Jeremiah 43

¹ When Jeremiah had finished tel ing all the people al the words of Yahweh their God, which Yahwehtheir God had sent him to tel them -- al the words quoted above-

² Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and all those arrogant men, said to Jeremiah,'You are lying. Yahweh our God did not send you to say, "Do not go to Egypt and settle there."

³ It was Baruch son of Neriah, who keeps inciting you against us, to hand us over to the Chaldaeans sothat they can put us to death or deport us to Babylon.'

⁴ So neither Johanan nor any of the military leaders nor any of the people obeyed the voice of Yahwehby staying in the country of Judah.

⁵ Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and al the military leaders led off the entire remnant of Judah, thosewho had come back from all the nations where they had been driven to live in the country of Judah:

⁶ men, women, children, the royal princesses too, and every single person that Nebuzaradancommander of the guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiahand Baruch son of Neriah.

⁷ And so, in disobedience to the voice of Yahweh, they reached Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.

⁸ At Tahpanhes the word of Yahweh was addressed to Jeremiah as fol ows,

⁹ 'Take some large stones and bury them in the cement on the terrace outside the entrance of Pharaoh'spalace in Tahpanhes, where the Judaeans can see you.

¹⁰ Then say to them, "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Look, I shal send for my servantNebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he wil place his throne on these stones I have buried, and spread hiscanopy above them.

¹¹ When he comes, he wil defeat Egypt: Those for the plague, to the plague; those for captivity, tocaptivity; those for the sword, to the sword!

¹² "He wil set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he wil burn these gods or take them prisoner; likea shepherd wrapping his cloak round him, so he will wrap Egypt round him, and then leave without anyonelaying hands on him.

¹³ He wil break the obelisks of the temple of the Sun in Egypt, and burn down the temples of the gods ofEgypt." '