Bible Glide

Jeremiah 42

Jeremiah 42 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Jeremiah 42 shows the remnant of Judah asking for God's direction after Jerusalem's fall. They promise to obey whatever the Lord says, but the answer they receive tests their trust. The chapter sets up a choice between staying in the land or fleeing to Egypt.

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What happens in Jeremiah 42?

The commanders and the people come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray for them, saying they want to know the path they should take. They promise to obey the Lord's answer, whether it is good or hard to hear. After ten days, Jeremiah delivers God's word: if they remain in the land, the Lord will protect, restore, and give them peace. But if they go to Egypt, the dangers they fear will follow them there, and judgment will overtake them. Jeremiah ends by warning that their choice has already been made clear by their disobedience.

This chapter comes after the chaos following Jerusalem's fall and the murder of Gedaliah. The remnant is frightened, leaderless, and unsure where to go next. Jeremiah 42 begins the final warning in this section of the book, answering the people's request and exposing whether they will truly obey the Lord.

Themes to notice

  • Seeking guidanceThe people ask for God's direction, showing a moment of dependence in uncertainty.
  • Obedience under pressureGod's answer calls them to trust and stay put even when the safer path seems elsewhere.
  • Judgment and mercyThe Lord offers protection if they listen, but warns of disaster if they reject his word.

Questions for Jeremiah 42

  • Why do the people ask Jeremiah to pray for them, and what do they claim they will do with God's answer?
  • What promise does God give if the remnant stays in the land?
  • Why is going to Egypt presented as an act of disobedience in this chapter?

Read the full text of Jeremiah 42 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Jeremiah 42

A Warning against Going to Egypt

1Then all the commanders of the forces, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached2Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.3Pray that the LORD your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.”

4“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the LORD your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the LORD answers; I will not withhold a word from you.”

5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.6Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us, for we will obey the voice of the LORD our God!”

7After ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah,8and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.9Jeremiah told them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition:10‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you.11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from him.12And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own land.’

13But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and you thus disobey the voice of the LORD your God,14and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’15then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,16then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.17So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’18For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

19The LORD has told you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for sure that I have warned you today!20For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us and we will do it.’21For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in all He has sent me to tell you.22Now therefore, know for sure that by sword and famine and plague you will die in the place where you desire to go to reside.”

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