Jeremiah 42:8

came unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, 14 Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: 15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; 16 Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go

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 called he Johanan the son of Kareah,.... That is, Jeremiah, as soon as he had received the answer from the Lord, called to Johanan; who, after the death of Gedaliah, was a person of the greatest authority, and had the command of the people, to come unto him, and hear what it was: he either called to him vocally and by name; or he sent a proper messenger to him, to meet him at some convenient place, to receive it; and not him only, but all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people, from the least even unto the greatest; they were all convened together, as it was proper they should, to hear the word of the Lord; and the rather, since they all joined in a request to the prophet, Jeremiah 42:1.

After ten days - On previous occasions Jeremiah when consulted answered at once Jeremiah 21:3 . The present delay (compare Jeremiah 28:12 ) was probably granted by God in order to free the minds of the people from the panic caused by the murder of Gedaliah and their fear of Chaldaean vengeance. Jeremiah could have had no doubt that the flight into Egypt was contrary to the tenor of his former prophecies.

7. ten days—Jeremiah did not speak of himself, but waited God's time and revelation, showing the reality of his inspiration. Man left to himself would have given an immediate response to the people, who were impatient of delay. The delay was designed to test the sincerity of their professed willingness to obey, and that they should have full time to deliberate (De 8:2). True obedience bows to God's time, as well as His way and will.

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 Ngelsbach 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. Jeremiah 42:8 . Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jeremiah 42:9 . "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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.

Jeremiah 42:12 . And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jeremiah 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, Jeremiah 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. - Jeremiah 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, Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. - Jeremiah 42:19 . Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah.

[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: