In Jeremiah 42:18–22, the prophet speaks to the people, warning them against the disobedience he has already anticipated. He reinforces the message he received from the Lord. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more.
The message could not be clearer. The Lord’s sovereign power and judgment will follow them all the way into Egypt. The curse that fell on Jerusalem will fall on them in Egypt. The Lord, says Jeremiah, has clearly warned them not to go to Egypt. Jeremiah then reminds them that they had sent him to pray for them to the Lord. They had promised to do whatever the Lord told them to do and Jeremiah had faithfully delivered the message to them. But Jeremiah says to them, But you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
Jeremiah knows the heart of the people. He knows that they had already made up their minds to go to Egypt. They simply wanted the Lord to affirm and bless their plans. They have no intention of obeying the Lord’s command to stay in the land. Their fear of Nebuchadnezzar is greater than their fear of the Lord. Jeremiah warns them again, Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.
In the context of the larger section of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 37:1–44:30, these words make it clear that hope for the future of the remnant that remained in Judah is removed forever; they have rejected the Lord’s promise of restoration. The hope of a restored people living in the land lies with the Babylonian exiles.1
22 Sachez maintenant que vous mourrez par l'épée, par la famine ou par la peste, dans le lieu où vous voulez aller pour y demeurer.