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Then all the commanders◦ of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareaḥ, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the smallest and even··to the greatest, approached,
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and said to▵ Jeremiah◦ the prophet, We pray◦ thee, let our supplication◦ fall before thee, and pray for us to▵ Jehovah thy God, even for▫ all these who··are··left; for we are left but a few from being··many, as◦ thine eyes do see us;
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and Jehovah thy God may tell us the way in which we may go, and the thing that we may do.
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And Jeremiah◦ the prophet said unto▵ them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto▵ Jehovah your God according··to your words; and it shall be, every word that Jehovah shall answer you, I will tell you; I will not withhold a word from you.
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And they said to▵ Jeremiah◦, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not so according··to every word which Jehovah thy God shall send by thee to▵ us.
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Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we hearken to the voice of Jehovah our God.
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And it was, after ten days, that the word of Jehovah was unto Jeremiah◦.
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And he called Johanan the son of Kareaḥ, and all the commanders◦ of the forces which were with◦ him, and all the people from the least even··to the greatest,
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and said unto them, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom you sent me to cause your supplication◦ to fall before Him;
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if you will return and dwell in this land, then I will build you, and not break· you ·down, and I will plant you, and not pluck· you ·up; for I repent of the evil that I have done to you.
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Fear not the face of the king of Babylon, whose face you fear; fear him not, says◦ Jehovah; for I◦ am with you to save you, and to rescue you from his hand.
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And I will give compassions unto you, that he may have··compassion upon you, and cause you to return to your own ground.
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But if you◦ say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of Jehovah your God,
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saying, No◦; but we will go··into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the voice of the shophar*, nor hunger for bread; and there will we dwell:
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and now therefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye who··are··left of Judah: Thus says Jehovah of Armies, the God of Israel; If setting you◦ set your faces to come into Egypt, and go··in to sojourn there;
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and it shall be, that the sword, which you◦ feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which you were··anxious, shall stick to you there in Egypt; and there you shall··die.
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So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go··in into Egypt to sojourn 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 upon them.
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For thus says Jehovah of Armies, the God of Israel; As◦ My anger and My fury has been poured··out upon those who dwell in Jerusalem; so shall My fury be poured··out on you, when you shall come··into Egypt; and you shall be for an oath, and for an astonishment, and for a reviling, and for a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.
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Jehovah has spoken concerning you, O ye who··are··left of Judah; You shall not go··into Egypt; knowing know that I have testified against◦ you today.
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For you went··astray in your souls, when you sent me unto▵ Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto▵ Jehovah our God; and according··to all that Jehovah our God shall say, so tell us, and we will do it.
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And today I have told you; but you have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God, nor◦ any thing for which He has sent me to▵ you.
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And now knowing you shall know that you shall··die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither you delight to come to sojourn.
