Jeremiah 44

A Word to the Judeans in Egypt

1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans living in the land of Egypt, living at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, saying, 2“Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Look, they are a ruin this day, and no one lives in them, 3because of the evil that they did to provoke me to anger by going to burn incense and serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your ancestors. 4Yet I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, ‘Please do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’ 5But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their evil, not burning incense to other gods. 6So my fury and my anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a ruin and a desolation, as they are this day.

Why Bring Disaster on Yourselves?

7“And now, thus says the LORD, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you doing great evil against your own lives, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, child and nursing infant from the midst of Judah, leaving yourselves no remnant? 8Why provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live as resident aliens, so that you cut yourselves off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9Have you forgotten the evil of your ancestors, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10They have not been humbled to this day, nor have they feared or walked in my instruction and my statutes that I set before you and before your ancestors.

None Will Return Except Fugitives

11“Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Look, I am setting my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12I will take the remnant of Judah who set their faces to enter the land of Egypt to live there as resident aliens, and they will all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they will fall; by sword and famine they will be consumed. From least to greatest they will die by sword and famine, and they will become a curse, a horror, a malediction, and a reproach. 13I will attend to those who live in the land of Egypt just as I attended to Jerusalem, by sword, famine, and plague. 14None of the remnant of Judah who entered the land of Egypt to live there as resident aliens will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they lift up their lives to return and dwell there. They will not return except fugitives.”

The People Defend the Queen of Heaven

15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by—a great assembly—and all the people who lived in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered Jeremiah, saying, 16“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17But we will certainly do every word that has gone out from our mouths, burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, as we did, we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food and were well and saw no disaster. 18But from the time we ceased burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by sword and famine.” 19And the women said, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her in her image and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands?”

Jeremiah Answers the People

20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people who had answered him a word, saying, 21“The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did not the LORD remember it, and did it not come up upon his heart? 22The LORD could no longer bear it because of the evil of your deeds and because of the detestable things you committed. Therefore your land became a ruin, a horror, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD and did not listen to the voice of the LORD or walk in his instruction, statutes, and testimonies, therefore this disaster has happened to you, as it is this day.”

The LORD’s Name Will No Longer Be Spoken by Them

24Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we vowed, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then surely establish your vows and surely perform your vows! 26Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who live in the land of Egypt: Look, I swear by my great name,” says the LORD, “that my name will no longer be called by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’ 27Look, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be consumed by sword and famine until they are finished. 28But a few in number who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah. Then all the remnant of Judah who came to the land of Egypt to live there as resident aliens will know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.

A Sign Concerning Pharaoh Hophra

29“And this will be the sign for you,” says the LORD, “that I am attending to you in this place, so that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: 30Thus says the LORD: Look, I am giving Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.”