ירמיהו, פרק מ״ב, פסוק כ׳

A seemingly devout request for divine guidance can sometimes mask a profound lack of sincerity. Jeremiah exposes the hypocrisy of the people, revealing that their promise to follow whatever God commanded was entirely empty. Although they asked the prophet to pray for them, their minds were already made up to leave the land and go to Egypt. They did not even manage to fool the prophet, as their true desires betrayed what was in their hearts, allowing Jeremiah to recognize their hidden intentions immediately [רד״ק]. He saw right through their behavior, understanding that they had no genuine wish to stay [מצודת דוד, רד״ק].

By making a firm promise to obey while harboring a secret resolve to do the opposite, the people were acting falsely and deceiving themselves [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. They tried to present an image of complete obedience, yet God knows the truth and sees that they never truly intended to listen to His voice [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This deception carried a heavy moral consequence, turning a poor choice into a deliberate rebellion. If the people had simply gone to Egypt on their own without asking for God's guidance, their actions could have been judged as an unintentional mistake. However, by explicitly asking for His direction with a premeditated plan to ignore it, their rejection of His clear answer transformed their failure into an intentional sin, causing grave harm to their own souls [מצודת דוד].