Jeremiah, the prophet of the Lord, speaking to the surviving remnant of Judah after Jerusalem's fall and Gedaliah's assassination.
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Jeremiah 42
A Word Sought but Not Submitted To
The Lord's word is not truly sought unless the heart is ready to obey it when it overturns fear-driven plans.
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Chapter Summary
The Lord's word is not truly sought unless the heart is ready to obey it when it overturns fear-driven plans.
Overview
Jeremiah 42 argues that the word of the Lord must rule the fears and strategies of God's people. The remnant appears humble by asking Jeremiah to pray, and their vow of obedience sounds exemplary. Yet the Lord's answer directly confronts their intended plan. They must remain in the land they fear and trust the Lord's promise of presence and deliverance. Egypt, the place they imagine will provide safety, will become the place of judgment if they flee there.
The chapter exposes the deadly inconsistency of seeking God's word while reserving the right to disobey when the answer conflicts with fear, preference, or visible security.
Context
Johanan son of Kareah, the army officers, and the remnant of Judah, including those rescued from Ishmael's attempted deportation to Ammon.
After the assassination of Gedaliah and the rescue of the captives from Ishmael, while the remnant is gathered near Bethlehem and considering flight to Egypt.
The Lord's word is not truly sought unless the heart is ready to obey it when it overturns fear-driven plans.
Jeremiah, the prophet of the Lord, speaking to the surviving remnant of Judah after Jerusalem's fall and Gedaliah's assassination.
Johanan son of Kareah, the army officers, and the remnant of Judah, including those rescued from Ishmael's attempted deportation to Ammon.
After the assassination of Gedaliah and the rescue of the captives from Ishmael, while the remnant is gathered near Bethlehem and considering flight to Egypt.
Social Pressure
- The people are traumatized, reduced in number, fearful of imperial retaliation, and tempted to make survival the ruling principle of their decision-making.
The chapter belongs to Jeremiah's post-fall remnant narratives. It tests whether those preserved through judgment will now live by the word of the Lord or repeat Judah's long pattern of distrust and disobedience.
Chapter Movement
The chapter moves from the remnant's request for prayer, to their vow of total obedience, to the Lord's promise if they remain in Judah, to the Lord's warning if they flee to Egypt, and finally to Jeremiah's exposure of their deceptive heart.
Discourse Insight
Theological exposition and fulfillment
The chapter forms God's people to seek divine guidance with surrendered hearts and to obey the Lord's word even when fear argues for another route.
Structural Flow
Chapter Outline
- 42:1-3: The Remnant Seeks a Word from the Lord
- 42:4-6: The Remnant Vows to Obey the Word
- 42:7-12: The Lord Promises Mercy If They Stay
- 42:13-18: The Lord Warns of Judgment If They Flee
- 42:19-22: Jeremiah Names Their Deception
Key Hebrew Terms
יוֹחָנָן בֶּן־קָרֵחַ
Sense Johanan, son of Kareah
Definition A military leader who rescued the captives from Ishmael and now leads the remnant in seeking Jeremiah's counsel.
Lexicon Johanan, son of Kareah
Why it matters Johanan appears responsible and courageous, yet the chapter exposes the danger of leadership driven by fear rather than submission.
יְזַנְיָה בֶּן־הוֹשַׁעְיָה
Sense Jezaniah, son of Hoshaiah
Definition One of the leaders named among those who approach Jeremiah.
Lexicon Jezaniah, son of Hoshaiah
Why it matters His inclusion shows that the request comes from the leadership body and not merely from one individual.
Sense survivors, remainder, remnant
Definition Those who remain after disaster or judgment.
Lexicon survivors, remainder, remnant
Why it matters The chapter is not about Judah in strength but about the small surviving community whose future depends on obedience to the Lord.
מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל
Sense king of Babylon
Definition The imperial authority feared by the remnant after Gedaliah's murder.
Lexicon king of Babylon
Why it matters The Lord commands them not to fear Babylon's king because the Lord himself is with them to save and deliver.
sword, famine, and plague
Sense judgment triad
Definition A recurring prophetic judgment formula describing war, hunger, and disease.
Lexicon judgment triad
Why it matters The very judgments the remnant fears in Judah will overtake them in Egypt if they disobey.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
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פָּלַל is the word the Hebrew Bible uses when a person or a people addresses God directly in sustained, personal, earnest prayer. In its Hithpael form — which accounts for the overwhelming majority of its 84 occurrences — the verb carries a reflexive force: to place oneself before God, to prostrate oneself in appeal. The BDB traces the root sense to 'intervene' and 'judge,' suggesting that פָּלַל originally referred to an act of mediation or assessment, and that the verb's development into the primary word for prayer reflects an understanding of prayer itself as a kind of mediated standing before God — the person who prays is the one who dares to come before the Judge and speak.
This etymology is pastorally significant without being pastorally controlling. What it tells us is that prayer in the OT is not casual conversation. It is a deliberate coming before One who is greater, a positioning of the self in the posture of the creature addressing the Creator and Lord. When Hannah 'prayed (hithpael) to the Lord and wept bitterly' (1 Sam. 1:10), the verb names not simply a quiet interior moment but a decisive turning of the whole self toward God in her extremity. When Solomon stands before the altar of the Lord at the temple dedication and spreads out his hands toward heaven (1 Kgs. 8:22), the חָּלַל that follows names the whole of that great royal act of speech before God — the intercession, the petition, the theological argument, the appeal to God's covenant name.
The range of people who are described as פָּלַל in the OT is instructive. Prophets pray: Moses intercedes for Israel at every crisis (Num. 11:2; Num. 21:7). Abraham is named as a prophet whose prayer heals Abimelech (Gen. 20:7). Samuel's ministry is inseparable from his prayer-life (1 Sam. 7:5; 12:19). But commoners pray too: Hannah, barren and grief-stricken, pours out her soul (1 Sam. 1:10, 27). The whole congregation prays in national crisis. Exilic individuals — Nehemiah, Daniel — pray in foreign lands with the same posture that Israel used in the temple. The word belongs to no single class. Any person who turns toward God in earnest appeal may פָּלַל.
What makes פָּלַל pastorally irreplaceable is that it names the act of prayer as something the whole person does before the whole God. It is not a technique or a formula. It is the self presented before God in speech — with petition, with confession, with intercession, with lamentation, with praise. When Daniel opens his windows toward Jerusalem and prays three times a day (Dan. 6:10), the habit he maintains is not routine observance. It is the sustained practice of a human life oriented toward God, kept honest and alive through the regular act of פָּלַל.
Sense to pray, intercede
Definition To intervene or intercede in prayer before God.
References Jeremiah 42:2, 42:4
Lexicon to pray, intercede
Why it matters The people ask Jeremiah to intercede, but the chapter shows that prayer must be joined to obedience, not used to sanctify a pre-chosen plan.
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דֶּרֶךְ begins with ground underfoot — a road worn into the earth by repeated passage, a path shaped by the feet of those who have walked it before. But the Old Testament rarely lets the word stay merely physical. Almost from the beginning, דֶּרֶךְ describes something more searching: the course a human life is taking, the direction in which a person, a nation, or even God himself is moving. It is one of the most frequently used nouns in the Hebrew Bible for good reason — few categories cut closer to what Scripture wants to say about human existence before God.
As a word for human life and conduct, דֶּרֶךְ carries moral weight without being merely moralistic. When wisdom literature speaks of the way of the righteous or the way of the wicked, it is not simply cataloguing behaviors. It is describing the direction in which a life is oriented, the trajectory on which a person's habits, affections, choices, and loyalties have set them. A way, once established, goes somewhere. That is the pastoral gravity of the word: every human life is on a path headed toward a destination. The question Torah and Wisdom press is always which way.
DEREK also carries a divine dimension that must not be missed. Scripture speaks of the ways of God — not merely his commands but the character and pattern of his own action, the coherence and faithfulness with which he moves through history, the manner in which he redeems, disciplines, provides, and leads. God's ways are consistently declared to be higher, holier, and more reliable than human ways. To learn the ways of God is not to master a technique but to submit to a Lord whose paths are always just and always good.
Pastorally, דֶּרֶךְ holds together what we are prone to separate: outward conduct and inward direction, single decisions and life patterns, individual discipleship and communal formation. The person who walks in the way of wisdom is not merely doing correct things — their whole life is moving in a direction shaped by the fear of the Lord. And the Lord himself, as Hosea 14:9 declares, walks in ways that are right, along which the righteous walk but in which the rebellious stumble. The word therefore is not neutral. Every way reveals something about who is being trusted, what is being loved, and where life is ultimately being headed.
Sense way, road, path, manner of life
Definition A path of travel or a figurative course of conduct.
References Jeremiah 42:3
Lexicon way, road, path, manner of life
Why it matters The remnant asks which way to go, but the deeper issue is whether their way will be governed by the Lord's word.
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קוֹל (qol) is the Hebrew word for voice and sound — the primary word for auditory experience in the OT, appearing 505 times. It covers every kind of sound: the human voice, the divine voice at Sinai and Horeb, the sevenfold voice of YHWH in the storm of Psalm 29, the still small voice after the fire at Horeb (1 Kgs 19:12), the voice crying in the wilderness of Isaiah 40, and the voice of the beloved in the Song of Songs. The qol is never merely acoustic — it is always relational and transformative.
Genesis 3:8 gives qol its first theological use and its most haunting context: 'They heard the sound (qol) of YHWH God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH God.' The qol of YHWH was heard before the fall — it was the expected sound of the daily walk together. After the fall, the qol is still heard, but the response has changed: they hide. The first consequence of sin is not that the qol goes silent but that the hearers go into hiding. The entire redemptive story is, in one sense, YHWH's pursuit of people who are hiding from his qol.
Psalm 29 is the OT's great qol text — the sevenfold qol YHWH in the storm: 'The qol of YHWH is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, YHWH, over many waters. The qol of YHWH is powerful (bekhoach); the qol of YHWH is full of majesty (behadar). The qol of YHWH breaks (shever) the cedars... The qol of YHWH flashes forth flames of fire. The qol of YHWH shakes the wilderness. The qol of YHWH makes the deer give birth... In his temple all cry, "Glory!"' Seven attributes and seven effects of the divine qol, structured around the sevenfold repetition of qol YHWH. The qol of YHWH does not merely announce — it acts.
First Kings 19:12 gives qol its most paradoxical form: 'after the fire a still small voice (qol demamah daqah, a voice of gentle stillness or a thin, quiet sound).' Elijah, who fled from Jezebel, encounters YHWH not in the wind that tears mountains (the cherev of Ps 29's qol), not in the earthquake, not in the fire — but in the demamah daqah. The qol YHWH can be the overwhelming sevenfold storm of Psalm 29 or the gentle stillness of Horeb. The theological point is the same: YHWH speaks, and the task is to listen.
Isaiah 40:3 introduces the qol of the herald: 'A qol of one crying: In the wilderness prepare the way of YHWH; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.' The qol is heard before the speaker is identified. All four Gospels apply this qol to John the Baptist (Matt 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23). The qol prepares before the one it announces arrives.
For the preacher, קוֹל (qol) asks the fundamental question of every sermon: are we hiding from YHWH's voice, or are we listening for the still, quiet sound that Elijah needed to hear?
Sense voice, sound
Definition A voice or sound, often used for hearing and obeying the LORD's command.
References Jeremiah 42:6, 42:13, 42:21
Lexicon voice, sound
Why it matters The repeated emphasis on obeying the voice of the Lord frames the chapter as a test of covenant hearing.
Cross-language bridge 2 links · View in lexicon
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שָׁמַע is among the most theologically important verbs in the Hebrew Bible because it holds together what English separates: hearing and obeying. In Hebrew, to šāmaʿ to someone is not merely to receive audio input; it is to hear in a way that results in a response. The same verb describes physical hearing (Gen 3:10: Adam heard the sound of the Lord), understanding (Gen 11:7: so that they may not understand one another's speech), and obedience (Exod 19:5: if you will indeed obey my voice).
The theological weight of this semantic fusion is immense: the God who speaks expects a šāmaʿ that moves, not merely a šāmaʿ that registers. The Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 — Shĕmaʿ Yiśrāʾēl, YHWH ʾĕlōhênû YHWH ʾeḥād — is one of the most important sentences in the OT. Its imperative is šāmaʿ. Israel is summoned not merely to hear a proposition about divine unity but to hear-and-obey the reality that the Lord alone is God.
Covenant renewal in the OT is repeatedly framed as a call to shama; apostasy is frequently characterized as not hearing, not heeding, refusing to listen. The prophets diagnose Israel's failure in šāmaʿ terms: 'they have ears but do not hear' (Jer 5:21; Ezek 12:2). Jesus takes this language directly: 'he who has ears to hear, let him hear' (Matt 11:15; 13:9) — the repeated call to šāmaʿ that characterizes prophetic address, applied to the hearing of the kingdom.
Form in passage Qal · Imperfect · 1st Person · Common · Plural What is this?
Sense to hear, listen, obey
Definition To hear with responsive attention, often including obedience.
References Jeremiah 42:6, 42:13, 42:21
Lexicon to hear, listen, obey
Why it matters The chapter turns on whether the remnant will truly hear the Lord's voice or only request it outwardly.
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טוֹב is the Old Testament's broadest word for goodness, and its breadth is itself theologically instructive. It covers what is beautiful to the eye, pleasant to the taste, morally right in conduct, beneficial in outcome, wholesome in character, and fitting in its proper place. No single English word carries the full range. 'Good' is the best translation precisely because it shares the same generous scope — but the pastoral task is to resist letting that familiarity flatten the word's weight.
The word's most theologically charged use is its repeated appearance in the creation account of Genesis 1. When God evaluates each element of the ordered world and pronounces it טוֹב, the word is not merely aesthetic approval. God is declaring that what He has made corresponds to His own nature and intention — it is right, fitting, ordered, and purposeful. The final declaration that everything together is טוֹב מְאֹד, very good, is a statement about the world as God originally constituted it: saturated with His goodness, aligned with His character, and oriented toward life. The fall in Genesis 3 is therefore not simply a moral failure. It is the entry of what is not-good into a world defined by God's goodness.
Beyond creation, טוֹב spans the whole OT with remarkable consistency. It names the goodness of land, food, words, counsel, and prosperity. It names the character of God as the ground of human hope — Psalm 34:8 invites Israel to taste and discover that the Lord Himself is טוֹב, not merely that He gives good things. It names the shape of obedient human life in Micah 6:8: what is genuinely good, God has already told you. It names the confidence of Jeremiah's exiles in 29:11 that even under judgment, the plans God holds are plans for good and not for evil.
Pastorally, this word confronts the congregation with a prior question: where does goodness come from, and where is it finally found? טוֹב points consistently to God as the source and definition of good, not to human preference, cultural consensus, or subjective experience. Goodness is not what we approve. Goodness is what God is and what God ordains — and the Psalms call Israel to come near enough to taste it for themselves.
Sense good, pleasing, beneficial
Definition Good in quality, outcome, or moral alignment.
References Jeremiah 42:6
Lexicon good, pleasing, beneficial
Why it matters The people promise to obey whether the word is good or bad in their eyes, raising the issue of whether God's word governs their perception of what is good.
Cross-language bridge 4 links · View in lexicon
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רַע (raʿ) is the primary Hebrew word for evil, but it covers a semantic range that English 'evil' does not fully capture. In Hebrew, raʿ can describe: (1) moral wickedness — the intentional doing of what God has declared wrong; (2) harm or injury — something that causes physical, social, or spiritual damage; (3) misfortune or calamity — 'evil' in the sense of disaster befalling a person; and (4) aesthetic or practical badness — something of poor quality.
The root is also the basis of the noun rāʿāh (H7451 variant, calamity/evil/affliction). The most theologically charged uses of raʿ are: (1) 'evil in the sight (eyes) of the Lord' (rāʿ bĕʿênê YHWH) — the covenant diagnostic formula that appears repeatedly in the OT, especially in Kings and Chronicles, evaluating every king's reign by whether it was covenant-faithful or covenant-breaking; (2) 'the knowledge of good and evil' (tôb wārāʿ) — the tree in Eden that represents autonomous moral judgment; and (3) the prophetic category of raʿ as the covenant breach that calls forth divine response.
The OT's understanding of evil is consistently theological and relational: raʿ is not merely unfortunate or suboptimal — it is a rupture in the covenant relationship with the God who is tôb (good). The prophets diagnose the raʿ of Israel not as a deficiency of information or civilization but as the refusal of the covenant relationship that defines what tôb means.
Sense evil, bad, disagreeable, harmful
Definition That which is evil, unpleasant, harmful, or unfavorable depending on context.
References Jeremiah 42:6
Lexicon evil, bad, disagreeable, harmful
Why it matters The people claim willingness to obey even if the word is unfavorable, but their coming refusal exposes the hollowness of that claim.
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בָּנָה (banah) is the Hebrew verb for building — constructing, establishing, raising up. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 377 occurrences and covers the full range from building altars and cities to building families and nations, from the construction of the tabernacle and temple to the divine rebuilding of Israel after judgment. The theological center of banah is not human ingenuity but divine sovereignty: who builds and why determines whether the building stands.
Psalm 127:1 is the foundational statement: 'Unless the Lord builds (yibne) the house (bayit), those who build (bonu) it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.' The contrast is between human building and divine building — the human builders work hard, but if the Lord is not the one building, the work is vain (shav — empty, worthless). The psalm names three areas of anxiety (the house, the city, the dawn-to-dusk labor) and declares the same principle for each: God is the one whose building succeeds; the human builder without God is the watchman waking without God — awake, working, but without the security that only God provides.
First Kings 5-8 gives banah its most extended OT narrative: Solomon builds (banah) the temple — the house (bayit) for the name of the Lord. But the Davidic covenant that precedes it (2 Sam 7) contains a banah-reversal: David wants to build a house (bayit) for God; God says he will build a house (bayit/dynasty) for David. 'The Lord will build a house for you' (7:11) — the builder-God is the one who establishes the Davidic line, not the human king who builds the physical structure. The temple Solomon builds is a gift to God; the dynasty God builds for David is the greater gift to the king.
Amos 9:11 gives banah its eschatological dimension: 'In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild (baniti) it as in the days of old.' The rebuilding of the Davidic dynasty after its apparent ruin is the OT's prophetic promise that God's own building project will not be abandoned. The NT explicitly applies this to the resurrection of Christ and the mission to the nations — Acts 15:16 quotes Amos 9:11-12 as the justification for including the Gentiles in the people of God. The rebuilt booth of David is the risen Christ and the community gathered in him.
For the preacher, בָּנָה (banah) is the word that insists that only the building God builds lasts, and that the greatest building project in history is not any human construction but God's own — the house of David, the temple not made with hands, the community of the Spirit.
Sense to build, rebuild, establish
Definition To construct, rebuild, or establish.
References Jeremiah 42:10
Lexicon to build, rebuild, establish
Why it matters The Lord promises to build the remnant up, reversing earlier judgment language and offering mercy in the land.
Sense to plant, establish
Definition To plant or establish securely.
References Jeremiah 42:10
Lexicon to plant, establish
Why it matters The promise to plant them counters their fear of being uprooted and recalls Jeremiah's broader judgment-restoration vocabulary.
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יָרֵא (yare) is the Hebrew verb for fear and reverence — a single word that covers both the terror-of-the-holy and the reverent-awe-of-the-beloved. The English word 'fear' has lost most of its awe-dimension in modern usage; the Hebrew yare still holds both together: the trembling of one who has encountered real power and the reverence of one who has been undone by holiness. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 329 occurrences in the OT.
Proverbs 1:7 places the fear of the Lord at the beginning of all wisdom: 'The fear of the Lord (yir'at YHWH) is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and instruction.' The yir'ah here is not slavish terror but the foundational orientation that rightly orders all other knowledge — seeing reality from beneath God rather than from a position of independent evaluation. The person who fears the Lord has the right starting point for all thinking; the fool who does not fear God has no coherent framework because they have placed themselves at the center.
Genesis 22:12 gives the most concentrated example of yir'ah in narrative: 'now I know that you fear God (yere Elohim), seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.' The fear of God that Abraham demonstrates is the willingness to obey God absolutely, including in the thing that cost him everything. This is yir'ah as the motivating force of obedience: not the terror of punishment avoided but the awe of the God who is worth obeying even when obedience is the hardest thing imaginable.
The wisdom tradition consistently develops the yir'at YHWH as the orienting principle of human life: it is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7), its crown (Prov 9:10), the thing that prolongs life (Prov 10:27), what keeps one from evil (Prov 16:6), and the source of what the Lord shares with those who fear Him (Ps 25:14). The yir'ah-tradition is the OT's answer to the deepest human question: where do I find the framework for living well? The answer is: in the awe of the God who made you, sustains you, and calls you.
For the preacher, יָרֵא is the word that restores the dimension of awe to the God-relationship — and insists that genuine love of God is not only warmth and affection but also the trembling recognition of who He is.
Sense to fear, be afraid, revere
Definition To fear, dread, or revere depending on context.
References Jeremiah 42:11, 42:16
Lexicon to fear, be afraid, revere
Why it matters Fear of Babylon is the emotional and spiritual pressure beneath the remnant's desire to flee.
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יָשַׁע is the great saving verb of the Hebrew Bible. It is the root that gives Israel her vocabulary of rescue, her songs of deliverance, and ultimately the name of the one whom the whole canon moves toward: Yeshua. But pastors should resist reaching immediately for that etymology. The verb must first be heard on its own terms, in all the weight it carries across about 206 occurrences in the local Hebrew artifact.
At its core, יָשַׁע names the act of bringing someone out of a situation they could not escape on their own — a military enemy, a life-threatening danger, an overwhelming humiliation, the grip of death itself. BDB traces the root sense to being open, wide, or free; the causative thrust of the verb is to bring another into that wide, unencumbered space. This is not mere rescue from inconvenience. The word is used of God's arm intervening in history, of warriors delivering besieged towns, of a king's power over his enemies, and of the Lord alone saving when no human instrument remains.
The verb is used both of human deliverers and of God, but the theological pressure of the OT pushes relentlessly toward one conclusion: only God saves in the fullest and final sense. Humans may be instruments, but the arm that ultimately delivers belongs to the Lord. Isaiah makes this most sharply: 'I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior' (Isa. 43:3). The verb does not merely describe a transaction. It identifies the character and the exclusive prerogative of the God of Israel. To be saved by him is to be freed from whatever held you, placed in the wide and unencumbered space of his mercy, and known as his.
For the pastor, this word carries pastoral weight in both directions. It comforts the person who has come to the end of their own resources — there is a God who saves, who has a history of saving, whose nature is to save. And it corrects the person who imagines that salvation is a cooperative project, that God assists while the human manages the rest. יָשַׁע names an intervention, not a partnership of equals. The God of Israel is the Savior.
Sense to save, deliver, rescue
Definition To save or deliver from danger.
References Jeremiah 42:11
Lexicon to save, deliver, rescue
Why it matters The Lord promises to save the remnant from Babylon if they remain, making his presence their true refuge.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
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נָצַל is the verb of urgent rescue — the act of snatching someone from a grip that holds them. Where גָּאַל (H1350) describes redemption through the obligation of kinship, נָצַל describes the physical force of the rescue act itself: to deliver, to pull free, to snatch away from danger. BDB's primary definition is 'to snatch away, deliver, rescue' — the image is of something pulled out of the hand of an enemy, stripped away from a power that had hold of it.
The verb appears more than 200 times in the OT and spans a remarkable range from the most immediate physical danger (the lion that tears the sheep, the enemy who captures the prisoner) to the broadest theological claim (God who delivers his people from every hand that holds them). The word's directness distinguishes it from the covenantal vocabulary of גָּאַל.
נָצַל is not the vocabulary of prior obligation or kinship right — it is the vocabulary of the decisive intervention itself, the moment when the delivering God moves between his people and what threatens them. The Psalms are saturated with נָצַל. 'Deliver me from my enemies, O my God' (Ps 59:1). 'He delivers the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper' (Ps 72:12).
'You who love the Lord, hate evil. He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked' (Ps 97:10). The word carries an urgency the covenantal redemption terms do not: this is the person in the lion's mouth, the prisoner in the enemy's hand, the drowning man — and נָצַל is the word for the grip being broken. In the prophets, נָצַל describes both God's past deliverance of Israel from Egypt and his promised future deliverance from exile.
In the NT, σῴζω (to save) and ῥύομαι (to rescue/deliver) carry the weight of נָצַל in the salvation vocabulary — the urgent rescue of those who cannot rescue themselves.
Sense to deliver, rescue, snatch away
Definition To rescue or deliver from another's power.
References Jeremiah 42:11
Lexicon to deliver, rescue, snatch away
Why it matters The Lord's promise to deliver them from Babylon confronts their assumption that Egypt is necessary for safety.
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רַחֲמִים (the plural form of רַחַם) names the tender-mercy dimension of God's compassion, the inward mercy Scripture can describe with womb-rooted imagery. The womb-root is the theological anchor: just as a mother's love for her newborn is one of Scripture's strongest images of embodied care, YHWH's רַחֲמִים toward His people has that quality. Lam 3:22 — 'the steadfast love (חֶסֶד) of the Lord never ceases; his mercies (רַחֲמִים) never come to an end; they are new every morning' — places חֶסֶד and רַחֲמִים side by side as the two inseparable qualities of YHWH that survive the destruction of Jerusalem.
Where חֶסֶד is the covenant-faithfulness dimension, רַחֲמִים is the tenderness dimension. The morning renewal imagery is important: YHWH's compassion is not depleted by the night's sorrow; it is replenished with each new day.
Form in passage Masculine · Plural · Absolute What is this?
Sense compassion, mercy
Definition Deep mercy, compassion, or tender concern.
References Jeremiah 42:12
Lexicon compassion, mercy
Why it matters The Lord promises compassion after judgment, grounding hope not in the remnant's strength but in divine mercy.
Sense Egypt
Definition The nation of Egypt, often associated in Israel's story with bondage and false refuge when sought apart from the LORD.
References Jeremiah 42:14-19
Lexicon Egypt
Why it matters Egypt is the visible refuge the remnant desires, but the Lord declares it will become the place of judgment if chosen in disobedience.
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Hebrew Verb Morphology
Prophetic Perfect — This chapter may contain prophetic perfect constructions (17 perfective verbs in prophetic context with messianic/eschatological thread signals): Jer 42:2, Jer 42:4, Jer 42:5, Jer 42:9, Jer 42:10 and 7 more. Perfective verbs may declare future events as grammatically completed, expressing divine certainty rather than past time.
| v.10 | H7725שׁוּבQal · Infinitive absoluteH3427יָשַׁבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2040הָרַסQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH5428נָתַשׁQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH5162נָחַםNiphal · Perfect · IndicativeH6213עָשָׂהQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.11 | H3372יָרֵאQal · Imperfect · JussiveH3372יָרֵאQal · Imperfect · Jussive |
| v.13 | H559אָמַרQal · ParticipleH3427יָשַׁבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH8085שָׁמַעQal · Infinitive construct |
| v.14 | H935בּוֹאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH7200רָאָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH7456רָעֵבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH3427יָשַׁבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.15 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperative · ImperativeH559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH7760שׂוּםQal · Infinitive absolute |
| v.16 | H5381נָשַׂגHiphil · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1672דָּאַגQal · ParticipleH1692דָּבַקQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.17 | H7760שׂוּםQal · Perfect · IndicativeH4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH935בּוֹאHiphil · Participle |
| v.18 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5413Niphal · Perfect · IndicativeH3427יָשַׁבQal · ParticipleH5413Qal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH7200רָאָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.19 | H1696דָבַרPiel · Perfect · IndicativeH935בּוֹאQal · Imperfect · JussiveH3045יָדַעQal · Infinitive absoluteH3045יָדַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH5749עוּדHiphil · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.2 | H5307נָפַלQal · Imperfect · JussiveH7604שָׁאַרNiphal · Perfect · IndicativeH7200רָאָהQal · Participle |
| v.20 | H8582תָּעָהHiphil · Perfect · IndicativeH7971שָׁלַחQal · Perfect · IndicativeH6419פָּלַלHithpael · Imperative · ImperativeH559אָמַרQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH5046נָגַדHiphil · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.21 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.22 | H3045יָדַעQal · Infinitive absoluteH3045יָדַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH4191מוּתQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2654חָפֵץQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.3 | H3212יָלַךְQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH6213עָשָׂהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.4 | H8085שָׁמַעQal · Perfect · IndicativeH6419פָּלַלHithpael · ParticipleH6030עָנָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH5046נָגַדHiphil · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH4513מָנַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.5 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · JussiveH6213עָשָׂהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.6 | H7971שָׁלַחQal · ParticipleH8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortativeH3190יָטַבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH8085שָׁמַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.9 | H559אָמַרQal · Perfect · IndicativeH7971שָׁלַחQal · Perfect · Indicative |
Aspect in Hebrew is grammatical form, not tense. Perfect = completed action; Imperfect = incomplete/ongoing. Stem modifies action type (Qal=simple, Niphal=passive, Piel=intensive).
Morphology: OSHB WLC (Open Scriptures, CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible TEHMC (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0)
Theological Argument
Jeremiah 42 argues that the word of the Lord must rule the fears and strategies of God's people. The remnant appears humble by asking Jeremiah to pray, and their vow of obedience sounds exemplary. Yet the Lord's answer directly confronts their intended plan. They must remain in the land they fear and trust the Lord's promise of presence and deliverance. Egypt, the place they imagine will provide safety, will become the place of judgment if they flee there.
The chapter exposes the deadly inconsistency of seeking God's word while reserving the right to disobey when the answer conflicts with fear, preference, or visible security.
The remnant requests guidance, vows obedience, receives a clear command to stay, is warned against Egypt, and is exposed as divided-hearted.
- 1.Seeking God's word is not the same as submitting to God's word.
- 2.The LORD's answer addresses the real spiritual issue beneath the crisis: fear.
- 3.Remaining in Judah becomes an act of faith because it requires trusting God's promise over visible danger.
- 4.Egypt is a false refuge when chosen in defiance of God's word.
- 5.Disobedience becomes especially culpable when it follows a clear vow to obey.
Theological Focus
- True submission to the word of the Lord
- Fear as a rival authority
- False refuge
- Covenantal mercy after judgment
- The danger of conditional obedience
- Prophetic faithfulness
- Authority of God's Word
- Human Sinfulness
- Fear and Unbelief
- Divine Mercy
- Judgment
- Prayer and Intercession
- New Covenant Need
Covenant Significance
Jeremiah 42 presents the remnant at a covenant crossroads. After Jerusalem's judgment, the Lord still speaks, still offers mercy, and still calls for obedience. Remaining in the land under Babylonian pressure becomes an act of covenant trust. Fleeing to Egypt becomes a rejection of the Lord's word and a symbolic reversal of Israel's redemption story.
Old Testament Connections
- The Lord still speaks after judgment
- The remnant is tested by obedience
- Build and plant language reverses judgment language
- Egypt represents covenant regression
- Vowed obedience intensifies accountability
Canonical Connections
The remnant's desire for Egypt repeats Israel's old temptation to seek visible safety rather than trust the Lord.
Jeremiah 42 joins the wider biblical witness that hearing God's word without obedience is self-deception.
The Lord's command not to fear Babylon aligns with Scripture's call to trust God's presence over visible threats.
The promise to build and plant the remnant reverses Jeremiah's earlier language of uprooting and tearing down.
The people's divided heart points toward the need for inward renewal by God's gracious work.
Christ fulfills perfect obedience to the Father where God's people repeatedly fail.
Canon-Wide Connections
Cross-reference data: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Gospel Clarity
Jeremiah 42 exposes the human heart's need for more than information from God. The remnant receives a clear word, a gracious promise, and a severe warning, yet their hearts are already inclined toward Egypt. The gospel answers this deeper problem through Christ, the obedient Son who fully submits to the Father's will, bears judgment for sinners, rises to secure life, and gives the Spirit to write God's will upon the heart.
In Christ, God's people are not merely told which way to go; they are forgiven, renewed, indwelt, and taught to trust the Father beyond fear.
Primary Emphasis
Jeremiah 42 contributes to the biblical need for a people who not only ask for God's word but receive it with obedient hearts. The remnant's divided response exposes the inadequacy of external religious language without inward renewal. In Jeremiah's wider canonical movement, this points toward the new covenant promise in which the Lord writes his law on the heart.
Christ fulfills that hope by obeying the Father perfectly, securing forgiveness through his death and resurrection, and giving the Spirit so that his people may walk in obedient trust rather than fear-driven self-preservation.
Chapter Contribution
Jeremiah 42 argues that the word of the Lord must rule the fears and strategies of God's people. The remnant appears humble by asking Jeremiah to pray, and their vow of obedience sounds exemplary. Yet the Lord's answer directly confronts their intended plan. They must remain in the land they fear and trust the Lord's promise of presence and deliverance. Egypt, the place they imagine will provide safety, will become the place of judgment if they flee there.
The chapter exposes the deadly inconsistency of seeking God's word while reserving the right to disobey when the answer conflicts with fear, preference, or visible security.
Motifs in This Chapter
Track judgment as covenant accountability, divine justice, and eschatological reckoning.
Trace remnant preservation, covenant continuity, and mercy under judgment across Scripture.
Follow shepherding as divine care, messianic leadership, and pastoral oversight across Scripture.
Doctrines in This Chapter
When God’s will is revealed, His people are responsible to obey it.
God’s promise of protection and restoration is tied to the people’s obedience.
Rejecting God’s revealed will leads to judgment rather than security.
God’s people are responsible to obey His revealed word once it has been clearly delivered.
Even after judgment, God continues to act in faithfulness toward His covenant people.
God directs His people through His revealed word and appointed messengers.
Persistent rebellion against God’s command results in the experience of covenant curses.
God’s authority extends everywhere, and people cannot escape His discipline by relocating.
God remains sovereign over nations and rulers, including Babylon.
Moments of crisis expose humanity’s need for divine wisdom and direction.
People often pursue safety through political or material means rather than trusting God.
The prophet faithfully communicates God’s message, making the people accountable for their response.
Doctrinal Weight
The chapter centers on whether the word of the Lord will govern the remnant's direction.
The people's request for guidance is corrupted by a heart already leaning toward disobedience.
Fear of Babylonian retaliation becomes the pressure point through which unbelief seeks refuge in Egypt.
The Lord promises to build, plant, save, deliver, and show compassion if the remnant remains.
If the people flee to Egypt, the sword, famine, and plague they fear will overtake them there.
Jeremiah's role includes prayer for the people and faithful delivery of the Lord's whole word.
The gap between the people's vow and their heart exposes the need for inward transformation promised elsewhere in Jeremiah.
Reading Lenses
Theological exposition and fulfillment
- The chapter forms God's people to seek divine guidance with surrendered hearts and to obey the Lord's word even when fear argues for another route.
Formation Focus
The chapter forms God's people to seek divine guidance with surrendered hearts and to obey the Lord's word even when fear argues for another route.
Practice Response
- Unconditional listening - Before seeking counsel, confess the temptation to obey only if the answer fits your preferred plan.
- Prayerful waiting - Allow time for clarity instead of forcing decisions under anxiety.
- Fear naming - Identify the specific fear driving the decision, as the remnant feared Babylonian retaliation.
- Promise rehearsal - Set the Lord's promises against the fear that seems most persuasive.
- Warning reception - Treat biblical warnings as grace meant to prevent ruin.
- Obedience without preference-control - Practice obeying Scripture even when obedience is not emotionally favorable.
Warnings and Misreadings
- The chapter warns that a person can ask for God's will while secretly requiring that God's answer confirm an already chosen path.
- Do not ask for God's direction while keeping disobedience as an option.
- Do not let fear define wisdom.
- Do not seek safety in the place God has forbidden.
- Do not mistake religious language for surrendered faith.
- Do not assume a delayed answer means permission to proceed by instinct.
- Do not demand a favorable word before obeying.
- The remnant is spiritually mature because they ask Jeremiah to pray. - Their request sounds humble, but the chapter exposes that asking for prayer and guidance can still mask an unwilling heart.
- Egypt is condemned because geography itself is always sinful. - Egypt is sinful here because the Lord specifically forbids this flight and because the people seek it as refuge apart from his word.
- The chapter teaches passivity in the face of danger. - The chapter teaches obedience to the Lord's revealed word. The issue is not passivity versus action, but faith versus disobedient self-protection.
- The promise to build and plant means the remnant has earned restoration. - The promise is mercy after judgment, not reward for merit. The Lord offers compassion in response to his own covenant purposes.
- Jeremiah is being harsh by exposing their deception. - Jeremiah's warning is pastoral truth-telling. He names their danger before they act fully on it.
- The chapter is only about ancient foreign policy. - The political setting is real, but the theological issue is whether God's people will obey God's word when fear offers another path.
Discipleship Questions
- Where am I asking God for guidance while already planning what I intend to do?
- What is my 'Egypt', the place that feels safe but would require distrust or disobedience?
- Do I obey only when God's word confirms what already feels wise to me?
- How do I respond when God's answer delays longer than I expected?
- Am I more afraid of visible danger than I am of disobeying the Lord?
- Do I receive warnings from God's word as mercy or as interference?
- What promise of God must govern the fear that is currently pressing on me?
- When I say, 'Pray for me,' am I seeking surrendered obedience or divine approval for my own plan?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach Jeremiah 42 as a searching sermon on the difference between consulting God's word and surrendering to God's word.
- Use the chapter to help fearful believers identify the decisions they are making from panic, trauma, or perceived necessity rather than obedient trust.
- Leaders must beware of asking for prayer, counsel, or biblical input only after they have already decided their course.
- The chapter provides a framework for congregational decision-making: pray, wait, hear the whole word, and obey even when obedience feels costly.
- Teach believers that delayed answers test whether they are seeking God himself or merely seeking quick relief.
- Hard warnings are sometimes the most merciful words a shepherd can give when a person is moving toward destruction.
- Train disciples to examine whether their language of obedience is matched by actual willingness to submit.
- Prayer requests should not become a way of baptizing disobedience. Prayer must remain tied to surrender.
Pastoral Trajectories
Commentary (Keil & Delitzsch)
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
The chapter moves from the remnant's request for prayer, to their vow of total obedience, to the Lord's promise if they remain in Judah, to the Lord's warning if they flee to Egypt, and finally to Jeremiah's exposure of their deceptive heart.
Jeremiah 42 presents the remnant at a covenant crossroads. After Jerusalem's judgment, the Lord still speaks, still offers mercy, and still calls for obedience. Remaining in the land under Babylonian pressure becomes an act of covenant trust. Fleeing to Egypt becomes a rejection of the Lord's word and a symbolic reversal of Israel's redemption story.
Jeremiah 42 exposes the human heart's need for more than information from God. The remnant receives a clear word, a gracious promise, and a severe warning, yet their hearts are already inclined toward Egypt. The gospel answers this deeper problem through Christ, the obedient Son who fully submits to the Father's will, bears judgment for sinners, rises to secure life, and gives the Spirit to write God's will upon the heart.
In Christ, God's people are not merely told which way to go; they are forgiven, renewed, indwelt, and taught to trust the Father beyond fear.
Focus Points
- True submission to the word of the Lord
- Fear as a rival authority
- False refuge
- Covenantal mercy after judgment
- The danger of conditional obedience
- Prophetic faithfulness
- Authority of God's Word
- Human Sinfulness
- Fear and Unbelief
- Divine Mercy
- Judgment
- Prayer and Intercession
- New Covenant Need
Passages
Chapter opening: Jeremiah 42:1-6
Jer 42:1-6 "And there drew near all the captains, namely, Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from little to great, Jer 42:2. And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let our supplication come before thee, and pray for us to Jahveh thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few out of many, as thine eyes see us); Jer 42:3.
That Jahveh thy God may tell us the way in which we should go, and the thing that we should do." Of the captains, two, viz. , Johanan and Jezaniah, are mentioned as the leaders of the people and the directors of the whole undertaking, who also, Jer 42:1. , insolently accuse the prophet of falsehood, and carry out the proposed march to Egypt. Jezaniah is in Jer 40:8 called the Maachathite; here he is named in connection with his father, "the son of Hoshaiah;" while in Jer 43:2, in conjunction with Johanan the son of Kareah, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah is mentioned, which name the lxx also have in Jer 42:1 of this chapter.
Hitzig, Ewald, etc. , are consequently of the opinion that יזניה in our verse has been written by mistake for עזריה. But more probable is the supposition that the error is in the עזריה of Jer 43:2, inasmuch as there is no reason to doubt the identity of Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah with the Jezaniah descended from Maacha (Jer 40:8); and the assumption that יזניה is incorrect in two passages (Jer 42:1 and Jer 40:8) is highly improbable.
They go to the prophet Jeremiah, whom they had taken with them from Mizpah, where he was living among the people, with the rest of the inhabitants of the place (Jer 41:16). תּפּל־נא as in Jer 37:20; see on Jer 36:7. The request made to the prophet that he would intercede for them with the Lord, which they further urge on the ground that the number left out of the whole people is small, while there is implied in this the wish that God may not let this small remnant also perish; - this request Nägelsbach considers a piece of hypocrisy, and the form of asking the prophet "a mere farce," since it is quite plain from Jer 43:1-6 that the desire to go to Egypt was already deeply rooted in their minds, and from this they would not allow themselves to be moved, even by the earnest warning of the prophet.
But to hypocrites, who were playing a mere farce with the prophet, the Lord would have probably replied in a different way from what we find in Jer 42:8-22. As the Searcher of hearts, He certainly would have laid bare their hypocrisy. And however unequivocally the whole address implies the existence of disobedience to the voice of God, it yet contains nothing which can justify the assumption that it was only in hypocrisy that they wished to learn the will of God.
We must therefore assume that their request addressed to the prophet was made in earnest, although they expected that the Lord’s reply would be given in terms favourable to their intention. They wished to obtain from God information as to which way they should go, and what they should do, - not as to whether they should remain in the country or go to Egypt. "The way that we should go" is, of course, not to be understood literally, as if they merely wished to be told the road by which they would most safely reach Egypt; neither, on the other hand, are the words to be understood in a merely figurative sense, of the mode of procedure they ought to pursue; but they are to be understood of the road they ought to take in order to avoid the vengeance of the Chaldeans which they dreaded, - in the sense, whither they ought to go, in order to preserve their lives from the danger which threatened them.
Jer 42:7-11 The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nägelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration.
The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart.
Jer 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jer 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jer 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
Jer 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jer 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jer 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jer 42:14.
Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jer 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16.
Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jer 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them.
Jer 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jer 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.
Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jer 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jer 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you.
Jer 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn." The Lord’s reply extends as far as Jer 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God’s resolution on the minds of the people.
The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jer 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה, see on Jer 36:7.
שׁוב (Jer 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב, for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ. Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב; in a verb like ישׁב, however, which drops the י in the inf.
constr. , a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc. , cf. Jer 24:6; Jer 31:4; Jer 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joe 2:14, etc.
- In Jer 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
Jer 42:7-11 The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nägelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration.
The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart.
Jer 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jer 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jer 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
Jer 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jer 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jer 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jer 42:14.
Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jer 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16.
Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jer 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them.
Jer 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jer 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.
Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jer 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jer 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you.
Jer 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn." The Lord’s reply extends as far as Jer 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God’s resolution on the minds of the people.
The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jer 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה, see on Jer 36:7.
שׁוב (Jer 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב, for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ. Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב; in a verb like ישׁב, however, which drops the י in the inf.
constr. , a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc. , cf. Jer 24:6; Jer 31:4; Jer 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joe 2:14, etc.
- In Jer 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
Jer 42:7-11 The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nägelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration.
The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart.
Jer 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jer 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jer 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
Jer 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jer 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jer 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jer 42:14.
Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jer 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16.
Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jer 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them.
Jer 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jer 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.
Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jer 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jer 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you.
Jer 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn." The Lord’s reply extends as far as Jer 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God’s resolution on the minds of the people.
The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jer 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה, see on Jer 36:7.
שׁוב (Jer 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב, for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ. Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב; in a verb like ישׁב, however, which drops the י in the inf.
constr. , a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc. , cf. Jer 24:6; Jer 31:4; Jer 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joe 2:14, etc.
- In Jer 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
Jer 42:7-11 The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nägelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration.
The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart.
Jer 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jer 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jer 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
Jer 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jer 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jer 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jer 42:14.
Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jer 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16.
Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jer 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them.
Jer 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jer 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.
Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jer 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jer 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you.
Jer 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn." The Lord’s reply extends as far as Jer 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God’s resolution on the minds of the people.
The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jer 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה, see on Jer 36:7.
שׁוב (Jer 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב, for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ. Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב; in a verb like ישׁב, however, which drops the י in the inf.
constr. , a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc. , cf. Jer 24:6; Jer 31:4; Jer 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joe 2:14, etc.
- In Jer 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
Jer 42:7-11 The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nägelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration.
The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart.
Jer 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jer 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jer 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
Jer 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jer 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jer 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jer 42:14.
Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jer 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jer 42:16.
Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jer 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them.
Jer 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jer 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.
Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jer 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jer 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you.
Jer 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn." The Lord’s reply extends as far as Jer 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God’s resolution on the minds of the people.
The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jer 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jer 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה, see on Jer 36:7.
שׁוב (Jer 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב, for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ. Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב; in a verb like ישׁב, however, which drops the י in the inf.
constr. , a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc. , cf. Jer 24:6; Jer 31:4; Jer 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joe 2:14, etc.
- In Jer 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
Jer 42:12 "I shall give you compassion," i.e., obtain it for you, so that the king of Babylon will show pity on you; cf. Gen 43:14; 1Ki 8:50. J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Ewald, and Graf, following the lxx, Vulgate, and Syriac, would change והשׁיב into הושׁיב (make you dwell); but there is no necessity for this, since השׁיב makes good enough sense, provided we refer it, not to the return of those who had been exiled to Babylon, but, as the connection requires, to the departure from Mizpah, after the half near Bethlehem, in the intended flight to Egypt; we must, besides, view this departure as a complete forsaking of their country, and the leaders in this emigration as being fugitives who had fled before the Chaldeans, and had returned only a short time before, for the purpose of settling down again in the country.
Jer 42:13-16 The threatening if, in spite of warning and against God’s will, they should still persist in going to Egypt. The protasis of the conditional sentence begun in Jer 42:13, "If ye say," etc. , extends onwards through Jer 42:14; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jer 42:15, "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר, "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jer 4:19.
On "hungering after bread," cf. Amo 8:11. הלחם (with the article) is the bread necessary for life. "The remnant of Judah" is to be understood of those who still remained in the land, as is shown by Jer 42:2; see also Jer 42:19, Jer 43:5; Jer 44:12, Jer 44:14. The warning given in Jer 42:16 contains the idea that the very evil which they feared would come on them in Judah will befall them in Egypt.
There they shall perish by sword, famine, and plague, since Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt; cf. Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 42:13-16 The threatening if, in spite of warning and against God’s will, they should still persist in going to Egypt. The protasis of the conditional sentence begun in Jer 42:13, "If ye say," etc. , extends onwards through Jer 42:14; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jer 42:15, "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר, "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jer 4:19.
On "hungering after bread," cf. Amo 8:11. הלחם (with the article) is the bread necessary for life. "The remnant of Judah" is to be understood of those who still remained in the land, as is shown by Jer 42:2; see also Jer 42:19, Jer 43:5; Jer 44:12, Jer 44:14. The warning given in Jer 42:16 contains the idea that the very evil which they feared would come on them in Judah will befall them in Egypt.
There they shall perish by sword, famine, and plague, since Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt; cf. Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 42:13-16 The threatening if, in spite of warning and against God’s will, they should still persist in going to Egypt. The protasis of the conditional sentence begun in Jer 42:13, "If ye say," etc. , extends onwards through Jer 42:14; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jer 42:15, "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר, "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jer 4:19.
On "hungering after bread," cf. Amo 8:11. הלחם (with the article) is the bread necessary for life. "The remnant of Judah" is to be understood of those who still remained in the land, as is shown by Jer 42:2; see also Jer 42:19, Jer 43:5; Jer 44:12, Jer 44:14. The warning given in Jer 42:16 contains the idea that the very evil which they feared would come on them in Judah will befall them in Egypt.
There they shall perish by sword, famine, and plague, since Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt; cf. Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 42:13-16 The threatening if, in spite of warning and against God’s will, they should still persist in going to Egypt. The protasis of the conditional sentence begun in Jer 42:13, "If ye say," etc. , extends onwards through Jer 42:14; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jer 42:15, "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר, "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jer 4:19.
On "hungering after bread," cf. Amo 8:11. הלחם (with the article) is the bread necessary for life. "The remnant of Judah" is to be understood of those who still remained in the land, as is shown by Jer 42:2; see also Jer 42:19, Jer 43:5; Jer 44:12, Jer 44:14. The warning given in Jer 42:16 contains the idea that the very evil which they feared would come on them in Judah will befall them in Egypt.
There they shall perish by sword, famine, and plague, since Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt; cf. Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 42:17-22 ויהיוּ, used instead of the impersonal והיה, is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i. e. , intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf.
Jer 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc. , cf. Jer 24:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18. Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz. , that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them (העיד בּ, to testify, bear witness against a person, i.
e. , warn him of something, cf. Jer 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish.
The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים, the Hiphil from תּעה, to err ; here, as in Pro 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם, not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.) , nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jer 17:21.
וּלכל אשׁר (Jer 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jer 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jer 42:20, Jer 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jer 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.
Jer 43:1-3 The march of the people to Egypt. - When Jeremiah had thus ended all the words which the Lord had announced to him for the people, then came forward Azariah (probably an error for Jezaniah, see on Jer 42:1) the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and the rest of the insolent men, and said to Jeremiah, "Thou dost utter falsehood; Jahveh our God hath not sent thee unto us, saying, Ye must not go to Egypt to sojourn there; Jer 43:3.
But Baruch the son of Neriah inciteth thee against us, in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to take us captive to Babylon." אמרים is not the predicate to כּל־האנשׁים, but forms a resumption of ויּאמר, with which it thus serves to connect its object, Jeremiah, and from which it would otherwise be pretty far removed. Azariah (or, more correctly, Jezaniah) occupies the last place in the enumeration of the captains, Jer 40:8, and in Jer 42:1 is also named after Johanan, who is the only one specially mentioned, in what follows, as the leader on the march.
From this we may safely conclude that Jezaniah was the chief speaker and the leader of the opposition against the prophet. To avoid any reference to the promise they had made to obey the will of God, they declare that Jeremiah’s prophecy is an untruth, which had been suggested to him, not by God, but by his attendant Baruch, with the view of delivering up the people to the Chaldeans.
Jer 43:1-3 The march of the people to Egypt. - When Jeremiah had thus ended all the words which the Lord had announced to him for the people, then came forward Azariah (probably an error for Jezaniah, see on Jer 42:1) the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and the rest of the insolent men, and said to Jeremiah, "Thou dost utter falsehood; Jahveh our God hath not sent thee unto us, saying, Ye must not go to Egypt to sojourn there; Jer 43:3.
But Baruch the son of Neriah inciteth thee against us, in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to take us captive to Babylon." אמרים is not the predicate to כּל־האנשׁים, but forms a resumption of ויּאמר, with which it thus serves to connect its object, Jeremiah, and from which it would otherwise be pretty far removed. Azariah (or, more correctly, Jezaniah) occupies the last place in the enumeration of the captains, Jer 40:8, and in Jer 42:1 is also named after Johanan, who is the only one specially mentioned, in what follows, as the leader on the march.
From this we may safely conclude that Jezaniah was the chief speaker and the leader of the opposition against the prophet. To avoid any reference to the promise they had made to obey the will of God, they declare that Jeremiah’s prophecy is an untruth, which had been suggested to him, not by God, but by his attendant Baruch, with the view of delivering up the people to the Chaldeans.
Jer 43:1-3 The march of the people to Egypt. - When Jeremiah had thus ended all the words which the Lord had announced to him for the people, then came forward Azariah (probably an error for Jezaniah, see on Jer 42:1) the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and the rest of the insolent men, and said to Jeremiah, "Thou dost utter falsehood; Jahveh our God hath not sent thee unto us, saying, Ye must not go to Egypt to sojourn there; Jer 43:3.
But Baruch the son of Neriah inciteth thee against us, in order to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to take us captive to Babylon." אמרים is not the predicate to כּל־האנשׁים, but forms a resumption of ויּאמר, with which it thus serves to connect its object, Jeremiah, and from which it would otherwise be pretty far removed. Azariah (or, more correctly, Jezaniah) occupies the last place in the enumeration of the captains, Jer 40:8, and in Jer 42:1 is also named after Johanan, who is the only one specially mentioned, in what follows, as the leader on the march.
From this we may safely conclude that Jezaniah was the chief speaker and the leader of the opposition against the prophet. To avoid any reference to the promise they had made to obey the will of God, they declare that Jeremiah’s prophecy is an untruth, which had been suggested to him, not by God, but by his attendant Baruch, with the view of delivering up the people to the Chaldeans.
Jer 43:4-7 Thereupon Johanan and the other captains took "all the remnant of Judah, that had returned from all the nations whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah-the men and women and children, the king’s daughters, and all the souls whom Nebuzaradan, chief of the body-guard, had committed to Gedaliah... and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah, - and went to the land of Egypt - for they did not hearken to the voice of Jahveh - and came to Tahpanhes."
In this enumeration of those who were conducted to Egypt, Hitzig, Graf, and others distinguish two classes: (1) the men, women, children, etc. , who had been in Mizpah with Gedaliah, and had been led to Gibeon, after the murder of the latter, by Ishmael, but had afterwards been brought to Bethlehem by Johanan and the other captains (Jer 43:6, cf. Jer 40:7; Jer 41:10, Jer 41:16); (2) those who had returned from the foreign countries whither they had fled, but who had hitherto lived in the country, scattered here and there, and who must have joined the company led by Johanan to Bethlehem during the ten days of halt at that resting-place (Jer 43:5, cf.
Jer 40:11-12). There is no foundation, however, for this distinction. Neither in the present chapter is there anything mentioned of those who had been dispersed through the land joining those who had marched to Bethlehem; nor are the Jews who had returned from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries to their own home distinguished, in Jer 40 and 41, as a different class from those who had been with Gedaliah in Mizpah; but on the other hand, according to Jer 40:12, these returned Jews also came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered grapes and fruit.
Besides, in these verses the distinction can only be made after the insertion into the text of the conjunction ו before את־הגּברים. To "all the remnant of Judah who had returned from the nations" belong the men, women, children, etc. , whom Nebuzaradan had committed to the care of Gedaliah. The enumeration in Jer 43:6 gives only one specification of the "whole remnant of Judah," as in Jer 41:16.
"And all the souls;" as if it were said, "and whoever else was still left alive;" cf. Jos 10:28. Tahpanhes was a frontier town of Egypt on the Pelusian branch of the Nile, and named Δάφναι by the Greeks; see on Jer 2:16. Here, on the borders of Egypt, a halt was made, for the purpose of coming to further resolutions regarding their residence in that country.
Here, too, Jeremiah received a revelation from God regarding the fate now impending on Egypt.