Brīdinājums nedoties uz Ēģipti
1 Tad visi karaspēka virsnieki un Jehohānāns, Kārēha dēls, Jezanja, Hošajas dēls, un visa tauta no maza līdz lielam, 2 nāca pie pravieša Jeremijas un sacīja: “Pieņem mūsu lūgšanu, lūdz Kungu, savu Dievu, par mums un par visu šo atlikumu! Jo mēs esam palikuši tikai daži no daudziem, kā tu pats redzi! 3 Varbūt Kungs, tavs Dievs, pavēstīs, pa kuru ceļu mums iet un ko mums darīt!” 4 Pravietis Jeremija viņiem teica: “Dzirdēju! Redzi, es lūgšu Kungu, jūsu Dievu, kā jūs teicāt, un visu, ko Kungs jums atbildēs, es jums pastāstīšu un neslēpšu neko!” 5 Un viņi teica Jeremijam: “Lai Kungs mums ir patiess un uzticams liecinieks, ja mēs visu nedarīsim tā, kā caur tevi mums saka Kungs, tavs Dievs! 6 Labi vai slikti, bet mēs klausīsim mūsu Kungu Dievu, pie kura mēs tevi sūtām, lai mums klātos labi, jo mēs klausīsim mūsu Kunga Dieva balsij!”
7 Pēc desmit dienām Kunga vārds nāca pār Jeremiju, 8 un viņš pasauca Jehohānānu, Kārēha dēlu, un visus karaspēka virsniekus, kas bija ar viņu, un visu tautu no maza līdz lielam. 9 Un viņš teica: “Tā saka Kungs, Israēla Dievs, pie kura jūs mani sūtījāt, lai viņš pieņem jūsu lūgšanu: 10 ja jūs palikt paliksiet šajā zemē, tad es jūs celšu, nevis noplēsīšu, jo es mitēšos no ļauna, ko esmu jums darījis! 11 Nebaidieties no Bābeles ķēniņa, no kura jūs baidāties, nebaidieties no viņa! – saka Kungs, es jūs glābšu un izpestīšu no viņa rokas! 12 Es došu jums žēlsirdību, ka viņš būs līdzjūtīgs pret jums un ļaus palikt jums jūsu zemē.
13 Bet, ja jūs teiksiet: šajā zemē mēs nepaliksim! – neklausīdami jūsu Kunga Dieva balsij, 14 sacīdami: nē, mēs iesim uz Ēģiptes zemi, tur mēs karu neredzēsim un raga balsi nedzirdēsim, un maizes nesalksim, tur mēs mitīsim! – 15 tad klausies Kunga vārdus, Jūdas atlikums, tā saka Pulku Kungs, Israēla Dievs: ja jūs grasāties iet uz Ēģipti, lai apmestos tur, 16 tad zobens, no kā jūs baidāties, jūs panāks Ēģiptes zemē, un bads, kas jums tā rūp, jums ķersies klāt arī Ēģiptē, un tur jūs mirsiet! 17 Visi, kas griezīs savu vaigu uz Ēģipti, lai apmestos tur, mirs no zobena, bada un mēra, starp tiem nebūs ne izbēgušā, ne izmukušā no ļaunuma, ko es pār tiem nesīšu!”
18 Jo tā saka Pulku Kungs, Israēla Dievs: “Kā manas dusmas un niknums tika izliets pār Jeruzālemes iemītniekiem, tā mans niknums tiks izliets arī pār jums, ja jūs iesiet uz Ēģipti, un jūs būsiet par lāstu, šausmām, nolādējumu un paļām un šo vietu vairs neredzēsiet!” 19 Kungs teica par jums, Jūdas atlikums: “Neejiet uz Ēģipti!” Zināt ziniet, ka šodien es jūs brīdināju! 20 Jūsu muļķība jums maksās dzīvību, jo jūs sūtījāt mani pie Kunga, sava Dieva, sacīdami: “Lūdz par mums Kungu, mūsu Dievu! Stāsti mums visu, ko teiks Kungs, mūsu Dievs, un mēs to darīsim! – 21 Šodien es jums to pastāstīju, bet jūs neklausījāt Kunga, sava Dieva, balsij un visam, ko viņš man lika jums teikt. 22 Tagad zināt ziniet, ka no zobena, bada un mēra jūs mirsiet tajā vietā, kurp kārojat iet un apmesties!”
The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray for Them
1 Then all the army leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah son of Hoshaiah, came with people of every class 2 and said to me, “Please do what we ask you! Pray to the Lord our God for us. Pray for all of us who have survived. Once there were many of us; but now only a few of us are left, as you can see. 3 Pray that the Lord our God will show us the way we should go and what we should do.”
4 I answered, “Very well, then. I will pray to the Lord our God, just as you have asked, and whatever he says, I will tell you. I will not keep back anything from you.”
5 Then they said to me, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey all the commands that the Lord our God gives you for us. 6 Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey him.”
The Lord's Answer to Jeremiah's Prayer
7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to me; 8 so I called together Johanan, all the army leaders who were with him, and all the other people. 9 I said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your request has said, 10 ‘If you are willing to go on living in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up. The destruction I brought on you has caused me great sorrow. 11 Stop being afraid of the king of Babylonia. I am with you, and I will rescue you from his power. 12 Because I am merciful, I will make him have mercy on you and let you go back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
13-15 “But you people who are left in Judah must not disobey the Lord your God and refuse to live in this land. You must not say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we won't face war any more or hear the call to battle or go hungry.’ If you say this, then the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you are determined to go and live in Egypt, 16 then the war that you fear will overtake you, and the hunger you dread will follow you, and you will die there in Egypt. 17 All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.’
18 “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.’”
19 Then I continued, “The Lord has told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. And so I warn you now 20 that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to the Lord our God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands. 21 And now I have told you, but you are disobeying everything that the Lord our God sent me to tell you. 22 So then, remember this: you will die in war or of starvation or disease in the land where you want to go and live.”
