Jeremiah

Warnings about Jerusalem's destruction due to unfaithfulness, with promises of a new covenant.

Chapter 42

1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

*Then, all the leaders, along with Johanan, son of Kareah, Jezaniah, son of Hoshaiah, and everyone from the smallest to the greatest, approached.

2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)

*The king spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, asking him to please accept their prayer and ask God to help them, since they were only a small group left from what was once many people.

3 That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

*So that God can show us the way to go and what to do.

4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.

*Then Jeremiah, a prophet, told them, "I heard your request. Now I'm going to pray to God for you as you asked. When God answers, I will tell you what it is, and won't hide anything from you."

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.

*Then they told Jeremiah, "May God be a true and honest witness that we will follow everything God sends you to tell us."

6 Whether it be good, or whether it be 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 obey the voice of the LORD our God.

*No matter if it's good or bad, we will follow God's voice, the one we send. We want to be okay by doing what God wants.

7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

*After ten days, the Lord spoke to 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,

*Then he called Johanan, son of Kareah, and all his military leaders, and everyone from the smallest person 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;

*And he said to them, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, tells you, who sent me to bring your request 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.

*If you continue to live here, I will rebuild you and won't destroy you. I will grow your plants and won't take them away. I am sorry for the harm I caused 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.

*Don't be scared of the king of Babylon, even though you are. The Lord says don't fear him either, because he's with you to protect and rescue you from the king's control.

12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.

*I will show kindness to you so that God can be merciful to you and bring you back to your home country.

13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,

*But if you say, "We won't live in this land or listen to God's voice,"

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:

*We said no to staying here, and instead, we'll go to Egypt. There, we won't experience war or hear a trumpet's sound. We also won't be hungry for bread. That's where we'll live.

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;

*So listen carefully to what God has to say, you remaining people of Judah. The Lord, the ruler of all heavenly armies and the God of Israel, says this: If you decide to completely turn your attention towards going to live in Egypt.

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.

*Then, the feared sword will catch up with you in Egypt, along with the famine you feared. You'll die in Egypt because of them.

17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

*Just like this verse says, anyone who goes to Egypt for living will face death - it could be from swords, hunger, or sickness. None of them will avoid or survive the bad things I'm bringing their way.

18 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

*So says the Lord, God of Israel, just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so will my fury be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will become cursed, shocking, and a reproach, and you won't see this place again.

19 The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

*The Lord says to the remaining people of Judah, "Don't go to Egypt. I've warned you about this today."

20 For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.

*You pretended to be honest while you sent me to the Lord your God, asking Him to pray for you. You said, "Pray to the Lord our God for us," and promised to follow whatever the Lord tells us to do.

21 And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.

*Today, I've told you about it, but you didn't listen to the voice of your God or do anything I was sent to tell you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.

*So now understand for sure that you will definitely die from swords, starvation, and diseases in the place where you want to go and live.

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