Jeremiah 42:16-17
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This verse powerfully reveals that the very things they dreaded—the sword and famine—would find them in Egypt, not as random misfortune, but as the direct consequence of defying God's counsel. It highlights that trying to escape God's path by turning to forbidden places will only bring the feared dangers right to their doorstep.
then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
A remnant of Jews, fearing further destruction in Judah after Jerusalem's fall, have desperately asked the prophet Jeremiah to inquire of God whether they should flee to Egypt for safety. Jeremiah, after a period of prayer, delivers God's response: if they choose to ignore His command to stay in their land and instead flee to Egypt, the very dangers they sought to escape – war and starvation – will follow them there and ultimately lead to their deaths.
Do you ever feel like you're running from something, only to find it waiting for you? Jeremiah's prophecy reveals a stark reality: disobedience doesn't lead to safety, but to a more certain doom.
The people of Judah were terrified of the Babylonian army and the resulting famine in their land. Their desperate plan? Flee to Egypt, a place they wrongly believed would offer refuge.
But God, speaking through Jeremiah, had a different message. He declared that the very fears they were running from – the sword and famine – would not only follow them to Egypt but would overtake them there.
This isn't just about a historical event; it's a powerful principle. When we try to escape God's will or warnings through disobedience, we don't find freedom. Instead, we often find ourselves trapped by the very things we sought to avoid, in a place where we thought we were safe.
We often rationalize our choices, telling ourselves that a slightly 'wrong' path is better than the 'hard' right one. But God sees through these justifications.
The people of Judah believed that going to Egypt would spare them from war and hunger. They convinced themselves that in Egypt, they would find peace and provision. This was a dangerous deception.
God's word reveals that their desire to go to Egypt was rooted in disobedience and a refusal to trust His promises and His prophet. They were choosing a path that seemed safer to them, but was actually a path leading to judgment.
This verse is a stark warning against seeking refuge in sin or disobedience. We might think we're escaping hardship, but we're actually walking into a trap, trading God's protection for a false sense of security. The 'sword' they feared in Judah, and the 'famine' they dreaded, were the very things God promised them in Egypt.
Ask a follow-up
Understand the original words
chereb · Hebrew Noun
A literal weapon used in war, often serving as a synecdoche for war itself, divine judgment, or sudden destruction in the Old Testament.
ra'ab · Hebrew Noun
A severe shortage of food, frequently portrayed in the Bible as a divine instrument of discipline, judgment, or testing upon a nation or individual.
This verse powerfully illustrates the prophetic warning that fleeing from God's judgment through disobedience only leads to finding the very dangers one sought to escape, now amplified by rebellion.
c. 588 BC
Siege of Jerusalem begins
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon begins his lengthy siege of Jerusalem, leading to widespread famine and eventual destruction.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is conquered, the Temple is destroyed, and the remaining population of Judea is deported to Babylon, except for a small remnant left behind.
c. 586 BC— this verse
Remnant flees to Egypt
A group of Judean survivors, led by Johanan son of Kareah, defies Jeremiah's prophecy and flees to Egypt, fearing reprisal from the Babylonians.
c. 586-570 BC
Babylonian conquest of Egypt
Nebuchadnezzar II campaigns in Egypt, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy that the calamities the Judeans sought to escape would find them there.
This passage echoes Jeremiah's warning, stating that those who flee to Egypt will face the sword there, reinforcing the idea that no escape is possible from God's judgment, even through disobedience.
Isaiah 30:2This earlier prophecy directly condemns seeking refuge in Egypt, calling it a reliance on Pharaoh and a betrayal of trust in God, a theme that directly underlies the judgment pronounced in Jeremiah 42:16.
Deuteronomy 17:16This command in the Law explicitly warned against returning to Egypt, establishing a foundational prohibition that the people in Jeremiah's time were flagrantly disobeying, making their fate in Egypt a direct consequence of this disobedience.
Jeremiah 44:12-14This later chapter in Jeremiah further details the fate of those who fled to Egypt, explicitly stating they would die by the sword and famine, directly fulfilling the prophecy given in 42:16.
Jeremiah 46:25-26This prophecy specifically foretells the judgment of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, providing the historical context for how the 'sword' threatened in Jeremiah 42:16 would indeed come upon them in that land.
barnesJeremiah 42:16: "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."
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…
calvinJeremiah 42:13-17: "But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,"
Nunc propterea audite sermonem Jehovae, residuum Jehudah, quia sic dicit Jehova exercituum, Deus Israel, Si vos ponendo posueritis facies vestras ad ingrediendum Aegyptum (ut ingrediamini in Aegyptum,) et ingressi fueritis illic ad peregrinandum;
Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereo…
This verse powerfully reveals that the very things they dreaded—the sword and famine—would find them in Egypt, not as random misfortune, but as the direct consequence of defying God's counsel. It highlights that trying to escape God's path by turning to forbidden places will only bring the feared dangers right to their doorstep.
A remnant of Jews, fearing further destruction in Judah after Jerusalem's fall, have desperately asked the prophet Jeremiah to inquire of God whether they should flee to Egypt for safety. Jeremiah, after a period of prayer, delivers God's response: if they choose to ignore His command to stay in their land and instead flee to Egypt, the very dangers they sought to escape – war and starvation – will follow them there and ultimately lead to their deaths.
A remnant of Jews, fearing further destruction in Judah after Jerusalem's fall, have desperately asked the prophet Jeremiah to inquire of God whether they should flee to Egypt for safety. Jeremiah, after a period of prayer, delivers God's response: if they choose to ignore His command to stay in their land and instead flee to Egypt, the very dangers they sought to escape – war and starvation – will follow them there and ultimately lead to their deaths.
"then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there…" — This verse powerfully reveals that the very things they dreaded—the sword and famine—would find them in Egypt, not as random misfortune, but as the direct consequence of defying God's counsel. It hig…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
