Jer 44
1
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt,
that dwelt at Migdol, and at 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 a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein;
3
because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me, in that they
went to offer, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, nor ye,
nor your fathers.
4
Howbeit I sent unto you all My servants the prophets, sending them betimes and often,
saying: Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to forbear
offering unto other gods.
6
Wherefore My fury and Mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of
Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this
day.
7
Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore
commit ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman,
infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;
8
in that ye provoke Me with the works of your hands, offering unto other gods in the
land of Egypt, whither ye are gone to sojourn; that ye may be cut off, and that ye
may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9
Have ye forgotten the wicked deeds of your fathers, and the wicked deeds of the kings
of Judah, and the wicked deeds of their wives, and your own wicked deeds, and the
wicked deeds of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the
streets of Jerusalem?
10
They are not humbled even 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 for evil, even to cut off all Judah.
12
And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land
of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall
they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die,
from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall
be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
13
For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem,
by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;
14
so that none of the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn
there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to
which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for none shall return save such
as shall escape.'
15
Then all the men who knew that their wives offered unto other gods, and all the women
that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt,
in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying:
16
'As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not
hearken unto thee.
17
But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to offer
unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done,
we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the
streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.
18
But since we let off to offer to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings
unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the
famine.
19
And is it we that offer to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink-offerings unto
her? did we make her cakes in her image, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without
our husbands?'
20
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all
the people that had given him that answer, saying:
21
'The offering that ye offered in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem,
ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did
not the LORD remember them, and came it not into His mind?
22
So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because
of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation,
and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23
Because ye have offered, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not
hearkened to the voice of the LORD, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor
in His testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at 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 saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives have both
spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying: We will surely
perform our vows that we have vowed, to offer to the queen of heaven, and to pour
out drink-offerings unto her; ye shall surely establish your vows, and surely perform
your vows.
26
Therefore hear ye 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 shall no more
be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt saying: As the
Lord GOD liveth.
27
Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that
are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there
be an end of them.
28
And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land
of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land
of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, Mine, or theirs.
29
And this shall be the sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish 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 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 Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought
his life.'