Jeremiah 43 explained: Running to Egypt Anyway

Calling the prophet a liar (vv. 1-3)

In the chapter before, these leaders asked Jeremiah what God wanted and promised to obey; he told them to stay in Judah rather than flee from Babylonian revenge. Now that the answer is not what they wanted, they call it a lie and blame his secretary Baruch for plotting to hand them to the Babylonians.

Everyone taken to Egypt (vv. 4-7)

The army officers lead the whole community away, including people who had only recently come home from other countries and the royal women Babylon had left behind. They even take Jeremiah and Baruch, apparently against their will, to Tahpanhes, a city on Egypt's border nearest Judah.

Stones at Pharaoh's door (vv. 8-10)

God tells Jeremiah to bury large stones at the entrance of Pharaoh's building in Tahpanhes while the people of Judah watch, as an acted-out message that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will set up his throne on that very spot. Calling him God's "servant" means God is using him as a tool, not that he was faithful.

Egypt will not be safe (vv. 11-13)

The place they fled to for safety will itself be invaded, its people killed or captured, and its temples burned, including the great sun temple at Heliopolis with its stone pillars. The shepherd image in verse 12 is unclear in the Hebrew, so translations differ, and while a Babylonian record mentions a campaign against Egypt years later, how fully this was fulfilled is uncertain.

Key verse: Jeremiah 43:4

Something to think about

Have you ever asked someone for advice while already knowing what you wanted to hear, and how did you respond when the answer was different?