^44:2“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all³ says, ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem⁴ and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted.⁵^44:3This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did.⁶ They made me angry⁷ by worshiping and offering sacrifice to⁸ other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors⁹ previously knew.¹⁰^44:4I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over¹¹ again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.¹²^44:5But the people of Jerusalem and Judah¹³ would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods.¹⁴

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Footnotes

3 Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” Compare 7:3 and see the study note on for explanation and translation of this title.
4 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
5 Heb “Behold, they are in ruins this day and there is no one living in them.”
6 Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).
7 Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
8 Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. §36.2.3e).
9 Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).
10 Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.
11 See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.
12 Heb “sent … over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’ ” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes. This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.
13 There appears to be a deliberate shift in the pronouns used in vv. 2–5. “You” refers to the people living in Egypt who are being addressed (v. 2) and to the people of present and past generations to whom the Lord persistently sent the prophets (v. 4). “They” refers to the people of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah who have suffered disaster (v. 2) because of the wickedness of sacrificing to other gods (vv. 3, 5). The referents have been explicitly identified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
14 Heb “They did not listen or incline their ear [= pay attention] by turning from their wickedness by not sacrificing to other gods.” The לְ (lamed) + the negative + the infinitive is again epexegetical. The sentence has been restructured and more idiomatic English expressions have been used to better conform with contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to retain the basic relationships of subordination.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them because of the evil they committed to anger me, by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your ancestors did not know. So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again, saying, ‘Don’t commit this detestable action that I hate.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods.

NLTNew Living Translation

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins. They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods—gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.

“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the towns of Judah. And look, they are a site of ruins this day, and there is not in them an inhabitant, because of their wickedness that they committed to provoke me to anger by going to make smoke offerings, serving other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, or your ancestors. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending over and over again, saying, “Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate.” But they did not listen and they did not incline their ears to turn back from their wickedness, to not make smoke offerings to other gods.

KJV 1900King James Version

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that 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, Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.

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