Then Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, the military leaders, and all the people from the least to the greatest who were with him, approached me and said, “Please listen to our humble plea and pray to YAHWEH your God for us and for all this remnant. We were once many, but as you see, only a few of us remain. Pray that YAHWEH your God may show us where to go and what we must do.”
“Very well then,” I replied. “I will take your request to YAHWEH your God and tell you whatever answer he gives me, and I will keep nothing back from you.”
Then they in their turn said to me, “May YAHWEH be an honest and faithful witness against us if we do not obey what YAHWEH your God speaks to us through you. Whether we like it or not, we will obey YAHWEH our God to whom we have asked you to pray. We know that all will go well with us if we obey the voice of YAHWEH our God.”
YAHWEH
Ten days later, YAHWEH gave me his answer. So I called together Johanan, the military leaders, and all the people who were with him without distinction and said, “YAHWEH, God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says this: ‘If you will remain in this land, I will build you up and not pull you down; I will firmly plant you and not uproot you. For I am filled with sorrow because of the disaster I had to bring upon you. Stop being afraid of the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing, for I am with you to save you and rescue you from his clutches,’ declares YAHWEH. ‘I will show you mercy, so that he has mercy toward you and will restore you to your land. But you must obey YAHWEH your God and remain in this land.’ ”
“Do not think for a moment: ‘We must go live in Egypt, where we will see no warfare nor be hungry nor hear the sound of the trumpet.’ If you do, remnant of Judah, then listen to what YAHWEH, the God of Israel, Commander of Angel Armies says to you: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and settle there, then this is what will happen. The sword you fear will overtake you, and the famine you dread will follow you to Egypt, and there you will die. Everyone who is determined to run to Egypt and settle there will die by sword, plague, and food shortages. Not one of you will survive the disasters I will send. Yes, I, YAHWEH, the God of Israel, Commander of Angel Armies, say to you: Just as my furious anger was poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so will my fury be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be something that people will curse, and people will use your name when they pronounce a curse. You will be a horrifying sight, and people will make fun of you, and you will never see this place again.’ ”
Then I said to the remnant of Judah, “YAHWEH has told you, ‘Do not go into Egypt.’ So now, you should know very clearly that I am warning you that you are in danger of your very lives. You deceived me when you sent me to YAHWEH your God and said, ‘Pray for us to YAHWEH our God; whatever he says, we will do it.’ Today I have told you exactly what he said, but you have not obeyed the voice of YAHWEH your God in anything he sent me to tell you. So understand this clearly: you will die by sword, plague, and food shortages in Egypt, where you are determined to go.”
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