Jeremiah 44
King James Version
44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
3 Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.
4 Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.
6 Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
7 Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
8 In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have ye 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 have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 They are not humbled even unto 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 thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.
12 And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
13 For I will punish them that 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, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto 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 victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind?
22 So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
24 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
25 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
26 Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that 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 liveth.
27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
28 Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or their's.
29 And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:
30 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
Jeremiah 44
Complete Jewish Bible
44 This word came to Yirmeyahu concerning all the people from Y’hudah living in the land of Egypt — in Migdol, Tachpanches, Nof and the land of Patros: 2 “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘You have seen all the disaster I inflicted on Yerushalayim and all the cities of Y’hudah; there they are today, ruined, with no one living in them. 3 It came about because of the wicked things they did to make me angry — sacrificing to and serving other gods, whom they did not know, neither they, nor you nor your ancestors. 4 I had sent you all my servants the prophets, sent them frequently, with the message, “Don’t do this horrible thing which I hate!” 5 But they neither listened nor obeyed, so as to turn from their wickedness and stop offering to other gods. 6 Hence my fury and anger were poured out and ignited in the cities of Y’hudah and the streets of Yerushalayim; so that they became waste and desolate, as they are today.’
7 “Therefore now, Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says this: ‘Why are you committing this great sin against yourselves? The result can only be to cut you off from Y’hudah — men, women, children and babies — so that none of you remain. 8 For you continue provoking me with the products of your own hands, offering to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live as aliens. It will lead only to your destruction and becoming an object of curses and reproaches among all the nations of the earth. 9 Have you forgotten the wicked deeds of your ancestors, the wicked deeds of the kings of Y’hudah, the wicked deeds of their wives, your own wicked deeds, and the wicked deeds of your wives, which they committed in the land of Y’hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim? 10 To this day they remain unhumbled; they have not been afraid, and they have not lived according to my Torah or my regulations that I presented to you and your ancestors.’
11 “Therefore here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I will decree disaster for you and destroy all of Y’hudah. 12 I will take the remnant of Y’hudah, who determined to go to Egypt and live there as aliens, and they will all perish — in the land of Egypt they will fall and perish by sword and famine. They will die, from the least to the greatest, by sword and famine; and they will become an object of condemnation, astonishment, cursing and reproach. 13 Yes, I will punish those living in the land of Egypt, as I punished Yerushalayim, by sword, famine and plague; 14 so that none of the remnant of Y’hudah who went into the land of Egypt to live as aliens will escape or remain, to be able to return to the land of Y’hudah. They long to return and live there, but none will return except a few refugees.’”
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were offering incense to other gods, along with all the women standing by, a huge crowd, all the people living in Patros in the land of Egypt, answered Yirmeyahu: 16 “As for the word you have just spoken to us in the name of Adonai, we will not listen to you. 17 Instead, we will certainly continue to fulfill every word our mouths have spoken: we will offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our ancestors, our kings and our leaders, in the cities of Y’hudah and the streets of Yerushalayim. For then we had plenty of food; everything was fine, we didn’t experience anything unpleasant. 18 But since we stopped offering to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and we have been destroyed by sword and famine.” 19 [Then the wives added,] “Are we the ones who offer incense to the queen of heaven? Do we pour out drink offerings to her? And did we make cakes marked with her image for her and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ consent?”
20 Then Yirmeyahu said to all the people — to the men, the women, and all the people who had answered him back: 21 “The incense you offered in the cities of Y’hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim — you, your ancestors, your kings, your leaders and the people of the land — Adonai kept remembering and taking note of this [insult], 22 until Adonai could no longer bear it, so evil and so detestable were your deeds. This is why your land has become a wasteland, an object for astonishment and cursing, uninhabited, as it is today. 23 It is because you offered incense, sinned against Adonai, didn’t listen to what Adonai said, and didn’t live by his Torah, regulations and instructions that this disaster has befallen you, as it is today.”
24 In addition, Yirmeyahu said to all the people, but especially the women: “Hear the word of Adonai, all Y’hudah who are in the land of Egypt; 25 this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘You and your wives stated your intentions with your mouths and performed them with your hands — you said, “We will certainly fulfill our vows that we made to offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.”’ Without doubt, you will indeed fulfill every point of your vows. 26 Therefore hear the word of Adonai, all Y’hudah living in the land of Egypt: ‘I swear by my own great name,’ says Adonai, ‘that no man of Y’hudah will speak my name again in the land of Egypt, swearing, “As Adonai, God, lives.” 27 I am watching over them for harm, not for good. All the men of Y’hudah in the land of Egypt will be destroyed by sword and famine, until none of them is left. 28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Y’hudah few in number; and all the remnant of Y’hudah who went into the land of Egypt to live will know whose word will stand — mine or theirs! 29 Moreover, here is a sign for you,’ says Adonai, ‘that I will punish you in this place, so that you can know that my threats of disaster against you will come true.’ 30 Adonai says, ‘I will hand over Pharaoh Hofra king of Egypt to his enemies, to those seeking his life — just as I handed Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah over to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel, his enemy, who sought his life.’”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.