¹² Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and ^(A)cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz^(A)

²² Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz.

¹⁴ “Go and ^(A)cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”

¹⁷ But we will certainly do ^(A)whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the ^(B)queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of ^[a]food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. ¹⁸ But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”

¹⁹ The women also said, ^(C)“And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?”

²⁰ Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying: ²¹ “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and did it not come into His mind? ²² So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, ^(D)as it is this day. ²³ Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, ^(E)therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”

²⁴ Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! ²⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ ²⁶ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, ^(F)I have sworn by My ^(G)great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(H)My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord God lives.” ²⁷ Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt ^(I)shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.