New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Jeremiah 43
1
I finished telling the people everything the Lord their God had said. I told them everything he had sent me to tell them.
Reference
2
After that, Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke to me. And all of the proud men joined them. They said, "You are lying! The Lord our God hasn't sent you to speak to us. He hasn't told you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt and settle down there.'
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Isaiah 7:9
Jeremiah 42:1
Jeremiah 40:8
References God
2 Chronicles 36:13
Jeremiah 43:1
James 4:6
1 Peter 5:5
References Lord
Proverbs 16:5
Jeremiah 13:15
3
But Baruch, the son of Neriah, is turning you against us. He wants us to be handed over to the Babylonians. Then they can kill us. Or they can take us away to Babylon."
Reference
4
So Johanan, the son of Kareah, disobeyed the Lord's command. So did all of the other army officers and all of the people. They didn't stay in the land of Judah.
Reference
5
Instead Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all of the other army officers led away all of the people who were left in Judah. Those people had returned to Judah from all of the nations where they had been scattered.
6
Johanan and the other officers also led away many people Nebuzaradan had left in Mizpah. They included men, women and children. They also included women who were members of the royal court. Nebuzaradan had left them with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. He had also left them with the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, the son of Neriah. Nebuzaradan was commander of the royal guard. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan.
Reference
7
So the Jewish leaders disobeyed the Lord. They took everyone to Egypt. They went all the way to Tahpanhes.
Reference
8
In Tahpanhes a message came to me from the Lord. He said,
9
"Make sure the Jews are watching you. Then get some large stones. Go to the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes. Bury the stones in the clay under the brick walkway there.
10
"Then tell the Jews, 'The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. And I will set his throne over these stones that are buried here. He will set up his royal tent over them.
Reference
11
He will come and attack Egypt. He will bring death to those I have appointed to die. He will take away as prisoners those I have appointed to be taken away. And he will kill with swords those I have appointed to be killed.
Reference
12
" ' "He will set the temples of the gods of Egypt on fire. He will burn their temples down. He will take the statues of their gods away. Nebuchadnezzar will be like a shepherd who wraps his coat around himself. He will wrap Egypt around himself. And he will leave there unharmed.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 49:18
Jeremiah 48:7
Psalm 104:2
Job 40:10
2 Samuel 5:21
Esther 6:9
References Egypt
Isaiah 19:1
References God
Ezekiel 30:13
Jeremiah 46:25
Exodus 12:12
13
At Heliopolis in Egypt he will smash the sacred pillars to pieces. And he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt." ' "
📍 Heliopolis
Summary of Jeremiah 43
Jeremiah 43 continues directly from the crisis at the end of chapter 42. The surviving Judeans had asked Jeremiah to seek God's guidance, promising that they would obey whatever God commanded. God answered clearly: remain in Judah and do not go to Egypt.
Instead of accepting the answer, the leaders reject it.
Azariah, Johanan, and other prominent men accuse Jeremiah of lying. They even blame Baruch, suggesting that he is influencing Jeremiah and trying to deliver them into Babylonian hands.
Their accusations reveal that they have already made their decision. They did not really want to know what God wanted them to do; they wanted confirmation of the plan they had already chosen.
So they leave Judah.
The irony is powerful. These people had just experienced the devastation that came from rejecting God's warnings, yet immediately after Jerusalem's destruction they repeat the same pattern. They hear God's instruction, dislike it, and choose another path.
The commanders gather the remaining people and take them toward Egypt. They bring Jeremiah and Baruch with them, meaning that even the prophet himself becomes part of the group of refugees.
Eventually they arrive at Tahpanhes, an important settlement in northeastern Egypt.
But God's message follows them there.
The geographical distance does not place them outside God's authority, and their rejection of Jeremiah's warning does not end his prophetic ministry. Instead, God gives Jeremiah another symbolic message.
He tells Jeremiah to take large stones and hide them in the mortar at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes. These stones become a prophetic sign.
Jeremiah announces that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will eventually come to Egypt and establish his throne over the very place where the stones have been hidden.
The message is devastating for the refugees because Egypt was supposed to be their place of safety.
They had left Judah because they feared Babylon. They believed that Egypt would protect them from war and retaliation. Yet God tells them that Babylon will eventually reach Egypt as well.
In other words, they have not escaped the danger by changing locations.
The chapter therefore continues the major theme introduced in chapter 42: human beings cannot find true security by running away from God's instruction.
The people believed Egypt was safer than Judah, but God had already told them that their safety depended on obedience rather than geography.
The prophecy then expands beyond the Judean refugees to Egypt itself. Babylon will attack Egypt, bring death and captivity, and demonstrate that Egypt's political and religious power cannot protect it.
The reference to Egyptian temples and sacred pillars is particularly important because Egypt was famous for its powerful religious system. Jeremiah's message declares that these gods will not save Egypt from Babylon.
The final verse refers to Beth-shemesh, probably Heliopolis, one of Egypt's important religious centers. Even its temples and sacred structures will be affected by the coming judgment.
The chapter therefore presents a tragic chain of decisions: the people fear Babylon, ask God for guidance, promise obedience, reject God's answer, flee to Egypt, and then receive a prophecy that Babylon will eventually reach the very land in which they sought refuge.
At the same time, Jeremiah's presence in Egypt demonstrates that God's purposes are not stopped by the people's disobedience. The prophet continues to speak, even in the place where the people have chosen to ignore his earlier warning.
The central message is that Jeremiah 43 demonstrates the danger of seeking God's guidance only when we expect Him to approve our own plans, because the surviving Judeans promise to obey whatever God says but reject His command to remain in Judah when the answer conflicts with their fear of Babylon and their desire to escape to Egypt; they then force the entire remnant, including Jeremiah and Baruch, to travel to Tahpanhes, only to receive another prophetic warning that Babylon will eventually invade Egypt as well, showing that geographical escape cannot provide the security that obedience to God provides, while the prophecy concerning Egypt's temples and political power further demonstrates that human institutions, military strength, wealth, and religious systems cannot ultimately protect people when they deliberately reject God's direction.
Instead of accepting the answer, the leaders reject it.
Azariah, Johanan, and other prominent men accuse Jeremiah of lying. They even blame Baruch, suggesting that he is influencing Jeremiah and trying to deliver them into Babylonian hands.
Their accusations reveal that they have already made their decision. They did not really want to know what God wanted them to do; they wanted confirmation of the plan they had already chosen.
So they leave Judah.
The irony is powerful. These people had just experienced the devastation that came from rejecting God's warnings, yet immediately after Jerusalem's destruction they repeat the same pattern. They hear God's instruction, dislike it, and choose another path.
The commanders gather the remaining people and take them toward Egypt. They bring Jeremiah and Baruch with them, meaning that even the prophet himself becomes part of the group of refugees.
Eventually they arrive at Tahpanhes, an important settlement in northeastern Egypt.
But God's message follows them there.
The geographical distance does not place them outside God's authority, and their rejection of Jeremiah's warning does not end his prophetic ministry. Instead, God gives Jeremiah another symbolic message.
He tells Jeremiah to take large stones and hide them in the mortar at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes. These stones become a prophetic sign.
Jeremiah announces that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will eventually come to Egypt and establish his throne over the very place where the stones have been hidden.
The message is devastating for the refugees because Egypt was supposed to be their place of safety.
They had left Judah because they feared Babylon. They believed that Egypt would protect them from war and retaliation. Yet God tells them that Babylon will eventually reach Egypt as well.
In other words, they have not escaped the danger by changing locations.
The chapter therefore continues the major theme introduced in chapter 42: human beings cannot find true security by running away from God's instruction.
The people believed Egypt was safer than Judah, but God had already told them that their safety depended on obedience rather than geography.
The prophecy then expands beyond the Judean refugees to Egypt itself. Babylon will attack Egypt, bring death and captivity, and demonstrate that Egypt's political and religious power cannot protect it.
The reference to Egyptian temples and sacred pillars is particularly important because Egypt was famous for its powerful religious system. Jeremiah's message declares that these gods will not save Egypt from Babylon.
The final verse refers to Beth-shemesh, probably Heliopolis, one of Egypt's important religious centers. Even its temples and sacred structures will be affected by the coming judgment.
The chapter therefore presents a tragic chain of decisions: the people fear Babylon, ask God for guidance, promise obedience, reject God's answer, flee to Egypt, and then receive a prophecy that Babylon will eventually reach the very land in which they sought refuge.
At the same time, Jeremiah's presence in Egypt demonstrates that God's purposes are not stopped by the people's disobedience. The prophet continues to speak, even in the place where the people have chosen to ignore his earlier warning.
The central message is that Jeremiah 43 demonstrates the danger of seeking God's guidance only when we expect Him to approve our own plans, because the surviving Judeans promise to obey whatever God says but reject His command to remain in Judah when the answer conflicts with their fear of Babylon and their desire to escape to Egypt; they then force the entire remnant, including Jeremiah and Baruch, to travel to Tahpanhes, only to receive another prophetic warning that Babylon will eventually invade Egypt as well, showing that geographical escape cannot provide the security that obedience to God provides, while the prophecy concerning Egypt's temples and political power further demonstrates that human institutions, military strength, wealth, and religious systems cannot ultimately protect people when they deliberately reject God's direction.