Jeremiah 42:14
in Jeremiah 42and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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:
KJV
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:
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This verse in Jeremiah 42
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Egypt had lost the battle of Carchemish, but it had not been the scene itself of military operations; while Judaea, from the date of the battle of Megiddo, had perpetually been exposed to the actual horrors of war.
This site's exposition
We will not stay in this land
on Jeremiah 42:13-18
If the remnant goes to Egypt, “the sword you fear will overtake you there.” Barnes notes sword, famine, and plague are the three judgments named throughout the book. As wrath was poured out on Jerusalem, it will be poured out on them, and they “will never see this place again.”
This site's exposition
go to the land of Egypt
Egypt looked safe for a reason. Albert Barnes notes that it had lost at Carchemish yet its own soil had seen no fighting, while Judah had known war since Megiddo. Matthew Henry answers that no change of place escapes the judgments of God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, It is folly to quit our place, especially to quit the holy land, because we meet with trouble in it; but greater folly to think by changing our place to escape the judgments of God, and that evil which pursues sinners in every way of disobedience, and which there is no escaping but by returning to our allegiance.
Saying, no, but we will go into the land of Egypt,....
They are charged with dissimulation in their asking what God's will was in this matter and disobedience when they were told what it was; and sentence is accordingly passed upon them,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the sound of the horn which the lookouts sound to warn the people.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֚א | lo' | In- | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | deed | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֶ֤רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| נָב֔וֹא | navo' | we will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִרְאֶה֙ | nireh | we will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֔ה | milchamah | warfare | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְק֥וֹל | vekol | and [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שׁוֹפָ֖ר | shofar | a trumpet | H7782 → | 72 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִשְׁמָ֑ע | nishma' | we will hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְלַלֶּ֥חֶם | velalechem | and for <the> bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִרְעָ֖ב | nirav | we will be hungry | H7456 → | |
| וְשָׁ֥ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| נֵשֵֽׁב׃ | neshev | we will dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לֹ֚אIn-
lo'H3808 →5168 times
כִּ֣יdeed
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֶ֤רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
נָב֔וֹאwe will go
navo'H935 →2568 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִרְאֶה֙we will see
nirehH7200 →1300 times
מִלְחָמָ֔הwarfare
milchamahH4421 →320 times
וְק֥וֹלand [the] sound of
vekolH6963 →506 times
שׁוֹפָ֖רa trumpet
shofarH7782 →72 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִשְׁמָ֑עwe will hear
nishma'H8085 →1159 times
וְלַלֶּ֥חֶםand for <the> bread
velalechemH3899 →298 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִרְעָ֖בwe will be hungry
niravH7456 →
וְשָׁ֥םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
נֵשֵֽׁב׃we will dwell
neshevH3427 →1079 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 16:3“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us…
it leads to
- Numbers 11:4–5
Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
- Exodus 17:3
But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
- Numbers 20:3–5
The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD!
- Deuteronomy 28:67
In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you…
- Lamentations 4:9
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
- Numbers 11:4–5
Through
Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm…
it leads to
- Habakkuk 3:16
I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the…
- Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
- Isaiah 16:11
Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir-heres.
- Habakkuk 3:16
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.