Jeremiah 44
44
The Lord Will Destroy the People of Judah
1The Lord told me to speak with the Jews who were living in the towns of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis in northern Egypt, and also to those living in southern Egypt. He told me to tell them:
2I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You saw how I destroyed Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. They lie empty and in ruins today, 3because the people of Judah made me angry by worshiping gods that had never helped them or their ancestors.
4Time after time I sent my servants the prophets to tell the people of Judah how much I hated their disgusting sins. The prophets warned them to stop sinning, 5but they refused to listen and would not stop worshiping other gods. 6Finally, my anger struck like a raging flood, and today Jerusalem and the towns of Judah are nothing but empty ruins.
7Why do you now insist on heading for another disaster? A disaster that will destroy not only you, but also your children and babies. 8You have made me angry by worshiping idols and burning incense to other gods after you came here to Egypt. You will die such a disgusting death, that other nations will use the name of Judah as a curse word. 9When you were living in Jerusalem and Judah, you followed the example of your ancestors in doing evil things, just like your kings and queens. 10Even now, your pride keeps you from respecting me and obeying the laws and teachings I gave you and your ancestors.
11I, the Lord All-Powerful, have decided to wipe you out with disasters. 12There were only a few of you left in Judah, and you decided to go to Egypt. But you will die such horrible deaths in war or from starvation, that people of other countries will use the name of Judah as a curse word. 13I punished Jerusalem with war, hunger, and disease, and that's how I will punish you. 14None of you will survive. You may hope to return to Judah someday, but only a very few of you will escape death and be able to go back.
The People Refuse To Worship the Lord
15A large number of Jews from both northern and southern Egypt listened to me as I told them what the Lord had said. Most of the men in the crowd knew that their wives often burned incense to other gods. So they and their wives shouted:
16Jeremiah, what do we care if you speak in the Lord's name? We refuse to listen! 17We have promised to worship the goddess Astarte, the Queen of Heaven,#44.17 the goddess Astarte, the Queen of Heaven: The Hebrew text has “the queen of heaven,” which probably refers to the goddess Astarte. and that is exactly what we are going to do. We will burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to her, just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did when we lived in Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah. We had plenty of food back then. We were well off, and nothing bad ever happened to us. 18But since the time we stopped burning incense and offering wine sacrifices to her, we have been dying from war and hunger.
19Then the women said, “When we lived in Judah, we worshiped the Queen of Heaven and offered sacrifices of wine and special loaves of bread shaped like her. Our husbands knew what we were doing, and they approved of it.”
20Then I told the crowd:
21Don't you think the Lord knew that you and your ancestors, your leaders and kings, and the rest of the people were burning incense to other gods in Jerusalem and everywhere else in Judah? 22And when he could no longer put up with your disgusting sins, he placed a curse on your land and turned it into a desert, as it is today. 23This disaster happened because you worshiped other gods and rebelled against the Lord by refusing to obey him or follow his laws and teachings.
24-25Then I told the men and their wives, that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:
Here in Egypt you still keep your promises to burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to the so-called Queen of Heaven. 26Keep these promises! But let me tell you what will happen. As surely as I am the Lord God, I swear that I will never again accept any promises you make in my name. 27Instead of watching over you, I will watch for chances to harm you. Some of you will die in war, and others will starve to death. 28Only a few will escape and return to Judah. Then everyone who went to live in Egypt will know that when I say something will happen, it will—no matter what you say.
29And here is how you will know that I will keep my threats to punish you in Egypt. 30#2 K 25.1-7. I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to those who want to kill him,#44.30 King Hophra … kill him: Hophra, also known as Apries, ruled Egypt from 589 to 570 b.c., when he was killed by Ahmosis II, who then became king of Egypt and ruled until 526 b.c. just as I handed Zedekiah#44.30 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3. over to Nebuchadnezzar,#44.30 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. who wanted to kill him.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 44
44
God’s Judgment against His People in Egypt
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt — at Migdol,#Ex 14:2; Nm 33:7; Jr 46:14; Ezk 29:10 Tahpanhes,#Jr 2:16; 43:7–9; 46:14 Memphis,#Is 19:13; Jr 2:16; 46:14,19; Ezk 30:13,16; Hs 9:6 and in the land of Pathros:#Is 11:11; Ezk 29:14; 30:14 2“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them#Jos 8:26; Is 5:9; 6:11; Jr 2:15; 4:29; 6:8; 33:10; 34:22; 44:22; 48:9; 51:37; Zph 3:6 3because of the evil they committed to anger me,#Jr 7:19 by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your ancestors did not know.#2Kg 22:17; 2Ch 28:25; 34:25; Jr 1:16; 7:9; 19:4,13; 32:29 4So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again,#44:4 Lit prophets, rising up early and sending#Jr 7:13,25; 11:7; 25:3; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14,15 saying, ‘Don’t commit this detestable action that I hate.’ 5But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods. 6So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets#Jr 7:34 so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.
7“So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby#1Sm 15:3; 22:19 from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.#Jr 11:23; 40:15; 44:15; Ezr 9:14 8You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.#Jr 24:9; 42:18; 44:12; 49:13 9Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.
11“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster,#Jr 21:10 to cut off all Judah.#1Sm 20:15; Ps 109:13; Is 10:7; Jr 9:21; 47:4; 51:62; Ob 14 12And I will take away the remnant of Judah,#Jr 42:15–18 those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest,#Est 1:20; Jr 6:13; 8:10; 31:34; 42:1; 42:8 they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn,#Jr 18:16 execration, and disgrace.#Dt 28:37; 2Ch 29:8; 30:7; Jr 5:30; 18:16; 19:8; 25:9,18; 29:18; 42:18; 44:22; 49:17; 50:13; Mc 6:16; Zph 2:15 13I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague. 14Then the remnant of Judah — those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt — will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing#44:14 Lit lifting up their soul to return to stay,#Jr 22:26–27 for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”
The People’s Stubborn Response
15However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by — a great assembly — and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah, 16“As for the word you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! 17Instead, we will do everything we promised:#44:17 Lit do every word that came from our mouth we will burn incense to the queen of heaven#44:17 = Ashtoreth, or Astarte and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities#Jr 7:18 and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster, 18but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.”#Jr 14:15; 16:4
19And the women said,#44:19 LXX, Syr; MT omits And the women said “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands’ knowledge#Nm 30:6–7 that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20But Jeremiah responded to all the people — the men, women, and all the people who were answering him: 21“As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities#Ezk 8:10–11 and in Jerusalem’s streets — you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land — did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind. 22The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed,#Is 1:14; 7:13; 43:24; Jr 15:6; Mal 2:17 so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today. 23Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord#Jr 40:3 and didn’t follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”
24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.#Jr 43:7 25This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows!’
26“Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,#Gn 22:16; 1Sm 3:14; Ps 89:3,35; Is 45:23; 54:9; Jr 22:5; 49:13 says the Lord, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt,#Ezk 20:39 saying, “As the Lord God lives.” 27I am watching over them for disaster and not for good,#Jr 21:10; 31:28; 39:16; Am 9:4 and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off. 28Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number,#Is 27:12–13 and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs! 29This will be a sign to you’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘that I will punish you in this place, so you may know that my words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.#Pr 19:21 30This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra,#Ezk 29:3; 30:21 Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who intend to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah#Jr 39:5–7 to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who intended to take his life.’”
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