Old/New Testament
Jeremiah Is Forced to Go to Egypt
43 So Jeremiah finished telling all the people the message from Yahweh their Elohim. He told them everything Yahweh their Elohim sent him to tell them. 2 Azariah (son of Hoshaiah), Johanan (son of Kareah), and all the arrogant people said to Jeremiah, “You’re lying! Yahweh our Elohim didn’t send you to tell us that we must not go to live in Egypt. 3 But Baruch, son of Neriah, has turned you against us in order to hand us over to the Babylonians. Then they will kill us or take us as captives to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan (son of Kareah), all the army commanders, and all the people didn’t obey Yahweh. They didn’t stay in Judah. 5 Johanan (son of Kareah) and all the army commanders took all the people who were left in Judah to Egypt. These were all the people who had come back to Judah from the places where they had been scattered. 6 They took men, women, children, and the king’s daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah. 7 They didn’t listen to Yahweh, so they went to Egypt. They went as far as Tahpanhes.
Jeremiah Prophesies That Egypt Will Be Invaded by Nebuchadnezzar
8 Then Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes. He said, 9 “Take some large stones, and bury them under the brick pavement at the entrance to the Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Do this while the people of Judah watch you. 10 Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: I’m going to send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones that I buried, and I will spread his royal canopy above them. 11 He will defeat Egypt. He will bring death to those who are supposed to die. He will capture those who are supposed to be captured. He will kill in battle those who are supposed to be killed in battle. 12 He[a] will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods. He will burn down the temples and take their gods captive. Nebuchadnezzar will put on Egypt as his coat as a shepherd puts on his coat. He will leave Egypt peacefully. 13 At Beth Shemesh he will break the monuments in Egypt and burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”
The Jews in Egypt Will Be Punished for Their Idolatry
44 Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah about all the Jews living in Egypt at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros. 2 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: You have seen all the disasters I brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah. Today they are deserted ruins. 3 It is because their people did evil, and they made me angry. They went to burn incense and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors heard of. 4 I have sent my servants the prophets to you again and again to tell you not to do these detestable things that I hate. 5 But you wouldn’t listen or pay attention. You wouldn’t turn from your wicked ways and wouldn’t stop burning incense as an offering to other gods. 6 That is why my fury and anger were poured out and continued to burn in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. So they became the desolate ruin that they are today.
7 Now, this is what Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: Why do you bring this terrible disaster on yourselves? Why do you keep destroying men, women, children, and babies from Judah until none are left? 8 Why do you make me angry by burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live. You will destroy yourselves and be cursed and ridiculed by all the nations on earth. 9 Have you forgotten the wicked things done by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives in Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem? 10 You have not humbled yourselves even to this day. You haven’t feared me or lived your lives by my teachings or by my decrees that I gave your ancestors.
11 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: I’m going to bring disaster on you and destroy all of Judah. 12 I will take away from Judah those who are left, those who were determined to go to live in Egypt. They will die in Egypt. All of them, from the least important to the most important, will die in wars or be brought to an end by famines. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and disgraced. 13 I will punish those living in Egypt as I punished Jerusalem with wars, famines, and plagues. 14 None of the people of Judah who went to live in Egypt will survive or return to Judah, where they long to return and live. Only a few refugees will return there.
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women who were standing there, and all the people who lived at Pathros in Egypt answered Jeremiah. They said, 16 “We won’t listen to the message that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name. 17 We will do everything we said we would do. We will burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out wine offerings to her as our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. We had plenty to eat then, and we lived comfortably and saw no disaster. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing but wars and famines.”
19 The women added, “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, poured out wine offerings to her, and made cakes for her with her image on them, do you think our husbands didn’t approve?”
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, to everyone who answered him, 21 “Doesn’t Yahweh remember that you burned incense in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem along with your ancestors, your kings and your officials, and the people in the land? 22 Yahweh could no longer bear the wicked and detestable things you did. That is why your land has become something ruined, destroyed, and cursed. No one lives in that land today. 23 You burned incense as offerings to other gods, sinned against Yahweh, and wouldn’t obey him. You didn’t live by his teachings, decrees, or written instructions. That is why you have met with this disaster as it is today.”
24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women, “Listen to the word of Yahweh, all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. 25 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: You and your wives made promises, and you have kept them. You said, ‘We will certainly do what we vow. We will burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out wine offerings to her.’
“So go ahead. Keep your vows, and do what you vow. 26 But listen to the word of Yahweh, all you people of Judah who live in Egypt. ‘I swear by my great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘that no one from Judah who lives anywhere in Egypt will ever again call on my name and take the oath, “As Adonay Yahweh lives.” 27 I am going to watch over them. I am going to watch over them to bring disasters, not blessings. In Egypt the people from Judah will die in wars and famines until everyone is gone. 28 Those who escape the wars will return to Judah from Egypt. Then all the people of Judah who went to live in Egypt will know whose words have come true, mine or theirs. 29 I will give you this sign,’ declares Yahweh. ‘I will punish you in this place so that you will know that my threats of disaster will happen to you. 30 This is what Yahweh says: I’m going to hand Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies and to those who want to kill him, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to those who wanted to kill him.’”
The Lord’s Promise to the Scribe Baruch
45 This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah. Baruch wrote these things on a scroll as Jeremiah dictated them during the fourth year that Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Jeremiah said, 2 “This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘I’m so miserable! Yahweh has added grief to my pain. I’m worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.’
4 “Say this to Baruch, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I will tear down what I have built. I will uproot what I have planted throughout the earth. 5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Don’t look for them, because I’m going to bring disaster on all people, declares Yahweh. But wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”
5 Every chief priest is chosen from humans to represent them in front of God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. 2 The chief priest can be gentle with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, because he also has weaknesses. 3 Because he has weaknesses, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins in the same way that he does for the sins of his people.
4 No one takes this honor for himself. Instead, God calls him as he called Aaron. 5 So Christ did not take the glory of being a chief priest for himself. Instead, the glory was given to him by God, who said,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”
6 In another place in Scripture, God said,
“You are a priest forever,
in the way Melchizedek was a priest.”
7 During his life on earth, Yeshua prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God. 8 Although Yeshua was the Son of God, he learned to be obedient through his sufferings. 9 After he had finished his work, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him. 10 God appointed him chief priest in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
You Need Someone to Teach You
11 We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard. 12 By now you should be teachers. Instead, you still need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food. 13 All those who live on milk lack the experience to talk about what is right. They are still babies. 14 However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.