16. " 'Then the war you fear will catch up with you there. The hunger you are afraid of will follow you into Egypt. And you will die there.
17. In fact, that will happen to all those who go and settle in Egypt. All of them will die of war, hunger and plague. Not one of them will live. None of them will escape the trouble I will bring on them.'
18. "He is the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says, 'My burning anger has been poured out on those who used to live in Jerusalem. In the same way, it will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. People will call down curses on you. They will be shocked at you. They will say bad things about you. And they will bring shame on you. You will never see this place again.'
19. "The Lord has spoken to you who are left in Judah. He has said, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Here is something you can be sure of. I am warning you about it today.
20. You made a big mistake when you asked me to pray to the Lord your God. You said, 'Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us everything he says. We'll do it.'
21. "I have told you today what the Lord your God wants you to do. But you still haven't obeyed him. You haven't done anything he sent me to tell you to do.