Jeremiah 43

¹ However, when Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of Yahweh their God, with which Yahweh had entrusted him for them – all the words quoted above –

⁴ Despite this, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army leaders and all the people would not obey the voice of Yahweh and stay in the land of Judah.

⁵ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army leaders led off the entire remnant of Judah, those who had come back from all the nations into which they had been dispersed, to live in the land of Judah:

⁶ men, women, children, the royal princesses too, and every single person entrusted to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, by Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard; they also led off the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah.

⁷ And so, disregarding the voice of Yahweh, they reached the land of Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.

⁸ At Tahpanhes the word of Yahweh was addressed to Jeremiah,

⁹ ‘Take some large stones and bury them in the presence of the men of Judah in the cement on the square outside the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes.

¹⁰ Then say to them, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this: I am sending for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; he will place his throne over these stones that I have buried, and spread his canopy above them.

¹¹ He is coming to strike the land of Egypt: Those for the plague, to the plague; those for captivity, into captivity; those for the sword, to the sword!

¹² He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn these gods or carry them off; as a shepherd picks his cloak clean of vermin, so will he pick Egypt clean and leave without interference.[*a] He will break the obelisks of the temple of the Sun at On[*b] and burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”‘