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Jeremiah 42: Pray for Us, Then We Will Obey

The frightened remnant begs Jeremiah to seek God's will and vows to obey, but God's clear answer—stay and do not fear—meets hearts already set on Egypt.

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Jeremiah 42 (WEB)

1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,

2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, Please let our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us:

3 that Yahweh your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray to Yahweh your God according to your words; and it shall happen that whatever thing Yahweh shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you.

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, Yahweh be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don’t do according to all the word with which Yahweh your God shall send you to us.

6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Yahweh our God.

7 After ten days, Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah.

8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

9 and said to them, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him:

10 If you will still live in this land, then I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I grieve over the distress that I have brought on you.

11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; don’t be afraid of him, says Yahweh: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to return to your own land.

13 But if you say, We will not dwell in this land; so that you don’t obey Yahweh your God’s voice,

14 saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:

15 now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah: Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there;

16 then it shall happen, that the sword, which you fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, shall follow close behind you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.

17 So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there: they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring on them.

18 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out on you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.

19 Yahweh has spoken concerning you, remnant of Judah, Don’t you go into Egypt: know certainly that I have testified to you this day.

20 For you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for you sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, Pray for us to Yahweh our God; and according to all that Yahweh our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it:

21 and I have this day declared it to you; but you have not obeyed Yahweh your God’s voice in anything for which he has sent me to you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to live there.

Summary

All the captains and people, from least to greatest, come to Jeremiah and beg him to pray that Yahweh will show them where to go and what to do, solemnly vowing to obey whatever God says, whether pleasant or hard. Jeremiah agrees and waits, and after ten days the word of the LORD comes. The message is tender and direct: if they will stay in the land, God will build them and plant them, not tear them down, for he grieves over the disaster he has brought; they need not fear the king of Babylon, for God himself is with them to save and deliver them and to grant them mercy. But if they set their faces to go to Egypt to escape war and famine, the very sword and famine they dread will overtake them there, and they will die far from home, becoming an object of horror and a curse. Jeremiah warns that they have deceived themselves, asking for God's word while their hearts are already decided. He testifies plainly that disobedience will mean death in the place they long to go.

Main Characters

  • Jeremiah — The prophet who faithfully prays for the people, waits on God, and delivers the LORD's answer without holding anything back, even as he sees their self-deception.
  • The remnant and its captains — The survivors who solemnly promise to obey God's word, yet whose hearts are already inclined toward Egypt before the answer comes.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who answers with mercy, promising to build and plant his people if they trust him, and warning of ruin if they flee in unbelief.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 42:11 (WEB)

Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; don’t be afraid of him, says Yahweh: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.

Lessons Learned

  • God's answers come on his timing; Jeremiah waits ten days for the word, and patience is part of obedience.
  • It is dangerous to ask for God's guidance when our hearts are already made up.
  • God's presence is the antidote to fear: “I am with you to save you.”
  • True obedience submits to God's word whether it is the answer we wanted or not.
  • Seeking God means surrendering the outcome. The people vow to obey “whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Jeremiah 42:6, WEB). Genuine guidance is sought by those ready to follow wherever it leads.
  • God's heart is to build and plant. “I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you” (Jeremiah 42:10, WEB). Even after judgment, the LORD longs to give his people a future.
  • Fear is answered by God's presence. “For I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand” (Jeremiah 42:11, WEB). The remedy for dread is not escape but the nearness of God.
  • Self-deception is a deadly trap. Jeremiah warns, “you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls” (Jeremiah 42:20, WEB). Asking God's will while resolved to do our own ruins us.
  1. Why is the people's promise in verses 5-6 so emphatic, and what does it set up for later in the story?
  2. What is significant about Jeremiah waiting ten days before God's answer comes?
  3. How does God's promise to “build” and “plant” reveal his heart toward the remnant?
  4. Jeremiah accuses the people of self-deception. How can we ask for guidance while secretly having already decided?
  5. Is there a decision where you have sought God's input but already made up your mind? What would real surrender look like?
  1. The people swear to obey “whether it be good, or whether it be evil” and call God a true witness against them (42:5-6). The solemn vow heightens the tragedy of the next chapter, where they reject the very word they begged for and break their oath.
  2. The delay shows that God answers on his own schedule, not on demand, and that waiting is itself part of trusting him. It also tested the people's professed willingness to obey—ten days was time for hearts to be revealed.
  3. God promises to build and plant rather than tear down, and even says he “grieves over the distress” he has brought (42:10). The language echoes Jeremiah's call and shows a God whose judgment is never the last word for those who trust him.
  4. Jeremiah says they “dealt deceitfully against your own souls” (42:20), seeking God's word while resolved on Egypt. Help the group see that we can use prayer or counsel as cover for a decision already made, and that this hardens rather than guides us.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a choice where they may be seeking confirmation rather than direction. As leader, encourage honest surrender and reassure them that God's guidance, even when costly, flows from his desire to build and not destroy.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.