Jeremiah 44
44
Judgment for Idolatry
1This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis,#44:1a Hebrew Noph. and in southern Egypt#44:1b Hebrew in Pathros. as well: 2“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins. 3They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods—gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.
4“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ 5But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods. 6And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.
7“And now the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive—not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms. 8Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth. 9Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem? 10To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.
11“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you! 12I will take this remnant of Judah—those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt—and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. 13I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. 14Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”
15Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols—a great crowd of all the Judeans living in northern Egypt and southern Egypt#44:15 Hebrew in Egypt, in Pathros.—answered Jeremiah, 16“We will not listen to your messages from the Lord! 17We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like—just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles! 18But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.”
19“Besides,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”
20Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer, 21“Do you think the Lord did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 22It was because the Lord could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without inhabitants—as it is today. 23All these terrible things happened to you because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the Lord. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.”
24Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt. 25This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’
26“But listen to this message from the Lord, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.” 27For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead. 28Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true—mine or theirs!
29“‘And this is the proof I give you,’ says the Lord, ‘that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here.’ 30This is what the Lord says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar#44:30 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar. of Babylon.’”
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Jeremiah 44: NLT
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Jeremiah 44
44
Calamity in Egypt
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt—at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the region of Pathros, saying,
2thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “You have seen all the calamity that I brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah. Behold, today they are a ruin, and no one lives in them,
3because of their wickedness which they committed to provoke Me, by continuing to burn sacrifices for and serve other gods, whom they had not known—not they, nor you, nor your fathers.
4Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them early and often, saying: ‘Oh, do not do this loathsome thing that I hate.’
5But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to stop making offering to other gods.
6“Therefore My fury and Mine anger was poured out and blazed in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. So they are waste and a ruin, as it is today.
7So now, thus says Adonai, Elohim-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “Why are you committing this great evil against your own souls? You cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child, from the midst of Judah, to leave yourself without a remnant.
8You are provoking Me with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to dwell, so that you will be cut off and become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth.
9Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, the evils of the kings of Judah, the evils of their wives, and your own evils and the evils of your wives, which were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10They have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My Torah, My statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.”
11Therefore thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “I will soon set My face against you for calamity, to cut off all Judah.
12I will take the remnant of Judah who set their faces to enter the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they will all be consumed, falling in the land of Egypt by the sword and by famine. They will die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine, and they will be an execration, and a horror, a curse, and a disgrace.
13So I will punish those dwelling in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by plague.
14So none of the remnant of Judah entering the land of Egypt to sojourn there will escape or remain, to return to the land of Judah, when they are longing with their soul to return to live there; for none will return except as refugees.”
15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women that stood by—a large assembly—with all the people dwelling in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying:
16“As for the word that you spoke to us in the Name of Adonai, we are not going to listen to you!
17Instead we will definitely do every word as went out of our mouth—burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we did, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—for then we had plenty of food, were well off, and saw no calamity.
18But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.
19Moreover, when we were burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, when we made cakes for her in her image and poured out drink offerings to her, were we without our husbands?”
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and the women, to all the people that were giving him such an answer, saying:
21“The incense-burning that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you and your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—Adonai did remember them, they did come into His heart.
22Then Adonai could no longer endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations that you committed! So your land has become a wasteland, a desolation and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
23Because you have burned incense, because you have sinned against Adonai and have not listened to the voice of Adonai, nor walked in His Torah, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies—that is why this calamity has befallen you, as it is this day.”
24Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women: “Hear the word of Adonai, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt.
25Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying: “We will definitely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink-offerings to her.” You surely will confirm your vows and surely will perform your vows!’”
26Therefore hear the word of Adonai, all Judah dwelling in the land of Egypt: “Behold, I have sworn by My great Name,” declares Adonai, “never more will My Name be invoked in the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt saying: ‘As my Lord Adonai lives.’
27Here I am, watching over them for evil, and not for good. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
28Those escaping the sword will return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah only few in number. Then the remnant of Judah who entered the land of Egypt to sojourn there, will know whose word stands up—Mine or theirs!” It is a declaration of Adonai.
29“Moreover, this will be the sign to you: I will visit punishment on you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you as calamity.”
30Thus says Adonai: “Soon, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them who seek his life, just as I gave King Zedekiah of Judah into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking his life.”
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