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,

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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,

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

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.

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.

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?

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,

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;

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.