42:1–6 The dire straits of Judah’s remnant drive them back to their God, at least at first. Now that Gedaliah’s assassination has antagonized Babylon and left no refuge in the land (cf. 41:16–18), the people ask Jeremiah to inquire of Yahweh’s will regarding their future (v. 1). They cast themselves upon Yahweh’s mercy since their numbers are few (v. 2), while also claiming to trust fully in his guidance for their next steps (v. 3). However, the previous chapter indicated that the people were already intending to retreat before Babylon and flee to Egypt (cf. 41:17–18). That passing comment shows that the people are feigning openness to Yahweh’s direction, merely seeking confirmation from Yahweh for what they have already resolved to do.

It is unclear if Jeremiah is aware of the people’s insincerity, since he never appears in the assassination narrative. Nonetheless, it is revealing that Jeremiah not only agrees to pray to Yahweh on their behalf but also adds the vow “Whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you” (42:4). The prophet hints at his mindfulness of how King Zedekiah and his officials similarly sought Yahweh’s will in ways that proved to be insincere (e.g., 21:2; 34:1–11; 37:3, 17–18). True to form, the audience of Jeremiah initially promises to listen to Yahweh’s word and to go wherever he leads (42:5), whether for good or bad (v. 6). Their ancestors had made the same promise in ratifying the Israelite covenant at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24) shortly before sinning with the golden calf (Exodus 32).

42:7–12 Yahweh answers through Jeremiah in a manner that exposes the insincerity of the people. After a wait of ten days (Jer. 42:7), Jeremiah gathers the entire community to hear the message Yahweh has given him (vv. 8–9). His words echo what he told previous audiences regarding the need to submit to Yahweh’s will through Babylon: “If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you” (v. 10; cf. 27:1–11). In fact, Yahweh’s offer to settle this people in their land represents a genuine fulfillment of the restoration the “Book of Consolation” (chs. 30–33) had promised: “It shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord” (31:28). The people can truly experience this restoration if they trust in Yahweh and his mercy rather than fearing the king of Babylon and his power (42:11–12).

42:13–17 The converse to Yahweh’s invitation to rest (cf. Isa. 30:15) is the poetic justice of trusting one’s own devices (cf. Isa. 30:16). The audience of Jeremiah, just as in the time of Isaiah, ought not choose the folly of trusting in Egypt as a hedge against a Mesopotamian empire. Under the reign of King Hezekiah, Judah had faced the temptation to seek Egypt’s military power as a counterweight to Assyria’s (cf. Isa. 31:1–3). The Judean remnant from Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon is similarly inclined to look to Egypt for help, except this time for sanctuary and sustenance in Egypt (Jer. 42:13–14) rather than merely for military power from Egypt (as in the 8th century BC).

Yahweh warns that running from Babylon will result in yet another victory for Babylon. Paradoxically, the refugees who resolve to flee to Egypt (v. 15) will encounter war and all its terrors by the hand of Babylon there (v. 16). Every attempt of the Judean remnant to survive by its own means in Egypt will result instead in its death in that land (v. 17).

42:18–22 Yahweh’s insistence on remaining in the land serves to underscore the lessons of history that Judah has refused to learn, whether before or after the fall of Jerusalem. These verses outline the theological principle that Judah must be weaned from its tendency to flee from God-given calamity rather than embracing it as God-given discipline. Yahweh makes explicit this pattern of divine wrath by linking the past fall of Jerusalem to the future destruction of Jewish exiles in Egypt (vv. 18–19). History will repeat itself by Babylon’s agency until Judah learns what it ought.

If the audience of Jeremiah should proceed to Egypt despite this solemn warning, that act of apostasy will be as deserving of death as was Judah’s apostasy before the fall of Jerusalem (v. 20). The request of the people to know Yahweh’s will through Jeremiah (v. 20) is clearly not matched by any commitment to obey it (v. 21). It is curiosity rather than faithfulness that motivates this request for certainty from Yahweh. Therefore, a self-directed people will suffer the consequences of their choice to go to Egypt (v. 22).