Jeremiah 50

1 When Jeremiah had finished speaking to the people all the words of the Lord that the Lord had sent him to them with — all these words — 2 Azariah son of Maaseiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the men who had spoken to Jeremiah said, “That is a lie! The Lord did not send you to us to say, Do not go into Egypt to live there.” [a] 3 “No — Baruch son of Neriah is setting you against us, so that you can give us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to put us to death and to carry us off to Babylon.” 4 So Johanan and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not listen to the voice of the Lord, to stay in the land of Judah. 5 Johanan and all the commanders of the forces took all those who remained of Judah — who had come back to live in the land — 6 the strong men and the women and the infants and the king’s daughters, and every soul that Nebuzaradan had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, along with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah, 7 and they went into Egypt, because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord; and they came to Tahpanhes.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes: 9 “Take yourself large stones and bury them in the entrance, at the gate of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah,” 10 “and say, This is what the Lord says: Look, I am sending for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bringing him here, and he will set his throne on top of these stones you have buried, and he will raise his weapons over them.” 11 “He will come in and strike the land of Egypt — those marked for death, to death; those marked for exile, to exile; and those marked for the sword, to the sword.” 12 “He will set fire to the houses of their gods and burn them, and he will carry the people into exile. He will pick the land of Egypt clean, the way a shepherd picks the lice from his cloak, and he will go out in peace.” 13 “He will shatter the pillars of Heliopolis, which is On, and burn their houses with fire.” [b]