Jeremiah 44:1-18 ▼

1 THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD to prophesy concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt: those who dwell at Migdol and at Tahpanhes and at Memphis and in the land of Pathros, saying,

2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the calamity that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are desolate, and no man dwells in them

3 Because of the wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went and burned incense to other gods, whom they knew not, neither they nor their fathers.

4 And I sent to them all my servants the prophets, in advance, saying. Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.

5 But they did not hearken nor incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

6 Therefore my fury and my anger were poured forth and a fire was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a desolation and an astonishment, as they are today.

7 And now thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, the young and the little one out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

8 And thus have provoked me to anger with the works of your hands, and have burned incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to dwell, so that I may destroy you, and you shall become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers and the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10 They have not cleansed themselves even to this day, neither have they feared nor have they served me nor walked in my law nor in my statutes which I set before them and before their fathers.

11 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil to destroy the whole house of Judah.

12 And I will crush the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to enter into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed in the land of Egypt; they shall die by sword and by famine and by pestilence; and they shall be an execration and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach.

13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence;

14 So that none of the remnant of Judah, who are gone into the land of Egypt to live there shall escape or remain that they may return to the land of Judah to which they hope to return to dwell there; and only a few shall return.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods and all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt and in Pathros answered Jeremiah, saying,

16 As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

17 But we will certainly do every word that has gone forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to 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 we had plenty of food and were well and saw no evil.

18 But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her we have lacked everything and have been consumed by sword and by famine.