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Jeremiah43

After Jeremiah delivered the LORD's command to remain in Judah, the people, led by Azariah and Johanan, rejected his words, accusing him of falsehood and Baruch of manipulation. Disobeying the LORD, they forcibly took Jeremiah, Baruch, and the remnant of Judah to Egypt. In Tahpanhes, the LORD revealed to Jeremiah that Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, would invade and conquer Egypt, setting his throne upon hidden stones and destroying Egyptian idols.
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The Remnant Disobeys and Flees to Egypt

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When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything that the LORD had sent him to say— ​
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Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’ ​
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Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, so that they may put us to death or exile us to Babylon!” ​
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So Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces disobeyed the command of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.
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Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been scattered,
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the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. ​
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So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes. ​

Prophecy of Babylon’s Invasion of Egypt

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Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes: ​
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“In the sight of the Jews, pick up some large stones and bury them in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. ​
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Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have embedded, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them. ​
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He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
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I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed. ​
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He will demolish the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’” ​

Study Notes for Jeremiah 43

Verse 1

This verse concludes the interaction detailed in chapter 42, where Jeremiah delivered God’s explicit command that the people must remain in Judah and not flee to Egypt.

Verse 2

Azariah and Johanan represent the military and political leadership who refuse to accept divine guidance that contradicts their own predetermined plans. They accuse Jeremiah of deceit, a common response when prophecy demands difficult obedience.

Verse 3

Baruch was Jeremiah’s faithful scribe and confidant (Jer. 36). The leaders shift blame, accusing Baruch of manipulating the prophet to force them into a situation where the Babylonians might follow them and capture them anyway.

Verse 6

The inclusion of the 'king’s daughters' suggests that some members of the royal family survived the fall of Jerusalem and Nebuchadnezzar’s purge. Crucially, Jeremiah and Baruch are forcibly taken to Egypt, demonstrating the people’s total control over the prophet.

Verse 7

Tahpanhes was a major Egyptian border fortress and administrative center in the eastern Nile Delta, often a refuge for those fleeing Palestine. This location confirms the depth of their disobedience.

Verse 8

Despite being forced into Egypt against his will, Jeremiah remains Yahweh’s prophet, and the word of the Lord continues to come to him, even on foreign soil.

Verse 9

This is a prophetic sign-act, a visible demonstration meant to teach the audience a theological truth. The hidden stones will become the foundation for Babylon’s temporary throne in Egypt.

Verse 10

Nebuchadrezzar (Nebuchadnezzar) is explicitly called 'my servant,' a title usually reserved for faithful Israelite leaders. This emphasizes that the Babylonian king, though pagan, is Yahweh’s instrument of judgment against all nations, including Egypt.

Verse 12

The imagery of the shepherd wrapping himself in a garment suggests the ease and totality with which Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt and take its spoils. He will move through the land virtually unopposed.

Verse 13

Bethshemesh ('House of the Sun') is the Egyptian city of On (or Heliopolis), a major center of the sun god Re. The destruction of its images signifies that Yahweh’s judgment extends to the defeat of the powerful Egyptian pantheon.

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