. Behold, I will pray to Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall be that all the word Jehovah shall answer, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you.

5 So they said to Jeremiah, Let Jehovah be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do even according to all things which Jehovah your God shall send you to us.

6 Whether it is good, or whether it is evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send you; so that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God.

7 And it came to pass after ten days that the Word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah.

8 And he called Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the commanders of the forces with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

9 and said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before Him:

10 If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and will not pull you down. And I will plant you and will not pluck you up. For I am sorry for you because of the evil that I have brought upon you.

11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not be afraid of him, says Jehovah; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.

12 And I will show mercy upon you, so that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.

13 But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, nor obey the voice of Jehovah your God,

14 saying, No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the shofar, nor hunger for bread; and there we will dwell;

15 then now hear the Word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah. Thus says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: If you decide to set your faces to go into Egypt, and go to live there,

16 then it shall happen that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt. And the famine about which you were anxious shall cling to you there in Egypt; and you shall die there.

17 So shall it be to all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there. They shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

18 For thus says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: As My anger and My fury have been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall My fury be poured forth upon you when you shall enter into Egypt. And you shall be a curse, and a wonder, and a shame, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.

19 Jehovah has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, Do not go into Egypt. Recognize and acknowledge that I have testified against you this day.

20 For you used deceit in your hearts when you sent me to Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us to Jehovah our God; and according to all that Jehovah our God shall say, declare it to us, and we will do it.

21 And I have declared it to you today; but you have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God, nor anything for which He has sent me unto you.

22 Now therefore know and recognize that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to live.