Jeremiah 44:11–27

¹¹“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you to bring disaster, ^ato cut off all Judah. ^b12And I will take away the remnant of Judah, ^cthose who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to live there for a while; they will meet their end. All of them in the land of Egypt will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, ^dthey will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an object of cursing, scorn, ^eexecration, and disgrace. ^f13I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague. ¹⁴Then the remnant of Judah—those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt—will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing ^gto return to live, ^hfor they will not return except for a few fugitives.”

The People’s Stubborn Response

¹⁵However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by—a great assembly—and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah, ¹⁶“As for the word you spoke to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you! ¹⁷Instead, we will do everything we said we would: burn incense to the queen of heaven ⁱand offer drink offerings to her just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities ^jand in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food and good things and saw no disaster, ¹⁸but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.” ^k

¹⁹And the women said, ^l“When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands’ knowledge ^mthat we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

²⁰But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him: ²¹“As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities ⁿand in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind. ²²The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, ^oso your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today. ²³Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord’s voice ^pand didn’t follow His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. ^q25This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Pay your vows!’

²⁶“Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by My great name, ^rsays Yahweh, that My name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, ^ssaying, “As the Lord God lives.” ²⁷I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, ^tand every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.