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A Message of Rebuke for the Rebellious Remnant

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living at Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, saying,[a] “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the towns of Judah. And look, they are a site of ruins this day, and there is not in them an inhabitant, because of[b] their wickedness that they committed to provoke me to anger by going to make smoke offerings, serving other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, or your ancestors.[c] And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending over and over again,[d] saying,[e] “Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate.” But they did not listen and they did not incline their ears[f] to turn back from their wickedness, to not make smoke offerings to other gods. So my wrath and my anger were poured out[g] and burned[h] in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became as a site of ruins, as a desolation, as they are this day.’

So then, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Why are you doing great harm to yourselves,[i] to cut off for yourselves man and woman, child and suckling, from the midst of Judah, to not leave over for yourselves a remnant, provoking me to anger with the works of your hands, to make smoke offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to dwell as aliens, so as to cut off yourselves, and so that you are becoming as a curse, and as a disgrace among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the wicked things of your ancestors,[j] and the wicked things of the kings of Judah, and the wicked things of their wives, and your wicked things, and the wicked things of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not shown contrition up to this day, and they have not shown reverence, and they have not walked in my law and in my statutes that I set before you[k] and before[l] your ancestors.’[m]

11 Therefore[n] thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Look, I am determined to bring disaster on you,[o] even to exterminate all Judah. 12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah who are determined[p] to come to the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there, and everyone will perish. They will fall in the land of Egypt by the sword; they will perish by the famine, from the smallest to the greatest. By the sword and by the famine they will die and become as a curse, as a horror, and as a curse, and as a disgrace. 13 So I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague. 14 And there will not be a survivor or an escapee of the remnant of Judah, those who have come to dwell as an alien there in the land of Egypt, to return to the land of Judah where they are longing[q] to return to dwell there, for they will not turn back, but only[r] some survivors.’”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were making smoke offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, and all the people who lived in the land of Egypt in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,[s] 16 Concerning the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! 17 But certainly we will do everything[t] that went out from our mouths,[u] to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors,[v] our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then we had enough to eat,[w] and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster. 18 But since[x] we stopped making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything, and by the sword and by the famine we have perished. 19 And indeed, when we were making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out[y] to her libations, was it not with the consent of[z] our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes marked with her image,[aa] and we poured out to her libations?”

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women, and to all the people who answered him a word, saying,[ab] 21 “The offering that you made, smoke offerings in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you, and your ancestors,[ac] your kings, and your officials, and the people of the land, did not Yahweh remember them, and did it not come to his mind?[ad] 22 And Yahweh was no longer able to bear[ae] it, because of[af] the evil of your deeds, because of[ag] the detestable things that you committed. Thus your land became as a site of ruins, and as a horror, and as a curse, without[ah] inhabitants, as it is this day. 23 Because of[ai] the fact that you made smoke offerings, and that you sinned against Yahweh, and you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you have not walked in his law, and in his statute, and in his legal provisions, therefore[aj] this disaster has happened to you, as it is this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,[ak] ‘You and your wives have promised with your mouths[al] and with your hands[am] you have fulfilled, saying,[an] “We certainly will carry out our vows that we vowed, to make smoke offerings to the queen of the heavens,[ao] and to pour out to her libations.” You must certainly keep your vows and you must certainly carry out your vows.’ 26 Therefore[ap] hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah, those who live in the land of Egypt: ‘Look, I hereby swear by my great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘surely my name will no longer be called in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, “as the Lord Yahweh lives,”[aq] in all the land of Egypt. 27 Look, I am going to watch over them for harm and not for good, and all people[ar] of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will perish by the sword and by the famine until their perishing. 28 And the survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number.[as] And all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there will know whose word will endure, from me or from them. 29 And this will be to you the sign,’ declares[at] Yahweh, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that surely my words will endure against you for evil.’ 30 Thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, I am going to give Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, his enemy and the one who sought his life.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 44:1 Literally “to say”
  2. Jeremiah 44:3 Literally “from the face of”
  3. Jeremiah 44:3 Or “fathers”
  4. Jeremiah 44:4 Literally “doing early and sending”
  5. Jeremiah 44:4 Literally “to say”
  6. Jeremiah 44:5 Hebrew “ear”
  7. Jeremiah 44:6 The Hebrew verb is singular
  8. Jeremiah 44:6 The Hebrew verb is singular
  9. Jeremiah 44:7 Literally “your lives”
  10. Jeremiah 44:9 Or “fathers”
  11. Jeremiah 44:10 Literally “to the face of you”
  12. Jeremiah 44:10 Literally “to the face of”
  13. Jeremiah 44:10 Or “fathers”
  14. Jeremiah 44:11 Literally “To thus”
  15. Jeremiah 44:11 Literally “I am setting my face against you for disaster”
  16. Jeremiah 44:12 Literally “who set their faces”
  17. Jeremiah 44:14 Literally “lifting up their soul”
  18. Jeremiah 44:14 Literally “but if”
  19. Jeremiah 44:15 Literally “to say”
  20. Jeremiah 44:17 Literally “all the word”
  21. Jeremiah 44:17 Hebrew “mouth”
  22. Jeremiah 44:17 Or “fathers”
  23. Jeremiah 44:17 Literally “we satisfied ourselves with food”
  24. Jeremiah 44:18 Literally “from”
  25. Jeremiah 44:19 Literally “to pour out”
  26. Jeremiah 44:19 Literally “from apart from”
  27. Jeremiah 44:19 Literally “to the copying of her”
  28. Jeremiah 44:20 Literally “to say”
  29. Jeremiah 44:21 Or “fathers”
  30. Jeremiah 44:21 Literally “heart”
  31. Jeremiah 44:22 Or “endure”
  32. Jeremiah 44:22 Literally “from the face of”
  33. Jeremiah 44:22 Literally “from the face of”
  34. Jeremiah 44:22 Literally “from there is not”
  35. Jeremiah 44:23 Literally “From the face of”
  36. Jeremiah 44:23 Literally “unto thus”
  37. Jeremiah 44:25 Literally “to say”
  38. Jeremiah 44:25 Hebrew “mouth”
  39. Jeremiah 44:25 Hebrew “hand”
  40. Jeremiah 44:25 Literally “to say”
  41. Jeremiah 44:25 Hebrew “heaven”
  42. Jeremiah 44:26 Literally “To thus”
  43. Jeremiah 44:26 Literally “the life of Lord Yahweh”
  44. Jeremiah 44:27 Or “men”
  45. Jeremiah 44:28 Literally “males of number”
  46. Jeremiah 44:29 Literally “a declaration of”

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying, “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah. Behold, today they are a desolation, and no man dwells in them, because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods that they didn’t know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, “Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I hate.” But they didn’t listen and didn’t incline their ear. They didn’t turn from their wickedness, to stop burning incense to other gods. Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured out, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is today.’

“Therefore now Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the middle of Judah, to leave yourselves no one remaining; in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.’

11 “Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they will all be consumed. They will fall in the land of Egypt. They will be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They will die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine. They will be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. 13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, will escape or be left to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for no one will return except those who will escape.’”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to 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 had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”

19 The women said, “When we burned incense to the queen of the sky, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?”

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an 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, didn’t Yahweh remember them, and didn’t it come into his mind? 22 Thus Yahweh could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is today. 23 Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against Yahweh, and have not obeyed Yahweh’s voice, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is today.”

24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! 25 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, “We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her.”

“‘Establish then your vows, and perform your vows.’

26 “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by my great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘that my name will no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord Yahweh lives.” 27 Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone. 28 Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah few in number. All the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, will know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.

29 “‘This will be the sign to you,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for evil.’ 30 Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.’”