Jeremiah 44

1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

This is the message that came to Jeremiah regarding all the people of Judah living in Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt.

2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and look, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells in them,

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the complete disaster that I brought down on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. You can see how today they're ruined and abandoned

3 because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods, that they did not know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

because of the evil they did. They made me angry by burning incense and serving other gods that they hadn't ever known, and you and your forefathers hadn't known either.

4 However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.'

I sent you all my servants the prophets time and again to warn you: “Don't do these offensive things that I hate.”

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

But you refused to listen or to pay attention. You didn't stop their wickedness or burning incense in worship of other gods.

6 Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.'

That's why my furious anger poured out and set fire to the towns of Judah and burned in the streets of Jerusalem, making them the abandoned ruins they still are today.

7 Therefore now thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the midst of Judah, to leave yourselves none remaining;

So this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why are you hurting yourselves so badly by removing from Judah every man, woman, child, infant, so you don't have anyone left?

8 in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

Why are you making me angry by what you do, burning incense to other gods in Egypt where you have come to live? Because if this you will be destroyed, and will you will become a curse word, an expression of condemnation among all the nations on earth.

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

Have you forgotten the evil of your forefathers and the evil of the kings of Judah and the evil of their wives, as well as your own evil and the evil your wives, all practiced in the country of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

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

Even up to now you haven't shown any remorse or reverence. You haven't followed my rules and regulations I gave you and your forefathers.

11 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Look, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

So this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster and to wipe out everyone from Judah.

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

I'm going to destroy you who are left who decided to go to Egypt to live there. You will die there, killed by the sword or by famine. Whoever you are, from the least to the most important, you're going to die by sword or by famine; and you will become a curse word, something horrible, an insult, an expression of condemnation.

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

I'm going to punish you who live in Egypt like I punished Jerusalem, by war and famine and disease.

14 so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.'"

Nobody who is left from Judah who has gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the country of Judah. You long to go back and live there, but nobody will return except a few stragglers.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

All the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were there, a great crowd of people, those living in Egypt and Upper Egypt all told Jeremiah,

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

“Even though you say this message is from the Lord, we're not going to listen to you”

17 But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our 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 leaders, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.

In fact we're going to do everything we said we would. We'll burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to worship her as we did before, just like our fathers, our kings, and our officials who did the same things in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty of food and we were well off and nothing bad happened to us.

18 But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine."

But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to worship her, we've lost everything and have been dying as a result of war and famine.

19 And the women said, "When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?"

“On top of that,” the women added, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to worship her, did we do this without our husbands knowing about it, that we baked cakes stamped with her image and poured out drink offerings to worship her?”

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an answer, saying,

Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who were responding to him,

21 "The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land. Did not the LORD remember them, and did not it come into his mind,

“About that incense you burned to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, as well as your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the ordinary people—don't you think the Lord wouldn't remember and think about it?

22 so that the LORD could no longer bear because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed? Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

The Lord couldn't take it anymore—the evil things you did and your disgusting acts—so your country was turned into an uninhabited wasteland, a place of horror and a curse word to others, as it still is today.

23 Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day."

As you can see today, the disaster you've experienced happened because you burned incense to other gods and sinned against the Lord, refusing to listen to the Lord or to follow his instructions, his rules, and his regulations.”

24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, and to all the women, "Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:

Then Jeremiah told everyone, including all the women, “Listen to the Lord's message, all you people from Judah living here in Egypt.

25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, 'You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, 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 to her": establish then your vows, and perform your vows.'

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives, you've said what you're going to do, and you've done what you said! You said, ‘We're going to keep our promise to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to worship her.’ So go ahead! Do what you've said! Keep your promises!

26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: 'Look, I have sworn by my great name,' says the LORD, '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 lives."

But even so, listen to what the Lord says, all you people from Judah living here in Egypt: I guarantee by all that I am, says the Lord, that none of you living in the Egypt will ever use my name or swear, ‘As the Lord God lives.’

27 Look, I watch over them for disaster, 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 the famine, until they are all gone.

I will take care of them in the bad sense, and not in the good sense. All the people from Judah who are in Egypt will die by sword or famine, until they are wiped out.

28 Those who 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, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

Those who manage to avoid being killed by the sword will go back to Judah from Egypt. But there will only be a few of them, and then all who were left from Judah and went to live in Egypt will know who's telling the truth—me or them!

29 This shall be the sign to you,' says the LORD, 'that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil':

This is your sign to prove that I'm going to punish you here, declares the Lord, so that you'll know for certain that my threats against you will really happen.

30 Thus says the LORD, 'Look, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.'"

This is what the Lord says: Look! I'm going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to his enemies who are trying to kill him, in the same way that I handed over Zedekiah king of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who was trying to kill him.”