God’s Judgment against His People in Egypt

44 This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—at Migdol,(A) Tahpanhes,(B) Memphis,(C) and in the land of Pathros:(D) “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them(E) because of the evil they committed to anger me,(F) by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your ancestors did not know.(G) So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again,[a](H) saying, ‘Don’t commit this detestable action that I hate.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods. So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets(I) so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.

“So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby(J) from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.(K) You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.(L) Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.

11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster,(M) to cut off all Judah.(N) 12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah,(O) those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest,(P) they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn,(Q) execration, and disgrace.(R) 13 I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague. 14 Then the remnant of Judah—those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt—will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing[b] to return to stay,(S) for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”

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Footnotes

  1. 44:4 Lit prophets, rising up early and sending
  2. 44:14 Lit lifting up their soul

Judgment for Idolatry

44 This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis,[a] and in southern Egypt[b] as well: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins. They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods—gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.

“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods. And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.

“And now the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive—not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms. Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth. Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem? 10 To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.

11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you! 12 I will take this remnant of Judah—those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt—and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. 13 I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. 14 Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”

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Footnotes

  1. 44:1a Hebrew Noph.
  2. 44:1b Hebrew in Pathros.