Jeremiah 44
1599 Geneva Bible
44 He reproveth the people for their idolatry. 15 They that set light by the threatening of the Lord, are chastened. 26 The destruction of Egypt, and of the Jews therein, is prophesied.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews, which dwell in the land of Egypt, and remained at Migdol and at [a]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 desolate 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 nor you, nor your fathers.
4 Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the Prophets [b]rising early, and sending them, saying, Oh do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5 But they would not hear nor incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, and to burn no more incense unto other gods.
6 Wherefore [c]my wrath, and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they are desolate, and wasted, as appeareth this day.
7 Therefore now thus saith the Lord 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, and 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 bring destruction unto yourselves, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all nations of the earth.
9 Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the [d]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 [e]humbled 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 (A)to evil, and to destroy all Judah,
12 And I will take the remnant of Judah that [f]have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt there to dwell, 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 unto the most, by the sword, and by the famine and they shall be a detestation and an astonishment, and a [g]curse and a reproach.
13 For I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited 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 dwell there shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah to the which they [h]have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but [i]such as shall escape.
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burnt 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 The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord, we will [j]not hear it of thee,
17 But we will do whatsoever thing goeth out of our own mouth, as to burn incense unto [k]the Queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, both we and our fathers, our kings and our princes in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then [l]had we [m]plenty of vittles and were well and [n]felt none 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 had [o]scarceness of all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19 And when we burnt incense unto the Queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes [p]to make her glad, and pour out drink offerings unto her without [q]our husbands?
20 Then said Jeremiah unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
21 Did not the Lord remember the incense, that ye burnt in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, both you and your fathers, your kings, and your Princes, and the people of the land, and [r]hath he not considered it?
22 So that the Lord could no longer forbear, because of the wickedness of your inventions, and because of the abominations, which ye have committed: therefore is your land desolate, and an astonishment, and a curse, and without inhabitant, as appeareth this day.
23 Because you have burnt 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 plague is come upon you, as appeareth 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 speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your [s]hand, saying, We will perform our vows that we have vowed to burn incense to the Queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her: ye will perform your vows, and do the things that ye have vowed.
26 Therefore hear 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 [t]shall no more be called upon by 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 men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt, shall be consumed by the sword, and by the famine, until they be utterly destroyed.
28 Yet a small number that escape the sword, [u]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 dwell there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs.
29 And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, when I visit 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 [v]give Pharaoh Hophra 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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel his enemy, who also sought his life.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 44:1 These were all famous and strange cities in Egypt, where the Jews that were fled, dwelt for their safety: but the Prophet declareth that there is no hold so strong that can preserve them from God’s vengeance.
- Jeremiah 44:4 Read Jer. 7:25; 25:3; 36:5; 29:19 and 32:33.
- Jeremiah 44:6 He setteth before their eyes God’s judgments against Judah and Jerusalem for their idolatry, that they might beware by their example, and not with the like wickedness provoke the Lord: for then they should be double punished.
- Jeremiah 44:9 He showeth that we ought to keep in memory God’s plagues from the beginning, that considering them, we might live in his fear, and know if he have not spared our fathers, yea, kings, princes, and rulers, and also whole countries, and nations for their sins, that we vile worms, cannot look to escape punishment for ours.
- Jeremiah 44:10 Or, beaten down.
- Jeremiah 44:12 Which have fully set their minds, and are gone thither on purpose. Whereby he excepteth the innocents, as Jeremiah and Baruch that were forced: therefore the Lord showeth that he will set his face against them: that is, purposely destroy them.
- Jeremiah 44:12 Read Jer. 26:6 and 41:18.
- Jeremiah 44:14 Hebrew, lift up their souls.
- Jeremiah 44:14 Meaning, but a few.
- Jeremiah 44:16 This declareth how dangerous a thing it is to decline once from God, and to follow our own fantasies: for Satan ever soliciteth such, and doth not leave them till he have brought them to extreme impudency and madness, even to justify their wickedness against God and his Prophets.
- Jeremiah 44:17 Read Jer. 7:18, it seemeth that the Papists gathered of this place Salve Regina, and Regina caeli latare, calling the virgin Mary Queen of heaven, and so of the blessed virgin and mother of our Savior Christ, made an idol: for here the Prophet condemneth their idolatry.
- Jeremiah 44:17 Hebrew, we were satiated with bread.
- Jeremiah 44:17 This is still the argument of idolaters, which esteem religion by the belly, and instead of acknowledging God’s works, who sendeth both plenty and dearth, health and sickness, they attribute it to their idols, and so dishonor God.
- Jeremiah 44:17 Or, saw.
- Jeremiah 44:18 Or, want.
- Jeremiah 44:19 Or, to appease her.
- Jeremiah 44:19 This teacheth us how great danger it is for the husbands to permit their wives anything whereof they be not assured by God’s word: for thereby they take an occasion to justify their doings, and their husbands shall give an account thereof before God, read Isa. 3:25.
- Jeremiah 44:21 Hebrew, is it not come up into his heart?
- Jeremiah 44:25 You have committed double evil in making wicked vows, and in performing the same.
- Jeremiah 44:26 This declareth an horrible plague toward idolaters, seeing that God will not vouchsafe to have his Name mentioned by such as have polluted it.
- Jeremiah 44:28 We see therefore that God hath a perpetual care over his, wheresoever they are scattered: for though they be but two or three, yet he will deliver them when he destroyeth his enemies.
- Jeremiah 44:30 He showeth the means whereby they should be destroyed to assure them of the certainty of the plague, and yet they remain still in their obstinacy till they perish: for Josephus, lib. 10, de Antiq., cap. 11, writeth that five years after the taking of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar the younger having overcome the Moabites and the Ammonites, went against Egypt, and slew the king, and so brought these Jews and others into Babylon.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Bible Gateway Recommends
