Jeremiah 42:17

So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the remnant of Judahites who have just rejected his warning and resolved to flee to Egypt. This declaration follows their oath to obey God’s message while simultaneously plotting to ignore it.

The words — The Hebrew phrase שָׂמוּ (Sa.mu) = they have set, paired with פְּנֵי/הֶם (pe.nei/Hem) = faces/their, literally denotes fixing one’s direction toward a specific destination. This idiom marks their deliberate, irreversible commitment to relocate despite the stated warning.

The thread — The sequence sword, famine, and plague recurs in Jeremiah 42:22, Jeremiah 24:10, and Jeremiah 44:13 as the standard formula for executing divine judgment on disobedient Israel. Each citation ties the destruction of a specific community directly to their rejection of God’s word.

Why it lands — The text declares that every person who deliberately chooses Egypt will perish by those exact means, with no one escaping the coming disaster. It demands the reader acknowledge that human resolve cannot override divine decree and that rejecting a clear warning guarantees the stated outcome.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְיִֽהְי֣וּve./yih.Yuand/ they may be כָל־khol-all הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםha./'a.na.Shimthe/ people אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-who שָׂ֨מוּSa.muthey have set אֶת־'et-<obj.>פְּנֵיהֶ֜םpe.nei./Hemfaces/ their לָב֤וֹאla./Vo'to/ go מִצְרַ֙יִם֙mitz.Ra.yimEgypt לָג֣וּרla./Gurto/ sojourn שָׁ֔םShamthere יָמ֕וּתוּya.Mu.tuthey will die בַּחֶ֖רֶבba./Che.revby the/ sword בָּרָעָ֣בba./ra.'Avby <the>/ famine וּבַדָּ֑בֶרu./va./Da.verand/ by <the>/ pestilence וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not יִהְיֶ֤הyih.Yehhe will belongלָהֶם֙la./Hemto <the>/ themשָׂרִ֣ידsa.Rida survivor וּפָלִ֔יטu./fa.Litand/ an escapee מִפְּנֵי֙mi./pe.Neifrom/ before הָֽרָעָ֔הha./ra.'Ahthe/ calamity אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich אֲנִ֖י'a.NiI מֵבִ֥יאme.Vi'[will] bring עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ ס'a.lei./Hemon/ them

King James Version

So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 42:22 Now therefore, know for sure that by sword and famine and plague you will die in the place where you desire to go to reside.”
Jeremiah 24:10 And I will send against them sword and famine and plague, until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”
Jeremiah 44:13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,
Jeremiah 44:28 Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs!