What does the Lord say to the all the Judeans who lived in Egypt concerning the disaster he had brought upon Jerusalem?

In the previous passage (Jeremiah 43:8–13), the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes in Egypt spoke of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel bringing his judgment onto the land of Egypt and her gods, the implication being that the Israelites who had fled to Egypt would be subject to that judgment. That implication is now made explicit as Jeremiah receives another word from the Lord. This word is concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros. It is clear that the Israelite population was greater than just the group that fled there with Johanan, taking Jeremiah with them. Many more had fled to Egypt at different stages and had formed communities in different parts of the land.¹ The message Jeremiah receives from the Lord is for all Judeans living in Egypt. It is unlikely that he travelled to all these places to deliver the message. Perhaps many had gathered in Tahpanhes when news of the arrival of Johanan’s group spread.

The first part of the message is a reminder of the devastating judgment the Lord had brought on Judah and Jerusalem because the people had continued worshipping false gods even though the Lord had persistently sent his prophets to warn them. It is clear that all the Judeans living in Egypt knew of this great tragedy that had come to Judah. The language that Jeremiah uses to describe the destruction of the cities is hyperbolic. The cities were not completely uninhabited, but his description drives home just how devastating the Lord’s judgment on a rebellious people was.²