1. And all the army heads, 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, We beg you, let our plea fall before you; and pray for us to Jehovah your God, for all this remnant, (for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us),
3. that Jehovah your God may show us the way in which we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
4. Then 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, all the word Jehovah shall answer, I will declare to you. I will not keep back a thing from you.
5. And they said to Jeremiah, Let Jehovah be a true and faithful witness between us if not according to all things Jehovah your God shall send you to us, so we will do.
6. Whether it is good, or whether 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 happened at the end of ten days, the Word of Jehovah was to Jeremiah.
8. And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the army heads with him, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest.
9. And he said to them, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him.
10. If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you up, and will not tear you down. And I will plant you, and will not pluck you up. For I repent as to the evil that I have done to you.
11. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not be afraid of his face, declares Jehovah, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.
12. And I will show mercies to you, so that he may have pity on you, and cause you to return to your own land.
13. But if you say, We will not live in this land or 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 or hear the sound of the ram's horn, and we will not hunger for bread, and there we will live;
15. then hear now the Word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah, So says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: If you surely set your faces to go into Egypt, and go to live there,
16. then it shall be, the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt. And the famine which you were anxious about shall cling to you there in Egypt, and you shall die there.
17. So it shall be to all the men who have set their faces to go into Egypt to reside there. They shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. And none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring on them.
18. For so says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, As My anger and My fury has flowed out upon the people of Jerusalem, so shall My fury flow out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be a curse, and a horror, and a shame, and a reproach, and you shall not see this place anymore.
19. Jehovah has spoken concerning you, O remnant of Judah. Do not go into Egypt. Knowing, know that I have testified against you today.
20. For you used deceit against your souls 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, so declare to us, and we will do it.
21. And I have declared it to you this day, but you have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God, or anything for which He has sent me to you.
22. And now know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague in the place where you desire to go to sojourn.