Jeremiah 44

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt —in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis —and in the land of Pathros:

The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, that dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the land of Pathros, saying:

2 “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, they lie today in ruins and desolation

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein;

3 because of the evil they have done. They provoked Me to anger by continuing to burn incense and to serve other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.

because of their wickedness, which they have committed, to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve strange gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers;

4 Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’

and I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying: O do not this abominable thing, which I hate!

5 But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to strange gods.

6 Therefore My wrath and anger poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so that they have become the desolate ruin they are today.

Therefore hath my fury been poured forth, and mine anger, and hath burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are become a desolation and a waste at this day.

7 So now, this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves by cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and infant, leaving yourselves without a remnant?

And now thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore do ye commit this great evil against your own souls, that ye may cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, so as to leave yourselves no remnant?

8 Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.

Why do ye provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to strange gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are gone to dwell, so that ye may cut yourselves off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers and of the kings of Judah and their wives, as well as the wickedness that you and your wives committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed My instruction or the statutes that I set before you and your fathers.

They have not been humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, which I set before you, and before your fathers.

11 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will set My face to bring disaster and to cut off all Judah.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.

And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; by the sword and by famine shall they be consumed, from the least to the greatest; by the sword and by famine shall they die; and they shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,

For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.

14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”

And none shall escape or remain of the remnant of Judah which are gone into the land of Egypt, to sojourn there, and to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return, to dwell there; for none shall return but a few fugitives that escape.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,

Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to strange gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, and in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying:

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

“As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken to thee,

17 Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.

But whatever hath gone forth from our mouth, that will we do, 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 bread, and were prosperous, and saw no calamity.

18 But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

But from the time we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, we have been in want of all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.

19 “Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

And when we [[said the women]] burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we without the knowledge of our men make cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings to her?”

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,

Then spake Jeremiah to all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who had given him that answer, saying:

21 “As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?

“The incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Jehovah remember it, and came it not into his mind?

22 So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

And Jehovah could no longer bear the evil of your doings, and the abominations which ye committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant at this day.

23 Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD, and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has befallen you, as you see today.”

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his ordinances, therefore is this evil come upon you, at this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all those of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.

And Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah, that are in the land of Egypt!

25 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows!

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye and your wives speak with your mouths, and fulfill with your hands; ye say, “We will keep our vows, which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her”; ye will surely accomplish your vows; ye will surely perform your vows.

26 Nevertheless, hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah living in Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that never again will any man of Judah living in the land of Egypt invoke My name or say, ‘As surely as the Lord GOD lives.’

Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, that dwell in the land of Egypt! Behold, I swear by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord Jehovah liveth!”

27 I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.

Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there be an end of them.

28 Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs!

And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs.

29 This will be a sign to you that I will punish you in this place, declares the LORD, so that you may know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.

And this shall be a sign to you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil.

30 This is what the LORD says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.”

Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, his enemy, that sought his life.”