American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Jeremiah 42
1
Then all the captains 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,
Reference
People
2
And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech you, our supplication be accepted before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do behold us:)
Reference
Parallel theme
Leviticus 26:22
Lamentations 1:1
Prayer
Isaiah 37:4
Acts 8:24
James 5:16
1 Samuel 12:19
Jeremiah 37:3
References God
1 Samuel 7:8
References Lord
Jeremiah 36:7
Isaiah 1:9
3
That the LORD your God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 3:6
References God
Micah 4:2
Ezra 8:21
References Lord
Psalm 86:11
Jeremiah 6:16
4
Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 40:10
Acts 20:20
Prayer
1 Samuel 12:23
References Lord
Exodus 8:29
Word
Jeremiah 23:28
5
Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD your God shall send you to us.
Reference
6
Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
Reference
8
Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 42:1
9
And said to them, Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him;
Reference
10
If you will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done to you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 24:6
Jeremiah 31:28
Ezekiel 36:36
Jeremiah 33:7
Repentance
Joel 2:13
Amos 7:6
Exodus 32:14
Jonah 4:2
Jonah 3:10
Amos 7:3
11
Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; be not afraid of him, said the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 27:17
Jeremiah 41:18
Parallel theme
Romans 8:31
Isaiah 43:5
Isaiah 43:2
Isaiah 41:10
References Lord
Jeremiah 1:8
Jeremiah 1:19
Psalm 46:11
Salvation
Jeremiah 15:20
12
And I will show mercies to you, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to return to your own land.
Reference
13
But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,
Reference
14
Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
Reference
15
And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah; Thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Reference
16
Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which you feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof you were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.
Reference
17
So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn 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 on them.
Reference
18
For thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As my anger and my fury has been poured forth on the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth on you, when you shall enter into Egypt: and you shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.
Reference
Curse
Jeremiah 29:18
Isaiah 65:15
Jeremiah 44:12
Jeremiah 24:9
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 18:16
Jeremiah 22:27
References God
Jeremiah 7:20
19
The LORD has said concerning you, O you remnant of Judah; Go you not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
Reference
20
For you dissembled in your hearts, when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us to the LORD our God; and according to all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it.
21
And now I have this day declared it to you; but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he has sent me to you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 2:7
Summary of Jeremiah 42
Jeremiah 42 takes place immediately after the assassination of Gedaliah and the violent events described in the previous chapter. The surviving Judeans are frightened and uncertain about what to do. They fear that Babylon will blame them for Gedaliah's murder, so they are considering leaving Judah and escaping to Egypt.
They turn to Jeremiah and ask him to pray to God for guidance.
Their request initially sounds sincere. They promise Jeremiah that they will obey whatever God says, whether the answer is pleasant or difficult. They ask only that God show them where to go and what they should do.
Jeremiah agrees.
He waits ten days, and then God gives him the answer.
The message is very clear: stay in Judah.
God tells the survivors that they should not be afraid of Babylon. He promises to protect them, show them mercy, and allow them to remain in the land. Rather than abandoning the remnant, God intends to preserve and rebuild it.
This is important because the people assume that their greatest danger is Babylon, while God tells them that trusting Him is safer than running away from the danger they fear.
The people are specifically warned not to go to Egypt.
Egypt appears attractive because it represents an escape from Babylonian control. The survivors may believe that Egypt will provide food, security, and protection from military retaliation. After everything they have experienced, the desire to find somewhere safer is completely understandable from a human perspective.
But God's message is that Egypt will not provide the security they are seeking.
If they go there in disobedience, the same dangers they are trying to escape—war, famine, and disease—will follow them. The problem is not simply their geographical location. Their fundamental problem is whether they will trust God's direction.
This creates one of the most important themes in the chapter: asking God for guidance is meaningless if we have already decided what we want to do.
The people promise to obey God before hearing His answer, but Jeremiah realizes that their promise may not be genuine. He tells them that they acted deceptively when they asked him to pray because they may have intended to go to Egypt regardless of what God said.
The chapter therefore exposes the difference between seeking God's will and seeking God's approval for our own plans.
Jeremiah does not change the message to make it easier for them to accept. He tells them exactly what God has commanded, even though he knows they may reject it.
The contrast is particularly important because the people have just experienced the consequences of ignoring God's warnings. Jerusalem has fallen, the monarchy has disappeared, the Temple has been destroyed, and thousands of people have died or been deported.
Yet even after witnessing all of this, the survivors are still tempted to solve their problems according to their own understanding rather than trust God's direction.
The chapter also contains an important note of hope. God does not tell the survivors that Judah is finished forever. Instead, He tells them that if they remain, He will build them up, plant them, and show them mercy. The remnant still has a future.
The choice is therefore between trusting God's promise in a difficult place or seeking human security in a place God has forbidden.
The central message is that Jeremiah 42 shows how difficult genuine obedience can become when God's direction conflicts with what appears to be the safest human choice, because after Gedaliah's assassination the surviving Judeans sincerely—or at least apparently sincerely—ask Jeremiah to seek God's guidance and promise to obey whatever He says, yet when God tells them to remain in Judah and promises to protect them from Babylon, He also warns them not to flee to Egypt, where they believe they will finally find safety; the chapter therefore exposes the danger of asking God for guidance while secretly hoping that He will approve a decision already made, while also offering hope that obedience can lead to preservation and rebuilding even in a devastated land, demonstrating that true faith requires not merely hearing God's answer or agreeing with it in principle, but trusting Him enough to follow His direction when another path appears easier, safer, or more attractive.
They turn to Jeremiah and ask him to pray to God for guidance.
Their request initially sounds sincere. They promise Jeremiah that they will obey whatever God says, whether the answer is pleasant or difficult. They ask only that God show them where to go and what they should do.
Jeremiah agrees.
He waits ten days, and then God gives him the answer.
The message is very clear: stay in Judah.
God tells the survivors that they should not be afraid of Babylon. He promises to protect them, show them mercy, and allow them to remain in the land. Rather than abandoning the remnant, God intends to preserve and rebuild it.
This is important because the people assume that their greatest danger is Babylon, while God tells them that trusting Him is safer than running away from the danger they fear.
The people are specifically warned not to go to Egypt.
Egypt appears attractive because it represents an escape from Babylonian control. The survivors may believe that Egypt will provide food, security, and protection from military retaliation. After everything they have experienced, the desire to find somewhere safer is completely understandable from a human perspective.
But God's message is that Egypt will not provide the security they are seeking.
If they go there in disobedience, the same dangers they are trying to escape—war, famine, and disease—will follow them. The problem is not simply their geographical location. Their fundamental problem is whether they will trust God's direction.
This creates one of the most important themes in the chapter: asking God for guidance is meaningless if we have already decided what we want to do.
The people promise to obey God before hearing His answer, but Jeremiah realizes that their promise may not be genuine. He tells them that they acted deceptively when they asked him to pray because they may have intended to go to Egypt regardless of what God said.
The chapter therefore exposes the difference between seeking God's will and seeking God's approval for our own plans.
Jeremiah does not change the message to make it easier for them to accept. He tells them exactly what God has commanded, even though he knows they may reject it.
The contrast is particularly important because the people have just experienced the consequences of ignoring God's warnings. Jerusalem has fallen, the monarchy has disappeared, the Temple has been destroyed, and thousands of people have died or been deported.
Yet even after witnessing all of this, the survivors are still tempted to solve their problems according to their own understanding rather than trust God's direction.
The chapter also contains an important note of hope. God does not tell the survivors that Judah is finished forever. Instead, He tells them that if they remain, He will build them up, plant them, and show them mercy. The remnant still has a future.
The choice is therefore between trusting God's promise in a difficult place or seeking human security in a place God has forbidden.
The central message is that Jeremiah 42 shows how difficult genuine obedience can become when God's direction conflicts with what appears to be the safest human choice, because after Gedaliah's assassination the surviving Judeans sincerely—or at least apparently sincerely—ask Jeremiah to seek God's guidance and promise to obey whatever He says, yet when God tells them to remain in Judah and promises to protect them from Babylon, He also warns them not to flee to Egypt, where they believe they will finally find safety; the chapter therefore exposes the danger of asking God for guidance while secretly hoping that He will approve a decision already made, while also offering hope that obedience can lead to preservation and rebuilding even in a devastated land, demonstrating that true faith requires not merely hearing God's answer or agreeing with it in principle, but trusting Him enough to follow His direction when another path appears easier, safer, or more attractive.