18 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 As mine anger H639 and my fury H2534 hath been poured forth H5413 upon the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem; H3389 so shall my fury H2534 be poured forth H5413 upon you, when ye shall enter H935 into Egypt: H4714 and ye shall be an execration, H423 and an astonishment, H8047 and a curse, H7045 and a reproach; H2781 and ye shall see H7200 this place H4725 no more.
In the ninth H8671 year H8141 of Zedekiah H6667 king H4428 of Judah, H3063 in the tenth H6224 month, H2320 came H935 Nebuchadrezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 and all his army H2428 against Jerusalem, H3389 and they besieged H6696 it. And in the eleventh H6249 H6240 year H8141 of Zedekiah, H6667 in the fourth H7243 month, H2320 the ninth H8672 day of the month, H2320 the city H5892 was broken up. H1234 And all the princes H8269 of the king H4428 of Babylon H894 came in, H935 and sat H3427 in the middle H8432 gate, H8179 even Nergalsharezer, H5371 Samgarnebo, H5562 Sarsechim, H8310 Rabsaris, H7249 Nergalsharezer, H5371 Rabmag, H7248 with all the residue H7611 of the princes H8269 of the king H4428 of Babylon. H894 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah H6667 the king H4428 of Judah H3063 saw H7200 them, and all the men H582 of war, H4421 then they fled, H1272 and went forth H3318 out of the city H5892 by night, H3915 by the way H1870 of the king's H4428 garden, H1588 by the gate H8179 betwixt the two walls: H2346 and he went out H3318 the way H1870 of the plain. H6160 But the Chaldeans' H3778 army H2428 pursued H7291 after H310 them, and overtook H5381 Zedekiah H6667 in the plains H6160 of Jericho: H3405 and when they had taken H3947 him, they brought him up H5927 to Nebuchadnezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah H7247 in the land H776 of Hamath, H2574 where he gave H1696 judgment H4941 upon him. Then the king H4428 of Babylon H894 slew H7819 the sons H1121 of Zedekiah H6667 in Riblah H7247 before his eyes: H5869 also the king H4428 of Babylon H894 slew H7819 all the nobles H2715 of Judah. H3063 Moreover he put out H5786 Zedekiah's H6667 eyes, H5869 and bound H631 him with chains, H5178 to carry H935 him to Babylon. H894 And the Chaldeans H3778 burned H8313 the king's H4428 house, H1004 and the houses H1004 of the people, H5971 with fire, H784 and brake down H5422 the walls H2346 of Jerusalem. H3389 Then Nebuzaradan H5018 the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 carried away captive H1540 into Babylon H894 the remnant H3499 of the people H5971 that remained H7604 in the city, H5892 and those that fell away, H5307 that fell H5307 to him, with the rest H3499 of the people H5971 that remained. H7604
But they mocked H3931 the messengers H4397 of God, H430 and despised H959 his words, H1697 and misused H8591 his prophets, H5030 until the wrath H2534 of the LORD H3068 arose H5927 against his people, H5971 till there was no remedy. H4832 Therefore he brought H5927 upon them the king H4428 of the Chaldees, H3778 who slew H2026 their young men H970 with the sword H2719 in the house H1004 of their sanctuary, H4720 and had no compassion H2550 upon young man H970 or maiden, H1330 old man, H2205 or him that stooped for age: H3486 he gave H5414 them all into his hand. H3027 And all the vessels H3627 of the house H1004 of God, H430 great H1419 and small, H6996 and the treasures H214 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the treasures H214 of the king, H4428 and of his princes; H8269 all these he brought H935 to Babylon. H894 And they burnt H8313 the house H1004 of God, H430 and brake down H5422 the wall H2346 of Jerusalem, H3389 and burnt H8313 all the palaces H759 thereof with fire, H784 and destroyed H7843 all the goodly H4261 vessels H3627 thereof.
And G2532 the first G4413 went, G565 and G2532 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1909 the earth; G1093 and G2532 there fell G1096 a noisome G2556 and G2532 grievous G4190 sore G1668 upon G1519 the men G444 which G3588 had G2192 the mark G5480 of the beast, G2342 and G2532 upon them which worshipped G4352 his G846 image. G1504 And G2532 the second G1208 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1519 the sea; G2281 and G2532 it became G1096 as G5613 the blood G129 of a dead G3498 man: and G2532 every G3956 living G2198 soul G5590 died G599 in G1722 the sea. G2281 And G2532 the third G5154 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1519 the rivers G4215 and G2532 G1519 fountains G4077 of waters; G5204 and G2532 they became G1096 blood. G129 And G2532 I heard G191 the angel G32 of the waters G5204 say, G3004 Thou art G1488 righteous, G1342 O Lord, G2962 which G3588 art, G5607 and G2532 wast, G2258 and G2532 shalt be, G3741 G3801 because G3754 thou hast judged G2919 thus. G5023 For G3754 they have shed G1632 the blood G129 of saints G40 and G2532 prophets, G4396 and G2532 thou hast given G1325 them G846 blood G129 to drink; G4095 for G1063 they are G1526 worthy. G514 And G2532 I heard G191 another G243 out of G1537 the altar G2379 say, G3004 Even so, G3483 Lord G2962 God G2316 Almighty, G3841 true G228 and G2532 righteous G1342 are thy G4675 judgments. G2920 And G2532 the fourth G5067 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1909 the sun; G2246 and G2532 power was given G1325 unto him G846 to scorch G2739 men G444 with G1722 fire. G4442 And G2532 men G444 were scorched G2739 with great G3173 heat, G2738 and G2532 blasphemed G987 the name G3686 of God, G2316 which G3588 hath G2192 power G1849 over G1909 these G5025 plagues: G4127 and G2532 they repented G3340 not G3756 to give G1325 him G846 glory. G1391 And G2532 the fifth G3991 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1909 the seat G2362 of the beast; G2342 and G2532 his G846 kingdom G932 was G1096 full of darkness; G4656 and G2532 they gnawed G3145 their G846 tongues G1100 for G1537 pain, G4192 And G2532 blasphemed G987 the God G2316 of heaven G3772 because of G1537 their G846 pains G4192 and G2532 G1537 their G846 sores, G1668 and G2532 repented G3340 not G3756 of G1537 their G846 deeds. G2041 And G2532 the sixth G1623 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1909 the great G3173 river G4215 Euphrates; G2166 and G2532 the water G5204 thereof G846 was dried up, G3583 that G2443 the way G3598 of the kings G935 of G575 the east G395 G2246 might be prepared. G2090 And G2532 I saw G1492 three G5140 unclean G169 spirits G4151 like G3664 frogs G944 come out of G1537 the mouth G4750 of the dragon, G1404 and G2532 out of G1537 the mouth G4750 of the beast, G2342 and G2532 out of G1537 the mouth G4750 of the false prophet. G5578 For G1063 they are G1526 the spirits G4151 of devils, G1142 working G4160 miracles, G4592 which go forth G1607 G3739 G1607 unto G1909 the kings G935 of the earth G1093 and G2532 of the whole G3650 world, G3625 to gather G4863 them G846 to G1519 the battle G4171 of that G1565 great G3173 day G2250 of God G2316 Almighty. G3841 Behold, G2400 I come G2064 as G5613 a thief. G2812 Blessed G3107 is he that watcheth, G1127 and G2532 keepeth G5083 his G846 garments, G2440 lest G3363 he walk G4043 naked, G1131 and G2532 they see G991 his G846 shame. G808 And G2532 he gathered G4863 them G846 together G4863 into G1519 a place G5117 called G2564 in the Hebrew tongue G1447 Armageddon. G717 And G2532 the seventh G1442 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 into G1519 the air; G109 and G2532 there came G1831 a great G3173 voice G5456 out of G575 the temple G3485 of heaven, G3772 from G575 the throne, G2362 saying, G3004 It is done. G1096 And G2532 there were G1096 voices, G5456 and G2532 thunders, G1027 and G2532 lightnings; G796 and G2532 there was G1096 a great G3173 earthquake, G4578 such as G3634 was G1096 not G3756 since G3739 G575 men G444 were G1096 upon G1909 the earth, G1093 so mighty G5082 an earthquake, G4578 and so G3779 great. G3173 And G2532 the great G3173 city G4172 was divided G1096 into G1519 three G5140 parts, G3313 and G2532 the cities G4172 of the nations G1484 fell: G4098 and G2532 great G3173 Babylon G897 came in remembrance G3415 before G1799 God, G2316 to give G1325 unto her G846 the cup G4221 of the wine G3631 of the fierceness G2372 of his G846 wrath. G3709 And G2532 every G3956 island G3520 fled away, G5343 and G2532 the mountains G3735 were G2147 not G3756 found. G2147 And G2532 there fell G2597 upon G1909 men G444 a great G3173 hail G5464 out of G1537 heaven, G3772 every stone about G5613 the weight of a talent: G5006 and G2532 men G444 blasphemed G987 God G2316 because of G1537 the plague G4127 of the hail; G5464 for G3754 the plague G4127 thereof G846 was G2076 exceeding G4970 great. G3173
And the LORD H3068 shall separate H914 him unto evil H7451 out of all the tribes H7626 of Israel, H3478 according to all the curses H423 of the covenant H1285 that are written H3789 in this book H5612 of the law: H8451 So that the generation H1755 to come H314 of your children H1121 that shall rise up H6965 after H310 you, and the stranger H5237 that shall come H935 from a far H7350 land, H776 shall say, H559 when they see H7200 the plagues H4347 of that land, H776 and the sicknesses H8463 which the LORD H3068 hath laid H2470 upon it;
And it came to pass in the ninth H8671 year H8141 of his reign, H4427 in the tenth H6224 month, H2320 in the tenth H6218 day of the month, H2320 that Nebuchadrezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 came, H935 he and all his army, H2428 against Jerusalem, H3389 and pitched H2583 against it, and built H1129 forts H1785 against it round about. H5439 So H935 the city H5892 was besieged H4692 unto the eleventh H6249 H6240 year H8141 of king H4428 Zedekiah. H6667 And in the fourth H7243 month, H2320 in the ninth H8672 day of the month, H2320 the famine H7458 was sore H2388 in the city, H5892 so that there was no bread H3899 for the people H5971 of the land. H776 Then the city H5892 was broken up, H1234 and all the men H582 of war H4421 fled, H1272 and went forth H3318 out of the city H5892 by night H3915 by the way H1870 of the gate H8179 between the two walls, H2346 which was by the king's H4428 garden; H1588 (now the Chaldeans H3778 were by the city H5892 round about:) H5439 and they went H3212 by the way H1870 of the plain. H6160 But the army H2428 of the Chaldeans H3778 pursued H7291 after H310 the king, H4428 and overtook H5381 Zedekiah H6667 in the plains H6160 of Jericho; H3405 and all his army H2428 was scattered H6327 from him. Then they took H8610 the king, H4428 and carried him up H5927 unto the king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah H7247 in the land H776 of Hamath; H2574 where he gave H1696 judgment H4941 upon him. And the king H4428 of Babylon H894 slew H7819 the sons H1121 of Zedekiah H6667 before his eyes: H5869 he slew H7819 also all the princes H8269 of Judah H3063 in Riblah. H7247 Then he put out H5786 the eyes H5869 of Zedekiah; H6667 and the king H4428 of Babylon H894 bound H631 him in chains, H5178 and carried H935 him to Babylon, H894 and put H5414 him in prison H1004 H6486 till the day H3117 of his death. H4194
Weep H1058 ye not for the dead, H4191 neither bemoan H5110 him: but weep H1058 sore H1058 for him that goeth away: H1980 for he shall return H7725 no more, nor see H7200 his native H4138 country. H776 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 touching H413 Shallum H7967 the son H1121 of Josiah H2977 king H4428 of Judah, H3063 which reigned H4427 instead of Josiah H2977 his father, H1 which went forth H3318 out of this place; H4725 He shall not return H7725 thither any more: But he shall die H4191 in the place H4725 whither they have led him captive, H1540 and shall see H7200 this land H776 no more.
And the city H5892 was broken up, H1234 and all the men H582 of war H4421 fled by night H3915 by the way H1870 of the gate H8179 between two walls, H2346 which is by the king's H4428 garden: H1588 (now the Chaldees H3778 were against the city H5892 round about:) H5439 and the king went H3212 the way H1870 toward the plain. H6160 And the army H2428 of the Chaldees H3778 pursued H7291 after H310 the king, H4428 and overtook H5381 him in the plains H6160 of Jericho: H3405 and all his army H2428 were scattered H6327 from him. So they took H8610 the king, H4428 and brought him up H5927 to the king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah; H7247 and they gave H1696 judgment H4941 upon him. And they slew H7819 the sons H1121 of Zedekiah H6667 before his eyes, H5869 and put out H5786 the eyes H5869 of Zedekiah, H6667 and bound H631 him with fetters H5178 of brass, H5178 and carried H935 him to Babylon. H894
Then will I cut off H3772 Israel H3478 out H6440 of the land H127 which I have given H5414 them; and this house, H1004 which I have hallowed H6942 for my name, H8034 will I cast out H7971 of my sight; H6440 and Israel H3478 shall be a proverb H4912 and a byword H8148 among all people: H5971 And at this house, H1004 which is high, H5945 every one that passeth H5674 by it shall be astonished, H8074 and shall hiss; H8319 and they shall say, H559 Why hath the LORD H3068 done H6213 thus unto this land, H776 and to this house? H1004 And they shall answer, H559 Because they forsook H5800 the LORD H3068 their God, H430 who brought forth H3318 their fathers H1 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and have taken hold H2388 upon other H312 gods, H430 and have worshipped H7812 them, and served H5647 them: therefore hath the LORD H3068 brought H935 upon them all this evil. H7451
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 42
Commentary on Jeremiah 42 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Word of God Concerning the Flight to Egypt
At the halting-place near Bethlehem the captains and the people whom they led deem it necessary to inquire through Jeremiah as to the will of God regarding their intention; they betake themselves to the prophet with the request that he would address God in prayer for them regarding this matter, and they promise that they will, in any case, comply with the message that he may receive from God (Jeremiah 42:1-6). Whereupon, after ten days, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, vv. 7-22, to the effect that, if they remained in the country, the Lord would take pity on them and protect them from the Chaldeans, and establish them; but, should they go to Egypt, against the will of the Lord, then the evil which they feared would follow them thither, so that they would perish by the sword, hunger, and pestilence.
"And there drew near all the captains, namely, Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from little to great, Jeremiah 42:2. And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let our supplication come before thee, and pray for us to Jahveh thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few out of many, as thine eyes see us); Jeremiah 42:3. That Jahveh thy God may tell us the way in which we should go, and the thing that we should do." Of the captains, two, viz., Johanan and Jezaniah, are mentioned as the leaders of the people and the directors of the whole undertaking, who also, Jeremiah 42:1., insolently accuse the prophet of falsehood, and carry out the proposed march to Egypt. Jezaniah is in Jeremiah 40:8 called the Maachathite; here he is named in connection with his father, "the son of Hoshaiah;" while in Jeremiah 43:2, in conjunction with Johanan the son of Kareah, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah is mentioned, which name the lxx also have in Jeremiah 42:1 of this chapter. Hitzig, Ewald, etc., are consequently of the opinion that יזניה in our verse has been written by mistake for עזריה . But more probable is the supposition that the error is in the עזריה of Jeremiah 43:2, inasmuch as there is no reason to doubt the identity of Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah with the Jezaniah descended from Maacha (Jeremiah 40:8); and the assumption that יזניה is incorrect in two passages (Jeremiah 42:1 and Jeremiah 40:8) is highly improbable. They go to the prophet Jeremiah, whom they had taken with them from Mizpah, where he was living among the people, with the rest of the inhabitants of the place (Jeremiah 41:16). תּפּל־נא as in Jeremiah 37:20; see on Jeremiah 36:7. The request made to the prophet that he would intercede for them with the Lord, which they further urge on the ground that the number left out of the whole people is small, while there is implied in this the wish that God may not let this small remnant also perish; - this request Nägelsbach considers a piece of hypocrisy, and the form of asking the prophet "a mere farce," since it is quite plain from Jeremiah 43:1-6 that the desire to go to Egypt was already deeply rooted in their minds, and from this they would not allow themselves to be moved, even by the earnest warning of the prophet. But to hypocrites, who were playing a mere farce with the prophet, the Lord would have probably replied in a different way from what we find in Jeremiah 42:8-22. As the Searcher of hearts, He certainly would have laid bare their hypocrisy. And however unequivocally the whole address implies the existence of disobedience to the voice of God, it yet contains nothing which can justify the assumption that it was only in hypocrisy that they wished to learn the will of God. We must therefore assume that their request addressed to the prophet was made in earnest, although they expected that the Lord's reply would be given in terms favourable to their intention. They wished to obtain from God information as to which way they should go, and what they should do, - not as to whether they should remain in the country or go to Egypt. "The way that we should go" is, of course, not to be understood literally, as if they merely wished to be told the road by which they would most safely reach Egypt; neither, on the other hand, are the words to be understood in a merely figurative sense, of the mode of procedure they ought to pursue; but they are to be understood of the road they ought to take in order to avoid the vengeance of the Chaldeans which they dreaded, - in the sense, whither they ought to go, in order to preserve their lives from the danger which threatened them.
Jeremiah 42:4-6
Jeremiah replies: "I have heard (i.e., acceded to your request); behold, I will pray to Jahveh your God, according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatever Jahveh answers you I will tell you, I will not keep anything from you." Jeremiah 42:5. They said further: "Let Jahveh be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not just according to all the word which Jahveh thy God shall send thee (to declare) unto us. Jeremiah 42:6. Whether it be good or bad, we shall obey the voice of Jahveh our God, to whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Jahveh our God." עד , Proverbs 14:25, and נאמן , Isaiah 8:2; Psalms 89:38. Both predicates occupy emphatic positions. God is to be a faithful witness, not in regard to the truth of what they say, but as regards the fulfilment of their promise, so that, if they would not obey His word, He might come forward to punish them. ישׁלחך is construed with a double accusative: to send away a person with something, i.e., to give him a commission. After "whether it be good or evil," there is no need for supplying "in our eyes" ( בּעינינוּ ), as Hitzig and Graf allege: "whether it please us or not;" the subject is הדּבר : "we will obey the word, whether it be good or evil," i.e., whether it announce good or evil to come (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:14). The Kethib אנוּ occurs only in this passage in the Old Testament; the Qeri accordingly substitutes אנחנוּ : the former, however, is taken from the vulgar tongue, and should not be altered here. כּי נשׁמע does not mean " because we obey," but "when we obey." The hearing is the condition, not the cause of the prosperity.
The word of the Lord. - At the end of ten days, the reply that had been asked for came from the Lord. Hitzig and Graf think that Jeremiah had lingered ten days with the answer, in order to obtain strong and clear conviction, "matured through his own meditation, probably also in part confirmed by the arrival of further news." This opinion is characterized by Nהgelsbach as "in harmony with modern science, but unhistorical;" it should rather be called unscriptural, as resting on a denial of divine inspiration. The reason why the Lord did not make known His will to the prophet for ten days was a disciplinary one. By waiting, those who asked would get time for bethinking themselves, and for quietly considering the situation of affairs, so that they might be able, calmly and collectedly, to receive and obey the answer of God, which was far from satisfying the fears and wishes of their heart. Jeremiah 42:8. Jeremiah called the captains and all the people together, and announced to them as follows: Jeremiah 42:9. "Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, to whom ye have sent me, that I might bring your supplication before Him: Jeremiah 42:10. If ye will indeed abide in this land, then will I build you up and not pull down; and I will plant you, but not root out; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you. Jeremiah 42:11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, whom ye fear, be not afraid of him, saith Jahveh; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you out of his hand. Jeremiah 42:12. And I will get pity for you, so that he shall take pity on you, and bring you back to your land. Jeremiah 42:13. But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so that ye will not obey the voice of Jahveh your God, Jeremiah 42:14. Saying, Nay, but we will go to the land of Egypt, that we may not see war nor hear the wound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger after bread, and we will dwell there. - Jeremiah 42:15. Now therefore hear the word of Jahveh, ye remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye do indeed set your face to go to Egypt, and go to sojourn there, Jeremiah 42:16. Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, overtake you there, in the land of Egypt, and hunger, which ye dread, shall there follow hard after you, in Egypt, and there shall ye die. Jeremiah 42:17. And all the men who have set their face to go to Egypt, to sojourn there, shall die by the sword, and through hunger, and from the plague; nor shall they have any one left or escaped from the evil which I will bring on them. Jeremiah 42:18. For thus saith Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel: As mine anger and my wrath were poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out upon you when ye go to Egypt, and ye shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall not see this place again. - Jeremiah 42:19. Jahveh hath spoken to you, O remnant of Judah. Go not to Egypt: ye shall know for certain that I have warned you to-day. Jeremiah 42:20. For ye err at the risk of your souls when ye sent me to Jahveh your God, saying, Pray for us to Jahveh our God, and according to all that Jahveh our God shall say to us, so tell us, and we will do it. Jeremiah 42:21. Now I have told you to-day, and ye have not obeyed the voice of Jahveh your God, nor in anything for which He hath sent me unto you. Jeremiah 42:22. Now, therefore, ye must surely know that ye shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place whither ye have been pleased to go to sojourn."
The Lord's reply extends as far as Jeremiah 42:18; the last four verses (19-22) form an epilogue, a further address by the prophet, in which he once more specially impresses God's resolution on the minds of the people. The answer of God consists (1) in the promise that, if they will remain in the land, the Lord is willing to build them up, and protect them from the wrath of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 42:9-12); and (2) the threat that, if they will go to Egypt against the advice and will of the Lord, they shall certainly perish there by the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jeremiah 42:13-18). On the expression הפּיל תּהנּה , see on Jeremiah 36:7. שׁוב (Jeremiah 42:10) can only be inf. abs. of ישׁב , for ישׁוב ; if we view it as coming from שׁוּב morf , we get no suitable meaning, for the thought si revertendo illuc manseritis in hâc terrâ (C. B. Michaelis) could not be expressed by שׁוב תּשׁבוּ . Certainly there is no other instance of such a form as שׁוב being used for ישׁוב ; in a verb like ישׁב , however, which drops the י in the inf. constr., a like omission in the inf. abs. is quite conceivable, while the supposition of some injury having been done to the text (Olshausen, Gram . §89) is less probable. On the expression, "I will build you," etc., cf. Jeremiah 24:6; Jeremiah 31:4; Jeremiah 33:7. "I repent of the evil" is an anthropopathic expression for the cancelling of a penal sentence: cf. Joel 2:14, etc. - In Jeremiah 42:11, the repetition of the words "do not fear him" produces special emphasis.
"I shall give you compassion," i.e., obtain it for you, so that the king of Babylon will show pity on you; cf. Genesis 43:14; 1 Kings 8:50. J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Ewald, and Graf, following the lxx, Vulgate, and Syriac, would change והשׁיב into הושׁיב (make you dwell); but there is no necessity for this, since השׁיב makes good enough sense, provided we refer it, not to the return of those who had been exiled to Babylon, but, as the connection requires, to the departure from Mizpah, after the half near Bethlehem, in the intended flight to Egypt; we must, besides, view this departure as a complete forsaking of their country, and the leaders in this emigration as being fugitives who had fled before the Chaldeans, and had returned only a short time before, for the purpose of settling down again in the country.
The threatening if, in spite of warning and against God's will, they should still persist in going to Egypt. The protasis of the conditional sentence begun in Jeremiah 42:13, "If ye say," etc., extends onwards through Jeremiah 42:14; the apodosis is introduced co-ordinately with the commencement of Jeremiah 42:15, "Now therefore," etc. קול שׁופר , "the sound of war-trumpet," as in Jeremiah 4:19. On "hungering after bread," cf. Amos 8:11. הלחם (with the article) is the bread necessary for life. "The remnant of Judah" is to be understood of those who still remained in the land, as is shown by Jeremiah 42:2; see also Jeremiah 42:19, Jeremiah 43:5; Jeremiah 44:12, Jeremiah 44:14. The warning given in Jeremiah 42:16 contains the idea that the very evil which they feared would come on them in Judah will befall them in Egypt. There they shall perish by sword, famine, and plague, since Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt; cf. Jeremiah 43:8-13.
ויהיוּ , used instead of the impersonal והיה , is referred to the following subject by a rather unusual kind of attraction; cf. Ewald, §345, b . All the men who set their faces, i.e., intend, to go to Egypt shall perish; not a single one shall escape the evil; for the same judgment of wrath which has befallen Jerusalem shall also come on those who flee to Egypt; cf. Jeremiah 7:20. On the expression "ye shall become a curse," etc., cf. Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 25:18; Jeremiah 29:18.
Taking for granted that the leaders of the people will not obey, Jeremiah appends to the word of the Lord an earnest address, in which several points are specially insisted on, viz., that the Lord had spoken to them, that He had forbidden them to go to Egypt, and that he (the prophet), by proclaiming the word of the Lord, had warned them ( העיד בּ , to testify, bear witness against a person, i.e., warn him of something, cf. Jeremiah 11:7). Thus he discloses to them the dangerous mistake they are in, when they first desire some expression of the mind of the Lord regarding their intentions, and, in the hope that He will accede to their request, promise unconditional obedience to whatever He may direct, but afterwards, when they have received a message from the Lord, will not obey it, because it is contrary to what they wish. The Kethib התעתים has been incorrectly written for התעיים , the Hiphil from תּעה , to err ; here, as in Proverbs 10:17, it means to make a mistake. בּנפשׁותיכם , not, "you mislead your own selves ," decepistis animas vestras (Vulg.), nor "in your souls," - meaning, in your thoughts and intentions (Nägelsbach), - but "at the risk of your souls," your life; cf. Jeremiah 17:21. וּלכל אשׁר (Jeremiah 42:21), "and that in regard to all that for which Jahveh has sent me to you," points back to their promise, Jeremiah 42:5, that they would do "according to all the word." By employing the perfect in Jeremiah 42:20, Jeremiah 42:21, the thing is represented as quite certain, as if it had already taken place. Jeremiah 42:22 concludes the warning with a renewed threat of the destruction which shall befall them for their disobedience.