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Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near
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and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see),
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that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do."
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Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and it shall be, that whatever the Lord answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you."
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So they said to Jeremiah, "Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you.
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Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God."
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And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
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Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
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and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him:
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'If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.
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Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,' says the Lord, 'for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.
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And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.'
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"But if you say, 'We will not dwell in this land,' disobeying the voice of the Lord your God,