After that, the army officers and all the people in Mizpah, whether important or not, were afraid of what the Babylonians might do. So they left Judah and went to Egypt.
But before the prophet finished speaking, Amaziah interrupted and said, “You're not one of my advisers! Don't say another word, or I'll have you killed.” The prophet stopped. But then he added, “First you sinned and now you've ignored my warning. It's clear that God has decided to punish you!”
towards Egypt. They wanted to go there, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they found out that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the ruler appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar. On the way to Egypt, we stopped at the town of Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem.
The LORD told me to speak with the Jews who were living in the towns of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis in northern Egypt, and also to those living in southern Egypt. He told me to tell them:
Then I told the men and their wives, that the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said: Here in Egypt you still keep your promises to burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to the so called Queen of Heaven.
You were so proud of your nation's power, but when I crush that power and kill that pride, darkness will fall over the city of Tahpanhes. A dark, gloomy cloud will cover the land as you are being led away into captivity.