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āāJeremiah 43:1-13 MSGā¬ā¬
[1-3] When Jeremiah finished telling all the people the whole Message that their God had sent him to give themāall these wordsāAzariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah, backed by all the self-important men, said to Jeremiah, āLiar! Our God never sent you with this message telling us not to go to Egypt and live there. Baruch son of Neriah is behind this. He has turned you against us. Heās playing into the hands of the Babylonians so weāll either end up being killed or taken off to exile in Babylon.ā [4] Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and the people along with them, wouldnāt listen to Godās Message that they stay in the land of Judah and live there. [5-7] Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers gathered up everyone who was left from Judah, who had come back after being scattered all over the placeāthe men, women, and children, the kingās daughters, all the people that Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had left in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and last but not least, Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. They entered the land of Egypt in total disobedience of Godās Message and arrived at the city of Tahpanhes. [8-9] While in Tahpanhes, Godās Word came to Jeremiah: āPick up some large stones and cover them with mortar in the vicinity of the pavement that leads up to the building set aside for Pharaohās use in Tahpanhes. Make sure some of the men of Judah are watching. [10-13] āThen address them: āThis is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! Iām sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylonāmy servant, mind you!āand heāll set up his throne on these very stones that Iāve had buried here and heāll spread out his canopy over them. Heāll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. Heāll burn down the temples of Egyptās gods. Heāll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, heāll pick Egypt clean. And then heāll walk away without a hand being laid on him. Heāll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egyptās House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egyptās gods.āā

