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Jeremiah 44
New American Standard Bible

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in (A)Migdol, (B)Tahpanhes, (C)Memphis, and the land of (D)Pathros, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in (E)ruins and no one lives in them, 3 (F)because of their wickedness which they committed to (G)provoke Me to anger by continuing to (H)burn [a]sacrifices and to (I)serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I (J)sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this (K)abominable thing which I hate.” 5 But (L)they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn [b]sacrifices to other gods. 6 Therefore My (M)wrath and My anger gushed out and burned in the (N)cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become ruins and a (O)desolation as it is this day. 7 Now then, this is what the Lord God of armies, the God of Israel says: “Why are you (P)doing great harm to yourselves, to (Q)eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant, 8 (R)provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, (S)burning [c]sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you are entering to reside, so that you may be eliminated and become a (T)curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the (U)wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 Yet they (V)have not become [d]contrite even to this day, nor have they feared, nor (W)walked in My Law or My statutes, which I placed before you and before your fathers.”’

11 “Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to (X)set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah. 12 And I will (Y)take away the remnant of Judah who have set their [e]minds on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all [f](Z)meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or meet their end by famine. From the small to the great, they will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a (AA)curse, an object of horror, [g]an imprecation, and a disgrace. 13 And I will (AB)punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with plague. 14 So there will be (AC)no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are [h](AD)longing to return to live; for none will (AE)return except a few refugees.’”

15 Then (AF)all the men who were aware that their wives were burning [i]sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, [j]including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the [k](AG)message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (AH)we are not going to listen to you! 17 But we will certainly (AI)carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, [l]by burning [m]sacrifices to the (AJ)queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as (AK)we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had (AL)plenty of [n]food and were well off and saw no [o]misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning [p]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have (AM)lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women, “when we were (AN)burning [q]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and [r]pouring out drink offerings to her, was it (AO)without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes [s]in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Disaster for the Jews

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying, 21 “As for the [t](AP)smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the (AQ)streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the Lord not (AR)remember them, and did all of this not come into His [u]mind? 22 So the Lord was (AS)no longer able to endure it, (AT)because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; so your land has become a (AU)place of ruins, an object of horror, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Since you have burned [v]sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and (AV)not obeyed the voice of the Lord nor (AW)walked in His Law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this (AX)disaster has happened to you, as it has this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “(AY)Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are (AZ)in the land of Egypt! 25 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel [w]says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will (BA)certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn [x]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” (BB)By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’ 26 [y]In return, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have (BC)sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall (BD)never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “(BE)As the Lord [z]God lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them (BF)for harm and not for good, and (BG)all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will [aa]meet their end by the sword or by famine until they [ab]are completely gone. 28 (BH)Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah [ac](BI)few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know (BJ)whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 And this will be the (BK)sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that (BL)My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.’ 30 This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand (BM)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed (BN)Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 44:3 Or incense
  2. Jeremiah 44:5 Or incense
  3. Jeremiah 44:8 Or incense
  4. Jeremiah 44:10 Lit crushed
  5. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit faces
  6. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit be finished
  7. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit a curse-formula
  8. Jeremiah 44:14 Lit lifting up their soul
  9. Jeremiah 44:15 Or incense
  10. Jeremiah 44:15 Lit and
  11. Jeremiah 44:16 Lit word
  12. Jeremiah 44:17 Or so as to burn
  13. Jeremiah 44:17 Or incense
  14. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit bread
  15. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit evil
  16. Jeremiah 44:18 Or incense
  17. Jeremiah 44:19 Or incense
  18. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to pour
  19. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to make an image of her
  20. Jeremiah 44:21 Or incense
  21. Jeremiah 44:21 Lit heart
  22. Jeremiah 44:23 Or incense
  23. Jeremiah 44:25 Lit says, saying
  24. Jeremiah 44:25 Or incense
  25. Jeremiah 44:26 Lit Therefore
  26. Jeremiah 44:26 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  27. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit be finished
  28. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit come to an end
  29. Jeremiah 44:28 Lit men of number
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Jeremiah 44
Common English Bible

Jeremiah’s final words to Judeans in Egypt

44 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word for the Judeans living in the land of Egypt, those living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis and in the land of Pathros. 2 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: You have seen the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. They are now a wasteland with no one left 3 because of their evil ways. They have angered me by making offerings and worshipping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew. 4 Yet time and again I sent you all my servants the prophets, saying, “Don’t do these detestable things that I hate.” 5 But they wouldn’t listen or pay attention or turn from their evil ways. They continued making offerings to other gods. 6 So my fierce anger poured out and blazed against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. And they were reduced to an utter wasteland, as they are today.

7 Now the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Why are you committing this huge mistake that will cost you your lives? Every man, woman, child, and infant will be eliminated from the midst of Judah, and no one will be left. 8 Why do you anger me by what you do: by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live? You will be eliminated and become an object of cursing and disgrace among all the nations of the earth. 9 Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors and the sins of the kings of Judah and their wives?[a] Have you forgotten the sins that you and your wives committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 To this day you[b] haven’t shown any sorrow for what you have done. And you haven’t revered me or followed my Instruction and my laws that I set before you and your ancestors.

11 Therefore, the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I’m determined to bring disaster on you, to eliminate all of Judah. 12 I will take the few remaining Judeans who were determined to go to the land of Egypt to live. They will all perish there. They will fall by the sword and perish due to famine. The least to the greatest will die by the sword and by famine. They will become an object of cursing, scorn, contempt, and disgrace. 13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem with war, famine, and disease. 14 From the few remaining in Judah, no fugitive or survivor who came to live here in the land of Egypt will be able to return to the land of Judah. Even though they want to return and live there, they won’t be able to return, except for some fugitives.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, along with the great crowd of women who were present, as well as the people living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, all answered Jeremiah: 16 “We’re not going to listen to a word you have said to us in the Lord’s name! 17 No, we’re going to do exactly what we want: We’re going to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, have done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty to eat and we were thriving; we didn’t have any troubles. 18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring drink offerings to her, we have been destroyed by the sword and by famine.”

19 And the women added,[c] “Do you think that we burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour drink offerings to her without our husbands’ support when we make cakes in her image and pour drink offerings to her?”

20 Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women alike, in fact everyone who had spoken this way: 21 “Do you really think the Lord was unaware of what you were up to in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? Don’t you think the Lord knew that you and your ancestors were making offerings to other gods[d]—along with your kings and officials, and the people of the land? 22 It got so bad that the Lord could no longer bear your evil and shameless acts; it was at that point that your land was reduced to an utter wasteland and a curse, as it is today. 23 The current dire situation occurred because you made offerings to other gods[e] and sinned against the Lord—because you wouldn’t obey the Lord or follow the Lord’s instruction, laws, or warnings.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women: Listen to the Lord’s word, all you Judeans in the land of Egypt. 25 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: You and your wives have done exactly what you said you would do. You said, “We will definitely fulfill our promise to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” Go ahead and keep your promises! 26 But listen to the Lord’s word, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt. I swear by my great name, says the Lord, that no one from Judah living in Egypt will utter my name again, even in the solemn pledge: “As surely as the Lord God lives.” 27 I’m watching over them for harm and not for good. Everyone from Judah who is living in the land of Egypt will die by the sword and by famine, until all are gone. 28 Those who actually survive war and return from Egypt to the land of Judah will be very few. Then the few remaining Judeans living in Egypt will know for certain whose word is true—mine or theirs! 29 And this will be a sign for you, declares the Lord: I will punish you here so that you know my threats against you will surely be fulfilled. 30 The Lord proclaims: I will hand Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt’s king, over to his enemies who seek to kill him, just as I delivered Judah’s King Zedekiah over to his enemy King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who sought to kill him.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 44:9 Heb his wives
  2. Jeremiah 44:10 Or they
  3. Jeremiah 44:19 Syr; MT lacks and the women added.
  4. Jeremiah 44:21 Heb lacks to other gods.
  5. Jeremiah 44:23 Heb lacks to other gods.
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Jeremiah 43
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