JeremiahChapter 44
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1The LORD gave a message to Jeremiah about all the Jews living in the land of Egypt. They lived in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the land of Pathros. 2"This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Look, today they lie in ruins. No one lives there. 3This is because of the evil they did. They made me angry. They kept burning incense and serving other gods. Neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew these gods. 4Again and again I sent you all my servants the prophets. They said, 'Do not do this disgusting thing that I hate.' 5But they did not listen or pay attention. They did not turn from their evil. They did not stop burning incense to other gods. 6So my fury and anger poured out. They burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they are empty ruins today. 7So now this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off men and women, children and babies from Judah. You will have no one left. 8Why do you make me angry by what you make with your hands? You burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to live. Because of this, you will be cut off. All the nations of the earth will use your name as a curse and make fun of you. 9Have you forgotten the evil done by your fathers? Have you forgotten the evil of the kings of Judah and their wives? Have you forgotten the evil that you and your wives did in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? 10To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown me respect. They have not followed my teaching or the laws I set before you and your fathers. 11So this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I have made up my mind to bring disaster on you. I will cut off all Judah. 12I will take away the people left in Judah who decided to go and live in the land of Egypt. They will all come to an end. They will all die by the sword or by hunger. From the least to the greatest, they will die by war or hunger. People will use their name as a curse. They will be a thing of horror. People will mock them and put them to shame. 13I punished Jerusalem by war, hunger, and sickness. In the same way, I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt. 14So none of the people left from Judah who went to live in Egypt will escape or survive to go back to the land of Judah. They long to go back and live there. But none will go back except a few who escape." 15Then a large crowd spoke to Jeremiah. It included all the men who knew their wives were burning incense to other gods. It included all the women standing there. And it included all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros. They said, 16"You have spoken a message to us in the name of the LORD. But we will not listen to you! 17Instead, we will do everything we promised. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven. We will pour out drink offerings to her. We will do just what we and our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty of food. Things went well for us, and we saw no disaster. 18But then we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven. We stopped pouring out drink offerings to her. Ever since, we have had nothing. We have been dying by war and hunger." 19The women added, "We burned incense to the Queen of Heaven. We poured out drink offerings to her. We made cakes shaped like her for offerings. Did we do all this without our husbands knowing?" 20Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people who were answering him, both men and women. 21"You burned incense in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. So did your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land. Didn't the LORD remember it? Didn't he think about it? 22The LORD could no longer put up with your evil deeds and the disgusting things you did. So your land became an empty ruin and a thing of horror. People use its name as a curse. No one lives there, as you see today. 23You burned incense and sinned against the LORD. You did not obey the voice of the LORD. You did not follow his teaching, his laws, or his commands. That is why this disaster has come on you, as you see today." 24Then Jeremiah spoke 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. 25This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives said with your mouths what you would do. Then you did it with your hands. You said, 'We will surely keep the promises we made. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.' Go ahead, then! Do what you promised! Keep your promises! 26But hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah living in Egypt. Look, I have made a promise by my great name, says the LORD. No man of Judah living in the land of Egypt will ever again call on my name. None will say, 'As surely as the Lord GOD lives.' 27I am watching over them to harm them, not to do them good. Every man of Judah in the land of Egypt will die by the sword or by hunger. This will go on until they are all gone. 28Only a few will escape the sword and come back from Egypt to Judah. Then all the people left from Judah who went to live in Egypt will know whose word comes true. Will it be mine or theirs? 29This will be a sign to you, says the LORD. It will show that I will punish you in this place. Then you will know that my warnings of harm against you will surely come true. 30This is what the LORD says: Look, I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who want to kill him. I did the same to Zedekiah king of Judah. I handed him over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him."