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The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah 43:7 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey Yahweh’s voice: and they came to Tahpanhes.
  • KJV So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
  • BSB So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.
  • NKJV So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.
  • NASB and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The remnant enters Egypt, disobeying God's voice, and arrives at Tahpanhes. Their settling in Egypt completes their rebellion against the Lord's command.

Overview

Returning to Egypt reverses the exodus salvation God had once given Israel, symbolizing a return to bondage. The repeated note that 'they didn't obey Yahweh's voice' frames their journey as deliberate sin, not mere misfortune. Tahpanhes, an Egyptian frontier city, becomes the setting where God will yet pursue them with His word, showing that no place lies beyond His reach or His call to repentance through Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Jer 2:16The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
  • Jer 44:1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
  • Isa 30:4For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes.
  • Jer 46:14“Declare in Egypt, publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes: say, ‘Stand up, and prepare; for the sword has devoured around you.’
  • Ezek 30:18At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
  • 2 Chr 25:16As he talked with him, the king said to him, “Have we made you one of the king’s counselors? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 43:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 43:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.