Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Jeremiah 42:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The narrated crisis and constrained human response states or reports “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” at Jeremiah 42:6 as a specific part of “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 42:1–6
Read Jeremiah 42:6 with 42:1–6. By itself, “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Military leaders and all the people ask Jeremiah to pray for the small remnant and promise to obey whether the answer seems good or bad.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This received unit develops “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience” through its own speaker, addressee, date, oracle, sign, lament, or historical scene. Its non-interchangeable movement is: Military leaders and all the people ask Jeremiah to pray for the small remnant and promise to obey whether the answer seems good or bad. This verse's placement is specific: The narrated crisis and constrained human response states or reports “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” at Jeremiah 42:6 as a specific part of “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience.”
Follow the Context
- The unit begins at 42:1 with the speech, scene, image, or date named in its title.
- Military leaders and all the people ask Jeremiah to pray for the small remnant and promise to obey whether the answer seems good or bad.
- At 42:6 the movement reaches its response or transition before the next unit.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
A pledge to obey any answer does not authorize leaders to demand unconditional submission.
What Remains True
The remnant speaks from fear and later rejects the answer, exposing the fragility of its promise. In Jeremiah 42:6, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The narrated crisis and constrained human response states or reports “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” at Jeremiah 42:6 as a specific part of “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Use informed, specific commitments with room for questions and safeguards. This verse directs that response through its exact role: The narrated crisis and constrained human response states or reports “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” at Jeremiah 42:6 as a specific part of “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience.”
Teach It Back
Explain Jeremiah 42:6's precise role in Jeremiah 42:1–6: The narrated crisis and constrained human response states or reports “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our…” at Jeremiah 42:6 as a specific part of “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience.” State how “The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges Obedience” controls the line, keep this uncertainty visible—A sweeping pledge under fear does not authorize leaders to demand unconditional obedience or bypass informed consent.—trace role to contextual meaning to enduring truth to application, and reject one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Jeremiah 42:1–6 — The Remnant Requests Guidance and Pledges ObedienceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
Readings differ over historical reconstruction, composition, rhetoric, theology, and later reception. The preferred reading follows this complete unit while preserving the limit: A sweeping pledge under fear does not authorize leaders to demand unconditional obedience or bypass informed consent.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 42:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 42:1–6
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 42:1–6
Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World
Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and Bible in the World: post-fall community, Egypt migration, trauma, and Baruch; applied to Jeremiah 42:1–6
Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 3 study guide, pp. 1-6: Jeremiah 36, Baruch, scroll rewriting, composition, and final form; applied to Jeremiah 42:1–6
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗