CHAPTER 42
1 And all the princes of warriors nighed, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah, and the residue common people, from a little man unto a great man.
2 And they said to Jeremy, the prophet, Our prayer fall in thy sight, and pray thou for us to thy Lord God, for all these remnants; for we be left a few of many, as thine eyes behold us;
3 and thy Lord God tell to us the way, by which we shall go, and the word which we shall do.
4 Forsooth Jeremy, the prophet, said to them, I have heard; lo! I pray to our Lord God, by your words; I shall show to you each word, whatever word the Lord shall answer to me, neither I shall hide anything from you.
5 And they said to Jeremy, The Lord be witness of truth and of faith betwixt us; if not by each word, in which thy Lord God shall send thee to us, so we shall do,
6 whether it be good either evil. We shall obey to the voice of our Lord God, to whom we send thee, that it be well to us, when we have heard the voice of our Lord God.
7 Forsooth when ten days were [ful] filled, the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy.
8 And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the princes of warriors, that were with him, and all the people from the least unto the most;
9 and he said to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, to whom ye sent me, that I should meekly set forth your prayers in his sight.
10 If ye rest, and dwell in this land, I shall build you, and I shall not destroy; I shall plant, and I shall not draw out; for now I am pleased on the evil which I did to you.
11 Do not ye dread of the face of the king of Babylon, whom ye that be fearful, dread; do not ye dread him, saith the Lord, for I am with you, to make you safe, and to deliver [you] from his hand.
12 And I shall give mercies to you, and I shall have mercy on you, and I shall make you dwell in your land.
13 Forsooth if ye say, We shall not dwell in this land, neither we shall hear the voice of our Lord God,
14 and say, Nay, but we shall go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see battle, and shall not hear the noise, either sound, of trump, and we shall not suffer hunger, and there we shall dwell;
15 for this thing, ye remnants of Judah, hear now the word of the Lord. The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, If ye set your face, for to enter into Egypt, and if ye enter, to dwell there,
16 the sword which ye dread shall take you there in the land of Egypt, and the hunger for which ye be anguished shall cleave to you in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
17 And all the men that setted their face, to enter into Egypt, and to dwell there, shall die by sword, and hunger, and pestilence; no man of them shall dwell still, neither shall escape from the face of [the] evil, which I shall bring on them.
18 For why the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, As my strong vengeance and mine indignation is welled together on the dwellers of Jerusalem, so mine indignation shall be welled together on you, when ye have entered into Egypt; and ye shall be into swearing, and into wondering, and into cursing, and into shame; and ye shall no more see this place.
19 The word of the Lord is on you, ye remnants of Judah; do not ye enter into Egypt; ye witting shall know, that I have witnessed to you today;
20 for ye have deceived your souls, for ye sent me to your Lord God, and said, Pray thou for us to our Lord God, and by all things whatever things our Lord [God] shall say to thee, so tell thou to us, and we shall do.
21 And I told to you today, and ye heard not the voice of your Lord God, on all things for which he sent me to you.
22 Now therefore, ye witting shall know, for ye shall die by sword, and hunger, and pestilence, in the place to which ye would enter, to dwell there.