Open English Translation JER Chapter 43

43 When Yirmeyah had finished passing on Yahweh’s messages that their god Yahweh had told him to say, 2 Hoshayah’s son Azaryah, Kareah’s son Yohanan, and all the arrogant men told Yirmeyah, “You’re lying to us. Our god Yahweh didn’t send you to tell us not to go and live in Egypt. 3 It’s because Neriyah’s son Baruk is inciting you against us so that we’ll stay here and get captured by the Babylonians to be either put to death or be taken as exiles to Babylon.”

4 So Kareah’s son Yohanan, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people, refused to take notice of Yahweh’s instructions to remain living in the Yehudah region. 5 Then Yohanan and all the army commanders gathered all those remaining Judean people together, who’d come from all the other countries that they’d previously been driven away to and returned to live in Yehudah.[ref] 6 That included men and women, children, the king’s daughters, and all the people that Nevuzar-Adan, the king’s chief bodyguard Nevuzar-Adan had left with Gedalyah (son of Ahikam, son of Shafan), and including the prophet Yirmeyah and Neriyah’s son Baruk. 7 Then they went to Egypt because they took no notice of Yahweh’s instructions and they arrived at Tahpanhes.

8 In Tahpanhes, Yahweh gave Yirmeyah a message: 9 Get some large stones and while the people from Yehudah are watching, push them into the mortar in the pavement at the entrance to Far-oh’s (Pharaoh’s) palace at Tahpanhes. 10 Then tell the Judeans that Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief says: Listen, I’m about to send messengers to my servant the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, to summon him here. I’ll place his throne over the top of those hidden stones, and he’ll spread his royal tent over them. 11 He’ll come here to attack Egypt and he’ll kill those that I’ve assigned to die, and similarly for those to be taken captive or run through with a sword. 12 Then he’ll light a fire in the temples of Egypt’s gods. Nebuchadnezzar will either burn them or carry them away. He’ll clean Egypt out just like shepherds pick lice off their clothes, and then he’ll quietly leave 13 after smashing the stone pillars at Heliopolis and burning the temples of Egypt’s gods.