Jeremias (Jeremiah) 44
44
1The word that came to Jeremias, concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, dwelling in Magdal and in Taphnis and in Memphis and in the land of Phatures, saying:
2Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all this evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Juda. And, behold, they are desolate this day, and there is not an inhabitant in them:
3Because of the wickedness which they have committed, to provoke me to wrath, and to go and offer sacrifice and worship other gods which neither they, nor you nor your fathers knew.
4And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, and saying: Do not commit this abominable thing which I hate.
5But they heard not nor inclined their ear to turn from their evil ways and not to sacrifice to strange gods.
6Wherefore my indignation and my fury was poured forth and was kindled in the cities of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem: and they are turned to desolation and waste, as at this day.
7And now thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against your own souls, that there should die of you man and woman, child and suckling, out of the midst of Juda, and no remnant should be left you:
8In that you provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, by sacrificing to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which you are come to dwell there: and that you should perish and be a curse and a reproach to all the nations of the earth?
9Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers and the evils of the kings of Juda and the evils of their wives and your evils and the evils of your wives, that they have done in the land of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10They are not cleansed even to this day: neither have they feared nor walked in the law of the Lord nor in my commandments which I set before you and your fathers.
11Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face upon you for evil: and I will destroy all Juda.
12And I will take the remnant of Juda that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt and to dwell there: and they shall be all consumed in the land of Egypt. They shall fall by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be consumed from the least even to the greatest. By the sword, and by the famine shall they die: and they shall be for an execration and for a wonder and for a curse and for a reproach.
13And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, by the sword and by famine and by pestilence.
14And there shall be none that shall escape and remain of the remnant of the Jews that are gone to sojourn in the land of Egypt, and that shall return into the land of Juda, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there. There shall none return but they that shall flee.
15Then all the men that knew that their wives sacrificed to other gods, and all the women of whom there stood by a great multitude, and all the people of them that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Phatures, answered Jeremias, saying:
16As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee:
17But we will certainly do every word that shall proceed out of our own mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, our kings, and our princes in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and we were filled with bread, and it was well with us, and we saw no evil.
18But since we left off to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink-offerings to her, we have wanted all things and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.
19And if we offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven and pour out drink-offerings to her: did we make cakes to worship her, to pour out drink-offerings to her, without our husbands?
20And Jeremias spoke to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying:
21Was it not the sacrifice that you offered in the cities of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, which the Lord hath remembered: and hath it not entered into his heart?
22So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land is become a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23Because you have sacrificed to idols and have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his law and in his commandments and in his testimonies: therefore are these evils come upon you, as at this day.
24And Jeremias said to all the people and to all the women: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt.
25Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You and your wives have spoken with your mouth and fulfilled with your hands, saying: Let us perform our vows which we have made, to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink-offerings to her. You have fulfilled your vows and have performed them indeed.
26Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you 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 Juda, in the land of Egypt, saying: The Lord God liveth.
27Behold, I will watch over them for evil and not for good: and all the men of Juda that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine till there be an end of them.
28And a few men that shall flee from the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Juda: and all the remnant of Juda that are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine or theirs.
29And this shall be a sign to you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place: that you may know that my words shall be accomplished indeed against you for evil.
30Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will deliver Pharao Ephree king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of them that seek his life: as I delivered Sedecias king of Juda into the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon his enemy and that sought his life.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 44: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 44
44
The LORD's Message to the Israelites in Egypt
1The LORD spoke to me concerning all the Israelites living in Egypt, in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the southern part of the country. 2The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, said, “You yourselves have seen the destruction I brought on Jerusalem and all the other cities of Judah. Even now they are still in ruins, and no one lives in them 3because their people had done evil and had made me angry. They offered sacrifices to other gods and served gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever worshipped. 4I kept sending you my servants the prophets, who told you not to do this terrible thing that I hate. 5But you would not listen or pay any attention. You would not give up your evil practice of sacrificing to other gods. 6So I poured out my anger and fury on the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem, and I set them on fire. They were left in ruins and became a horrifying sight, as they are today.
7“And so I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, now ask why you are doing such an evil thing to yourselves. Do you want to bring destruction on men and women, children and babies, so that none of your people will be left? 8Why do you make me angry by worshipping idols and by sacrificing to other gods here in Egypt, where you have come to live? Are you doing this just to destroy yourselves, so that every nation on earth will treat you with scorn and use your name as a curse? 9Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives? 10But to this day you have not humbled yourselves. You have not honoured me or lived according to all the laws that I gave you and your ancestors.
11“So then, I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, will turn against you and destroy all Judah. 12As for the people of Judah who are left and are determined to go and live in Egypt, I will see to it that all of them are destroyed. All of them, great and small, will die in Egypt, either in war or of starvation. They will be a horrifying sight; people will treat them with scorn and use their name as a curse. 13I will punish those who live in Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem — with war, starvation, and disease. 14None of the people of Judah who are left and have come to Egypt to live will escape or survive. Not one of them will return to Judah, where they long to live once again. No one will return except a few refugees.”
15Then all the men who knew that their wives offered sacrifices to other gods, and all the women who were standing there, including the Israelites who lived in southern Egypt — a large crowd in all — said to me, 16“We refuse to listen to what you have told us in the name of the LORD. 17We will do everything that we said we would. We will offer sacrifices to our goddess, the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out wine offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our king and our leaders, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we were prosperous, and had no troubles. 18But ever since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and stopped pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing, and our people have died in war and of starvation.”
19And the women added, “When we baked cakes shaped like the Queen of Heaven, offered sacrifices to her, and poured out wine offerings to her, our husbands approved of what we were doing.”
20Then I said to all the men and the women who had answered me in this way, 21“As for the sacrifices which you and your ancestors, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land offered in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem — do you think that the LORD did not know about them or that he forgot them? 22This very day your land lies in ruins and no one lives in it. It has become a horrifying sight, and people use its name as a curse because the LORD could no longer endure your wicked and evil practices. 23This present disaster has come on you because you offered sacrifices to other gods and sinned against the LORD by not obeying all his commands.”
24-25I told all the people, especially the women, what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, was saying to the people of Judah living in Egypt: “Both you and your wives have made solemn promises to the Queen of Heaven. You promised that you would offer sacrifices to her and pour out wine offerings to her, and you have kept your promises. Very well, then! Keep your promises! Carry out your vows! 26But now listen to the vow that I, the LORD, have made in my mighty name to all you Israelites in Egypt: never again will I let any of you use my name to make a vow by saying, ‘I swear by the living Sovereign LORD!’ 27I will see to it that you will not prosper, but will be destroyed. All of you will die, either in war or of disease, until not one of you is left. 28But a few of you will escape death and return from Egypt to Judah. Then the survivors will know whose words have come true, mine or theirs. 29I, the LORD, will give you proof that I will punish you in this place and that my promise to bring destruction on you will come true. 30#2 Kgs 25.1–7I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who was his enemy and wanted to kill him.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.