Old Testament · Prophets

Jeremiah chapter 44

The message that came to Jeremiah for all the Judean people living in Egypt — those settled in , , , and throughout :“This is what Yahweh, the , says: You saw everything I brought down on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Look at them today — , with no one living in them.”“This happened because of the corrupt things they did that provoked me — going off to and other gods that neither they, nor you, nor your ancestors had ever known.”“I sent you all my servants the prophets, , saying, ‘Don’t do this that I despise.’”“But they didn’t listen. They didn’t pay any attention. They didn’t or stop burning incense to other gods.”“So my poured out. It blazed through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and they became the ruined wasteland they are today.”“So now, this is what Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you ? You’re cutting off from Judah every man, woman, child, and infant — leaving yourselves with no one at all left.”“You’re provoking me with , burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you’ve come to live. You’re going to get yourselves cut off and become among all the nations on earth.”“Have you forgotten the of your ancestors? The corruption of the kings of Judah? The corruption of their wives? Your own corruption? The corruption of your wives? All of it committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?”“To this day they have not been . They have not shown any fear or followed my instructions — the I set in front of you and your ancestors.”“So this is what Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel, says: Watch — I am to bring disaster, to cut off all of Judah.”“I will take the of Judah — the ones who were determined to go to Egypt and settle there — and they will all meet their end. They will fall in the land of Egypt. They will meet their end by the sword and by famine — from the least to the greatest, they will die by sword and famine. They will become an , a curse-word, an insult.”“I will punish those living in Egypt the same way I punished Jerusalem — by sword, famine, and .”“None of the remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. They and live there, but none will return — except a few refugees.”Then all the men who knew their wives had been burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing there — — along with all the people living in Upper Egypt, answered Jeremiah:“As for the message you just spoke to us in Yahweh’s name — we’re not going to listen to you.”“We are absolutely going to do everything we said we would — burn incense to the and pour out to her, exactly like we used to do, along with our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had , we were doing well, and nothing bad happened to us.”“But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we’ve been short of everything, and we’ve been destroyed by sword and famine.”“And when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her — did we make those and pour out offerings to her ?”Then Jeremiah said to all the people — the men and women, everyone who had given him that answer:“That incense you burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem — you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the common people — don’t you think Yahweh it? Don’t you think it came to his attention?”“Yahweh the corrupt things you were doing — the disgusting things you were doing. That is why your land became a wasteland, a horror, a curse-word — with no one living in it — just as it is today.”“It is because you burned that incense, because you and did not follow his instructions, his teachings, and his — that is why this disaster has hit you, as you can see today.”Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women: “Listen to the word of Yahweh, all you people of Judah in Egypt.”“This is what Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and carried it out with your hands, saying, “We will absolutely keep our — burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her.” Fine. Go ahead and keep your vows. Go ahead and carry them out.’”“But listen to the word of Yahweh, all you Judeans living in the land of Egypt: ‘,’ says Yahweh, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or say, “.”’”“‘Watch — I am , but for harm, not for good. Every person from Judah in the land of Egypt will be finished off by sword and famine until they are completely gone.’”“Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to the land of Judah — but only a tiny number. Then the whole remnant of Judah that came to live in Egypt will find out — mine or theirs.”“‘And this will be the for you,’ Yahweh, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you will know that my words against you will absolutely stand:’”“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Watch — I am going to hand king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who want him dead, just as I handed king of Judah over to king of Babylon, his enemy who wanted him dead.’”