Jeremiah 44

1 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, the ones staying in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in Upper Egypt:

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 “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says, 'You yourselves have seen all the disasters that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. See, they are ruins today. There is no one to live in them.

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 This is because of the wicked things they did to offend me by going to burn incense and to worship other gods. These were gods that neither they themselves, nor you, nor your ancestors 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 So I repeatedly sent all of my servants the prophets to them. I sent them to say, 'Stop doing these abominable things 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. They refused to pay attention or turn from their wickedness in 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 So my fury and my wrath were poured out and kindled a fire in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. So they became ruins and devastations, as at this present day.'

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 Yahweh, the God of hosts and the God of Israel, says this, 'Why are you doing great wickedness against yourselves? Why are you causing yourselves to be cut off from among Judah—men and women, children and babies? No remnant of you will be left.

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 By your wickedness you have offended me with the deeds of your hands, by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live. You have gone there so that you will be destroyed, so that you will be a curse and a 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 committed by your ancestors and the wickedness committed by the kings of Judah and their wives? Have you forgotten the evil committed by yourselves and your wives in the land of Judah and 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 still are not humbled. They do not honor my law or decrees that I placed before them and their ancestors, nor do they walk in them.'

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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster to you and to destroy all of 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 For I will take the remnant of Judah that has set out to go to the land of Egypt to live there. I will do this so that they will all perish in the land of Egypt. They will fall by sword and famine. From the least to the greatest they will perish by sword and famine. They will die and will become an object of swearing, cursing, reproaching, and a horrible thing.

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 For I will punish the people inhabiting the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with the 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 live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and live; and none of them will return except a few who escaped from there.'”

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 who were in the great assembly, and all the people who were living in Lower and Upper Egypt, answered 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 They said, “About the word that you have told us in Yahweh's name—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 For we will certainly do all the things that we said we would do—burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we will be filled with food and will prosper, without experiencing any 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 When we refrained from doing these things, not offering incense to the queen of heaven and not pouring out drink offerings to her, we were all suffering poverty and were dying 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 The women said, “When we were making incense offerings before the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it against our husbands that we did these things, making cakes in her image and pouring 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—to the men and women, and all the people who answered him—he proclaimed and said,

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 “Did not Yahweh remember the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—you and your ancestors, your kings and leaders, and the people of the land? For Yahweh calls this to mind; it comes to his thoughts.

“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 Then he was no longer able to bear it because of your wicked practices, because of the abominations that you did. Then your land became a desolation, a horror, and a curse so there was no longer an inhabitant as at this present 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 Yahweh, and because you would not listen to his voice, his law, his statutes, or his covenant decrees, this disaster against you has happened as at this present day.”

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 and all the women, “Hear the word of Yahweh, all 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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'You and your wives both have said with your mouths and carried out with your hands what you said, “We will certainly carry out the vows that we made to worship the queen of heaven, to pour out drink offerings to her.” Now fulfill your vows; carry them out.'

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 So then, hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah who are staying in the land of Egypt, 'See, I have sworn by my great name—says Yahweh. My name will no longer be called upon by the mouths of any of the men of Judah in all the land of Egypt, you who now say, “As the Lord Yahweh 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 See, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. Every person of Judah in the land of Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all finished.

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 Then the survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, only a small number of them. So all the remnant of Judah who went to the land of Egypt to live there 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 the sign for you—this is Yahweh's declaration—that I am setting against you in this place, so that you will know that my words will certainly attack you with disaster.'

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 Yahweh says this, 'Look, I am about to give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek to kill him. It will the same as when I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought 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.”