Jeremiah 42:16

42:7-22 If we would know the mind of the Lord in doubtful cases, we must wait as well as pray. God is ever ready to return in mercy to those he has afflicted; and he never rejects any who rely on his promises. He has declared enough to silence even the causeless fears of his people, which discourge them in the way of duty. Whatever loss or suffering we may fear from obedience, is provided against in God's word; and he will protect and deliver all who trust in him and serve him. It is folly to quit our place, especially to quit a holy land, because we meet with trouble in it. And the evils we think to escape by sin, we certainly bring upon ourselves. We may apply this to the common troubles of life; and those who think to avoid them by changing their place, will find that the grievances common to men will meet them wherever they go. Sinners who dissemble with God in solemn professions especially should be rebuked with sharpness; for their actions speak more plainly than words. We know not what is good for ourselves; and what we are most fond of, and have our hearts most set upon, often proves hurtful, and sometimes fatal.

Then it shall come to pass,.... That the various judgments following should come upon them: that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; that is, the sword; of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, which they feared they should fall by in Judea; this should come after them in Egypt, and there overtake them, as it did; Egypt being destroyed by the king of Babylon, as it was foretold it should, Jeremiah 46:25; and the famine, whereof you were afraid, shalt follow close after you there in Egypt; the famine they were afraid would come upon them in Judea, should pursue them, overtake them, seize on them, and cleave unto them, in Egypt; thus the evils they thought to escape, by moving from one place, should befall them in another; there is no fleeing from the presence, power, and hand of God: and there ye shall die; either by the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence, as in the Jeremiah 42:17.

Verse 16. - The sword, which ye feared; rather, which ye fear. The calamities mentioned were precisely these of which the Jews were apprehensive in their own country. So afterwards, "whereof ye are afraid." Shall overtake you there. For a further explanation, see Jeremiah 43:8-13 . Jeremiah 42:16

Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, {f} shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. (f) Thus God turns the policy of the wicked to their own destruction: for they thought themselves sure in Egypt, and there Nebuchadnezzar destroyed them and the Egyptians, Jer 46:25.

Translate it: "Then shall the sword of which ye are afraid reach you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye pine shall cleave close unto you in Egypt, and there shall ye die; and all the men who have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there shall die ... by the pestilence, nor shall they have anyone that is left or escaped from the evil which I will bring upon them."

In the general the prophet threateneth them, that in Egypt they should meet with the very same evils the fear of which made them flee out of their own country, the sword and famine; the sword of Nebuchadnezzar, who, after this, fully conquered Egypt; and a famine through want of bread; for although Egypt was a fruitful country, yet we know there was a famine there, against which Joseph provided; besides that scarcity of victuals commonly followeth great armies. Those who shun dangers, or think to shun them, by acts of disobedience to God, ordinarily are suffered by God to take such courses as they fall into the same or worse dangers than what they labour to avoid.

16. sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you—The very evils we think to escape by sin, we bring on ourselves thereby. What our hearts are most set on often proves fatal to us. Those who think to escape troubles by changing their place will find them wherever they go (Eze 11:8). The "sword" here is that of Nebuchadnezzar, who fulfilled the prediction in his expedition to Africa (according to Megasthenes, a heathen writer), 300 B.C.

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 Jeremiah 42:13 , "If ye say," etc., extends onwards through Jeremiah 42:14 ; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jeremiah 42:15 , "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר, "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jeremiah 4:19 . On "hungering after bread," cf. Amos 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 Jeremiah 42:2 ; see also Jeremiah 42:19 , Jeremiah 43:5 ; Jeremiah 44:12 , Jeremiah 44:14 . The warning given in Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 43:8-13 .

that Egypt was a very fruitful country, by the overflowing of Nilus; and the prospect of this made them quit that usual fondness which people have of their native country. From whence appears that their great sin was unbelief; they would not take the promise of God for a security to them for a quiet and peaceable abode in Judah, but would fancy noises of drums and trumpets, and fear where no fear was. The prophet saw they were resolved into Egypt they would go, to live a more certain easy life (as they fancied); he therefore tells them, that if after their sending him to God to inquire for them, and promising a compliance with his will, and heari ng now what that will was, this were their resolution, he had another word from God to them. Jeremiah 42:15 This verse is wholly prefatory. to what followeth. If, saith God, all your mind be upon Egypt, and you he resolved thither you will go, Jeremiah 42:16 In the general the prophet threateneth them, that in Egypt they should meet with the very same evils the fear of which made them flee out of their own country, the sword and famine; the sword of Nebuchadnezzar, w

(5) Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia. —Ethiopia and Egypt were closely connected, and during much of their history were often under one government. Ethiopian soldiers served in great numbers in the Egyptian armies. Libya and Lydia are an unfortunate substitution for the original terms, Phut and Lud, which are preserved in Ezekiel 27:10 , where see Note. They are there mentioned as furnishing mercenaries to the Tyrian army; and it is known historically that they supplied them to a still greater extent to the Egyptian army. All the mingled people, and Chub.—There is the same expression, “mingled people,” in reference to Egypt, in Jeremiah 25:20. In the connection here it may be understood especially of the foreign mercenaries from various quarters in the Egyptian armies. Chub is a name entirely unknown. Various conjectures have been hazarded, and various changes in the text proposed, but none are supported by sufficient evidence. It evidently denotes some ally of Egypt, possibly Nubia. Men of the land that is in league.—Literally, sons of the land of the covenant. The ancient interpreters, St. Jerome and Theodoret, understood this expression of the Jews who had sought refuge from Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt after the murder of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 42, 43, 44), to whom Jeremiah had expressly prophesied that the sword and famine of which they were afraid should overtake them there (Jeremiah 42:16-18).

[Bible] 42:5. And they said to Jeremias: The Lord be witness between us of truth and faithfulness, if we do not according to every thing for which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. 42:6. Whether it be good or evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee: that it may be well with us when we shall hearken to the voice of the Lord our God. Good or evil... That is, agreeable or disagreeable. 42:7. Now after ten days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremias. 42:8. And he called Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the fighting men that were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest. 42:9. And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel, to whom you sent me, to present your supplications before him: 42:10. If you will be quiet and remain in this land, I will build you up, and not pull you down: I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for now I am appeased for the evil that I have done to you. I am appeased for the evil that I have done to you... That is, I am appeased, as I have sufficiently punished you, and now I am reconciled with you. 42:11. Fear not because of the king of Babylon, of whom you are greatly afraid: fear him not, saith the Lord: for I am with you, to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 42:12. And I will shew mercies to you, and will take pity on you, and will cause you to dwell in your own land. 42:13. But if you say: We will not dwell in this land, neither will we hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, 42:14. Saying: No, but we will go into the land of Egypt: where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor suffer hunger: and there we will dwell. 42:15. For this now hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Juda: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to go into Egypt, and enter in to dwell there:

afraid —lest the Chaldeans should suspect all the Jews of being implicated in Ishmael's treason, as though the Jews sought to have a prince of the house of David (Jeremiah 41:1). Their better way towards gaining God's favor would have been to have laid the blame on the real culprit, and to have cleared themselves. A tortuous policy is the parent of fear. Righteousness inspires with boldness (Psalms 53:5; Proverbs 28:1). ## CHAPTER 42 Jeremiah 42:1-22. T HE J EWS AND J OHANAN I NQUIRE OF G OD , THROUGH J EREMIAH , AS TO G OING TO E GYPT , P ROMISING O BEDIENCE TO H IS W ILL. T HEIR S AFETY ON C ONDITION OF S TAYING IN J UDEA , AND T HEIR D ESTRUCTION IN THE E VENT OF G OING TO E GYPT ,A RE F ORETOLD. T HEIR H YPOCRISY IN A SKING FOR C OUNSEL W HICH T HEY M EANT N OT TO F OLLOW , IF C ONTRARY TO T HEIR O WN D ETERMINATION , I S R EPROVED. 2. Jeremiah —He probably was one of the number carried off from Mizpah, and dwelt with Johanan (Jeremiah 41:16). Hence the expression is, "came near" (Jeremiah 42:1), not "sent." Let … supplication be accepted —literally, "fall" (see on Jeremiah 36:7; Jeremiah 37:20). pray for us —(Genesis 20:7; Isaiah 37:4; James 5:16). thy God —(Jeremiah 42:5). The Jews use this form to express their belief in the peculiar relation in which Jeremiah stood to God as His accredited prophet. Jeremiah in his reply reminds them that God is their God (" your God") as well as his as being the covenant people (Jeremiah 42:4).