1. When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the lord their God to all the people,
2. Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The lord our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!
3. Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.”
4. So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the lord’s command to stay in Judah.
5. Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.
6. In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.
7. The people refused to obey the voice of the lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
8. Then at Tahpanhes, the lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,
9. “While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.