What Does Jeremiah 43:2 Mean in the King James?
Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The men do not only reject Jeremiah’s warning; they deny the Sender so Egypt remains an available path.
THE MEANING
When a warning closes the route you prefer, this verse names the move: call the speaker false and deny who sent him. Mitzrayim (מִצְרַיִם, Mitzrayim, “the two narrows”) carries constriction in the destination itself; the dispute is whether the warning will be allowed to close that way back.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A warning that blocks my preferred route must be false, and dismissing its source makes the route safe.
THE ROOT
שָׁלַח
shalach
GROWS FROM
שלח
To send, send away, or extend outward.
“sent” in this verse is shalach. The root holds sending together with sending away and release. Here the sending is denied precisely where the warning would keep the reader from returning to Mitzrayim, the narrows.
ALSO GROWS
shillēaḥ: Send away, dismiss, release.
שִׁלֵּחַ
This form makes the root’s outward movement clear: sending can also mean releasing someone from a place or claim.
Shiloach: Shiloah, the sent waters or channel.
שִׁלֹחַ
The name preserves sending as a flow that goes outward, widening the root’s sense beyond a messenger’s commission.
מִצְרַיִם
Mitzrayim
GROWS FROM
מצר
A narrow place, strait, or constriction.
“Egypt” in this verse is Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim carries the form of “the two narrows.” The place is not incidental scenery here: it is the constricting destination the warning says not to enter.
ALSO GROWS
meitzar: A narrow place or strait.
מֵצַר
This word shares the root consonants and makes the image inside Mitzrayim visible: a constricted passage.
metzarim: Straits, narrow places.
מְצָרִים
The plural keeps the image of multiple narrows, echoing the constriction carried by Mitzrayim.
שֶׁקֶר
sheqer
GROWS FROM
שקר
Falsehood or deception; to speak falsely.
“falsely” in this verse is sheqer. The Hebrew phrase names what Jeremiah says as “falsehood,” a charge of deception rather than a small mistake. Set beside the denial of his sending, the verse shows the messenger being discredited both for what he says and for where the message comes from.
ALSO GROWS
shiqēr: To lie or deceive.
שִׁקֵּר
This verb shares the root and links the charge of falsehood to the act of calling someone deceptive.
sheqarim: Falsehoods or lies.
שְׁקָרִים
The plural form shows how the root names false claims, illuminating the force of the accusation here.
THE PATTERN
When a message collides with desire, rejecting its sender becomes a way to refuse its claim.
Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.THE THREAD
Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.Jeremiah 42:5 uses the same Hebrew root שָׁלַח (shalach, “to send”) that Jeremiah 43:2 denies. Together, the verses expose the break between asking for guidance and accepting an answer that closes the desired route.
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