Jeremiah 42:16
in Jeremiah 42then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
KJV
Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
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This verse in Jeremiah 42
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
What our hearts are most set on often proves fatal to us. Those who think to escape troubles by changing their place will find them wherever they go (Eze 11:8). The "sword" here is that of Nebuchadnezzar, who fulfilled the prediction in his expedition to Africa (according to MEGASTHENES, a heathen writer), 300 B.C.
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
the sword you fear will overtake you there
The sword and famine they fear will follow them into Egypt. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the sword as Nebuchadnezzar's, and cite Megasthenes for a later campaign of his into Africa. Matthew Henry says no one escapes trouble by changing his place.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Then it shall come to pass,....
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,
The men that go to Egypt in contradiction to God's will, to escape the sword and famine, shall die in Egypt by sword and famine. We may apply it to the common calamities of human life; those that are impatient of them, and think to avoid them by changing their place, will find that they are deceived and that they do not at all better themselves.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The sword - and the famine - shall follow close after you - Shall be at your heels; shall overtake and destroy you; for there ye shall die.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Translate it: “Then shall the sword of which ye are afraid reach you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye pine shall cleave close unto you in Egypt, and there shall ye die; and all the men who have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there shall die ... by the pestilence, nor shall they have anyone that is left or escaped from the evil which I will bring upon them.”
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיְתָ֣ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַחֶ֗רֶב | hacherev | the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּם֙ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יְרֵאִ֣ים | yereim | [are] afraid | H3373 → | |
| מִמֶּ֔נָּה | mimenah | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| שָׁ֛ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| תַּשִּׂ֥יג | tasig | it will overtake | H5381 → | 50 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְהָרָעָ֞ב | veharaav | and the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּ֣ם׀ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| דֹּאֲגִ֣ים | doagim | [are] anxious | H1672 → | 7 times |
| מִמֶּ֗נּוּ | mimenu | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| שָׁ֣ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יִדְבַּ֧ק | yidbak | it will pursue closely | H1692 → | 54 times |
| אַחֲרֵיכֶ֛ם | ʾachareikhem | behind you | H310 → | 715 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְשָׁ֥ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| תָּמֻֽתוּ׃ | tamutu | you will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְהָיְתָ֣הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
הַחֶ֗רֶבthe sword
hacherevH2719 →413 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתֶּם֙you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
יְרֵאִ֣ים[are] afraid
yereimH3373 →
מִמֶּ֔נָּהfrom it
mimenahH4480 →1188 times
שָׁ֛םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
תַּשִּׂ֥יגit will overtake
tasigH5381 →50 times
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְהָרָעָ֞בand the famine
veharaavH7458 →101 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אַתֶּ֣ם׀you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
דֹּאֲגִ֣ים[are] anxious
doagimH1672 →7 times
מִמֶּ֗נּוּfrom it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
שָׁ֣םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
יִדְבַּ֧קit will pursue closely
yidbakH1692 →54 times
אַחֲרֵיכֶ֛םbehind you
ʾachareikhemH310 →715 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְשָׁ֥םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
תָּמֻֽתוּ׃you will die
tamutuH4191 →839 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
Deuteronomy 28:22The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:16
then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed…
- Amos 4:9
“I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Haggai 2:17
I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD.
- 1 Kings 8:37
When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,
- Leviticus 26:16
Through
John 11:48If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- Daniel 9:26–27
Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end…
- Acts 5:28
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16
Through
Jeremiah 44:27I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 31:28
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 on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
