Jeremiah 44

1 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and at Thachpanches, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

And Sedekias the son of Josias reigned instead of Joakim, whom Nabuchodonosor appointed to reign over Juda.

2 Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, You yourselves have seen all the evil that I have brought over Jerusalem, and over all the cities of Judah; and, behold, they are ruins this day, and no man is dwelling in them;

And he and his servants and the people of the land listened not to the words of the Lord, which he spoke by Jeremias.

3 Because of their wickedness which they had committed to provoke me to anger, by going to burn incense, to serve other gods, whom they did not know, either they, you, or your fathers.

And king Sedekias sent Joachal son of Selemias and Sophonias the priest son of Maasaeas to Jeremias, saying, Pray now for us to the Lord.

4 And I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, making them rise early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not commit this abominable thing which I hate.

Now Jeremias came and went through the midst of the city: for they [had] not put him into the house of the prison.

5 But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear to turn away from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense unto other gods.

And the host of Pharao was come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldeans heard the report of them, and they went up from Jerusalem.

6 Whereupon my fury and my anger were poured forth, and were enkindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: and they are become ruins, a desert, as at this day.

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying,

7 And now thus hath said the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Wherefore do ye commit so great an evil against your souls, so as to cut off unto you man and woman, child and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, so as not to leave you any remainder,

Thus said the Lord; Thus shall you say to the king of Juda who sent to you, to seek me; Behold, the army of Pharao which is come forth to help you: they shall return to the land of Egypt:

8 By provoking me unto wrath with the works of your hands, in burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are come to sojourn there, in order to cut yourselves off, and in order that ye might become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth?

and the Chaldeans themselves shall turn again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

9 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 had committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

For thus says the Lord; Suppose not in your hearts, saying, The Chaldeans will certainly depart from us: for they shall not depart.

10 They are not humbled even up to this day, and they are not afraid, and they walk not in my law, nor in my statutes, that I have set before you and before your fathers.

And though you should strike the whole host of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there should be left a few wounded [men], these should rise up each in his place, and burn this city with fire.

11 Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

And it came to pass, when the host of the Chaldeans had gone up from Jerusalem for fear of the host of Pharao,

12 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 come to their end, and in the land of Egypt shall they fall: by the sword [and] by the famine shall they come to their end; from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine shall they die; and they shall become an oath, an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace.

that Jeremias went forth from Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to buy thence [a property] in the midst of the people.

13 And I will inflict punishment on those that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have inflicted punishment on Jerusalem, through the sword, through the famine, and through the pestilence:

And he was in the gate of Benjamin, and [there was] there a man with whom he lodged, Saruia the son of Selemias, the son of Ananias; and he caught Jeremias, saying, You are fleeing to the Chaldeans.

14 So that there shall be no one that escapeth or remaineth of the remnant of Judah, who are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, that they should return into the land of Judah, to which they direct [the desire of] their soul to return thither to dwell there; for they shall not return, but such as shall escape.

And he said, [It is] false; I do not flee to the Chaldeans. But he listened not to him; and Saruia caught Jeremias, and brought him to the princes.

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

And the princes were very angry with Jeremias, and struck him, and sent him into the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made this a prison.

16 Respecting the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.

So Jeremias came into the dungeon, and into the cells, and he remained there many days.

17 For to a surety we will do all the word that is gone forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto 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: when we had plenty of food, and fared well, and saw no evil.

Then Sedekias sent, and called him; and the king asked him secretly, saying, Is there a word from the Lord? and he said, There is: you shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.

18 But since the time we have left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, have we had a lack of every thing; and we have come to our end through the sword and through the famine.

And Jeremias said to the king, Wherein have I wronged you, or your servants, or this people, that you put me in prison?

19 And when we burnt incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, —was this without [the consent of] our husbands, that we did make cakes for her to make her image, and pour out drink-offerings unto her?

And where are your prophets who prophesied to you saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against this land?

20 Then said Jeremiah unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who had answered him [with that] word, saying,

Now therefore, my lord the king, let my supplication come before your face: and why do you send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe? and let me not on any account die there.

21 Behold, it was the incense that ye burnt 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, which the Lord remembered, and which came into his mind;

Then the king commanded, and they cast him into the prison, and gave him a loaf a day out of the place where they bake, until the bread failed out of the city. So Jeremias continued in the court of the prison.

22 So that the Lord could no longer endure it, because of the evil of your doings, because of the abominations which ye had committed: therefore is your land become a ruin, and an [object of] astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

23 Because that ye had burnt incense, and because ye had sinned against the Lord, and had not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and had not walked in his law, in his statutes, and in his testimonies: therefore did this evil befall you, as it is this day.

24 And Jeremiah said [farther] to all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt,

25 Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouth, and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her: ye will fully accomplish your vows, and fully perform your vows.

26 Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah 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 called by the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, “As the Lord Eternal liveth,” in all the land of Egypt.

27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall come to their end through the sword and through the famine, until they be destroyed.

28 Yet some that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, but few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand firm, mine, or theirs.

29 And this shall be unto you the sign, saith the Lord, that I will inflict punishment on you in this place, in order that ye may know that my words shall surely stand firm against you for evil:

30 Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh-chophra' the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, his enemy, and who had sought his life.