em that they must not desert the land.)

Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah,
and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least
even unto the greatest, came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet,
"Let, we pray thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray
for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are
left but a few of many, as thine eyes do {323} behold us: that the
Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing
that we should do."

Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, "I have heard you; behold, I
will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall
come to pass that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will
declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you."

Then they said to Jeremiah, "The Lord be a true and faithful witness
amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word wherewith the
Lord thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it
be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send
thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord
our God."

And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came
unto Jeremiah. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from
the least even to the greatest, and said unto them, "Thus saith the
Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your
supplication before him: 'If ye will still abide in this land, then
will I build you up, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and
not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto
you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be
not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and
to deliver you from his hand. And I will grant you mercy, that he may
have mercy {324} upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.'
But if ye say, 'We will not dwell in this land'; so that ye obey not
the voice of the Lord your God; saying, 'No; but we will go into the
land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the
trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:' now
therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah: thus saith
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If ye wholly set your faces to
enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; then it s