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, approached
2Jeremiah 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.
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!”
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.
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,
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.’
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.’