Jeremiah 44:11–27

¹¹“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to ^aset My face against you for your evil demise, even to cut off all Judah.

¹²‘And I will ^atake away the remnant of Judah who have set their face on entering the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they will all ^1bmeet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and ²meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a ^ccurse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a reproach.

¹³‘And I will ^apunish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence.

¹⁴‘So there will be ^ano one who escapes or any survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to sojourn there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are ^1blonging to return to live; for none will ^creturn except a few who escape.’”

¹⁵Then ^aall the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, ¹including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered to Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶“As for the ^1amessage that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, ^bwe are not going to listen to you!

¹⁷“But rather we will certainly ^acarry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, ¹by burning incense to the ^bqueen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as ^cwe ourselves, our fathers, our kings, and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ^dplenty of ²food and were well off and saw no evil.

¹⁸“But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ^alacked everything and have ¹met our end by the sword and by famine.”

¹⁹“And,” said the women, “when we were ^aburning incense to the queen of heaven and ¹were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ^bwithout our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes ²in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were answering him with such a word—saying,

²¹“As for the ^1asmoking sacrifices that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the ^bstreets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Yahweh ^cremember them and did not all this come upon His heart?

²²“So Yahweh was ^ano longer able to bear it, ^bbecause of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have done; thus your land has become a ^cwaste place, an object of horror, and an imprecation, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³“Because you have burned incense and have sinned against Yahweh and ^anot listened to the voice of Yahweh or ^bwalked in His law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this ^cevil has befallen you, as it has this day.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “^aHear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are ^bin the land of Egypt,

²⁵thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will ^acertainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” ^1bGo ahead and establish your vows, and certainly perform your vows!’

²⁶“¹Nevertheless, hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have ^asworn by My great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘^bnever shall My name be called upon again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “^cAs Lord Yahweh lives.”

²⁷‘Behold, I am watching over them ^afor ¹evil and not for good, and ^ball the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will ²meet their end by the sword and by famine until they ³are completely consumed.