Jeremiah 42:18

For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God speaks through Jeremiah to the remnant of Judah who are preparing to flee to Egypt for safety after the temple's destruction. He delivers this declaration immediately after promising survival for those who remain in Judah and just before reiterating the direct command not to go to Egypt.

The words — The Hebrew כֹּה (kōh, "thus") and כְּ/אֲשֶׁר (kə/’ăšer, "just as") establish a comparative framework that binds past judgment on Jerusalem to future judgment on the refugees. This syntactic pairing signals that the coming disaster will mirror the earlier destruction in both nature and certainty.

The thread — The phrases "wrath poured out," "curse," "horror," and "vilification" directly parallel Jeremiah 7:20, 18:16, and 29:18, where identical terminology describes the fate of those who reject divine instruction. These passages collectively trace a consistent covenant pattern where fleeing to Egypt triggers the same destruction previously visited on Jerusalem.

Why it lands — The text states that going to Egypt will result in death by sword, famine, and plague, leaving the refugees as a lasting object of disgrace. It requires the reader to weigh the certainty of God's explicit warning against the perceived security of human political alliances.

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

כִּי֩kifor כֹ֨הkhohthus אָמַ֜ר'a.Marhe says יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh צְבָאוֹת֮tze.va.'Otof hosts אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei[the] God of יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Yis.ra.'ElIsrael כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ka./'a.Sherjust/ as נִתַּ֨ךְni.Takhit was poured out אַפִּ֜י'a.P/ianger/ my וַחֲמָתִ֗יva./cha.ma.T/iand/ rage/ my עַל־'al-on יֹֽשְׁבֵי֙yo.she.Vei[the] inhabitants of יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םye.Ru.sha.LimJerusalem כֵּ֣ןkenso תִּתַּ֤ךְti.Takhit will pour out חֲמָתִי֙cha.ma.T/irage/ my עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם'a.lei./Khemon/ you בְּבֹאֲכֶ֖םbe./vo.'a./Khemwhen/ go/ you מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt וִהְיִיתֶ֞םvi/h.yi.Temand/ you will become לְאָלָ֤הle./'a.Lah<into>/ an curse וּלְשַׁמָּה֙u./le./sha.Mahand/ <into>/ a horror וְלִקְלָלָ֣הve./li/k.la.Lahand/ <into>/ a curse וּלְחֶרְפָּ֔הu./le./cher.Pahand/ <into>/ a reproach וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not תִרְא֣וּtir.'Uyou will see ע֔וֹדodagain אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַמָּק֖וֹםha./ma.Komthe/ place הַזֶּֽה׃ha./Zeh<the>/ this

King James Version

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.
Jeremiah 18:16 They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
Jeremiah 29:18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.
Deuteronomy 29:21 and single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
Isaiah 65:15 You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
Jeremiah 22:27 You will never return to the land for which you long.”
Jeremiah 24:9 I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
Jeremiah 44:12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

Places named

Jerusalem