Jeremiah 44
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros:
2 “This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Today they lie in ruins, and no one lives in them.
3 This happened because of the evil they did to provoke me, by going to burn incense and serve other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors had known.
4 I sent all my servants the prophets to you. I sent them early and repeatedly, saying, «Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.»
5 But they would not listen or pay attention, to turn from their evil and stop burning incense to other gods.
6 So my fury and anger poured out and blazed in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. They became ruins and desolation, as they are today.’
7 Now this is what the LORD, God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why are you bringing such great disaster on yourselves, wiping out from Judah man and woman, child and nursing infant, and leaving yourselves no remnant?
8 You provoke me with the work of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live. You will be wiped out and become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth.
9 Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your ancestors and the evil deeds of the kings of Judah? And the evil deeds of their wives, your own evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives, which they did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?
10 To this day they have not humbled themselves, felt reverence, or walked in my law and my statutes, which I set before you and your ancestors.’”
11 “Therefore this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am set against you, for disaster, to wipe out all Judah.
12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their minds on going to the land of Egypt to live there. They will all perish in the land of Egypt: they will fall by the sword and perish from famine, from the least to the greatest. They will die by sword and famine, and become an object of horror, a desolation, a curse, and a disgrace.
13 I will punish those living in the land of Egypt as I punished Jerusalem: by sword, famine, and plague.
14 There will be no fugitive or survivor for the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt and hope to return to the land of Judah, where they long to go back and live. They will not return, except for a few fugitives.’”
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods answered Jeremiah. All the women standing there answered too—a great assembly—as did all the people living in the land of Egypt, in Pathros. They said:
16 “We will not listen to the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD.
17 Instead, we will do everything we said we would: burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her. That is what we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food, we prospered, and we saw no disaster.
18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have perished by sword and famine.”
19 “And when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—to the men, the women, and everyone who had answered him:
21 “The incense you burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—you and your ancestors, your kings and leaders, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember it? Did it not come into his heart?
22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable things you did. So your land became a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, with no one living there, as it is today.
23 It was because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD, and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law, statutes, and decrees. That is why this disaster has come upon you, as it is today.”
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women: “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah living in the land of Egypt.
25 This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives spoke with your mouths and carried out with your hands what you said: «We will surely fulfill the vows we made, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.» So confirm your vows and fulfill them.’
26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah living in the land of Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name, says the LORD, that throughout the land of Egypt no man of Judah will ever again invoke my name, saying, «As the Lord GOD lives!»
27 I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah in the land of Egypt will perish by sword and famine, until they are finished.
28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who came to the land of Egypt to live there will know whose word stands—mine or theirs.
29 This will be the sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, so you will know that my words against you for disaster will surely come true.
30 This is what the LORD says: «I am going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, to his enemies and to those seeking his life, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking his life.»”
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