This chapter contains a request of the Jews to Jeremiah, to pray to the Lord for them to direct them, and the Lord’s answer to it. The request is made by the captains and all the people, Jer. 42:1–3; which Jeremiah undertook to present to the Lord, Jer.

Then all the captains of the forces Having taken up their residence at the habitation of Chimham, in their way to Egypt, where they were desirous of going, and being afraid of the Chaldeans, as they pretended: and Johanan the son of Kareah; or, “even Johanan” [[17]]; especially and particularly he,…

And said unto Jeremiah the prophet That is, some one of them, as the mouth of the whole body, very probably Johanan: let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee; they treat the prophet with great respect, and are very humble and submissive, as if they were very hearty and sincere…

That the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, &c.] Not the way of their duty as to religious worship, or their moral conversation, which was the way of God’s commandments, and had been shown them, and they knew it; but which way they should steer their course for their safety; they…

Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you, &c.] He took notice of what they said to him, and found himself disposed to comply with their request, and readily granted it: behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God, according to your words; be an intercessor for them; use his…

Then they said to Jeremiah, the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us Which is the form of an oath; a solemn appeal to God, as a witness to what they were about to say, and to the sincerity of their hearts in it; who is true to his word, and faithful to his promises and threatenings; and…

Whether it be good, or whether it be evil Not morally good, or evil; for nothing but what is good, and not evil, in this sense, can come from God; but whether pleasantly or profitably good or evil; whether agreeable or disagreeable, pleasing or displeasing, advantageous or not; whether it seemed to…

And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. ] Abarbinel thinks it was on the tenth day of the seventh month, the day of atonement, that the answer was returned; but it is clear, from the context, that it was ten days from the time the Jews applied to the…

Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah That is, Jeremiah, as soon as he had received the answer from the Lord, called to Johanan; who, after the death of Gedaliah, was a person of the greatest authority, and had the command of the people, to come unto him, and hear what it was: he either called…

And said unto them, thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, &c.] That had chosen Israel; had a favour for that people, and bestowed many blessings on them, and continued in a covenant relation to them; and therefore what he said should be regarded by them.

If ye will still abide in this land In the land of Judea, their native country, where they had always lived, and where they continued when their brethren were carried captive; and yet they thought of going out of it, which the Lord knew; and therefore to encourage them to abide in it, and not think…

Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid, &c.] Lest he should revenge the death of Gedaliah upon them, which was a groundless fear; see ; or that they should be dealt hardly with by him, and be cruelly oppressed, and not able to live in subjection to him; see ; be not afraid of…

And I will show mercies unto you Bestow blessings of goodness upon them, out of pure mercy and compassion to them, and not according to their merits; or I will cause others to show mercy to them, even the king of Babylon, as follows: God shows mercy to men when he stirs up the compassion of others…

But if ye say, we will not dwell in this land Or continue any longer in it, but go into Egypt:, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God; or, “so as not to hearken to” or “obey” [[19]]; for they did not say in so many words that they would not obey the voice of the Lord; they had promised they…

Saying, no, but we will go into the land of Egypt It was all one as if they had said, no, we will not obey the voice of the Lord to continue in our own land; we are determined to go into Egypt, induced by the following reasons: where we shall see no war; either internal, or with a foreign enemy; as…

And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah A small remnant indeed, a few that were left in the land; who ought therefore to have admired the distinguishing goodness of Providence in preserving them in it; where they should have continued and made use of their privilege, to the…

Then it shall come to pass That the various judgments following should come upon them: that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; that is, the sword; of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, which they feared they should fall by in Judea; this should come after them…

So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there Not all that went into Egypt, but all that were resolutely set upon it; that were obstinately bent to go there, and did go, contrary to the express command of God; for otherwise there were some that were forced…

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel (See Gill on Jer. 42:15); as mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; like a large hasty shower of rain; or rather like melted metal, which suddenly and swiftly runs, and spreads itself, and burns and…

The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah Or, “unto you” [[21]]; by the mouth of the prophet; or, “against you” [[22]]; that which was contrary to their inclination and will, as follows: go ye not into Egypt: this was the express command of God: know certainly that I have admonished…

For ye dissembled in your hearts Did not honestly and faithfully declare their intentions; they said one thing with their mouths, and meant another in their minds; they pretended they would act according to the will of God, as it should be made known to them by him, when they were determined to…

And now I have this day declared it unto you The whole will of God, and had not kept back anything from them: but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God; or, “ye will not obey” [[2]]; the prophet knew they would not obey the command of the Lord not to go into Egypt, either by his…

Now therefore know certainly Or, “in knowing know” [[3]]; they might assure themselves of this, that it would certainly come to pass, and most justly and deservedly; since it was at their own request the prophet sought the mind of the Lord for them, and had faithfully related it to them, and they…