Jeremiah 44 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

44 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in ^(A)Migdol, ^(B)Tahpanhes, ^(C)Memphis, and the land of ^(D)Pathros, saying, ² “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ^(E)ruins and no one lives in them, ^{3 (F)}because of their wickedness which they committed to ^(G)provoke Me to anger by continuing to ^(H)burn ^[a]sacrifices and to ^(I)serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. ⁴ Yet I ^(J)sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this ^(K)abominable thing which I hate.” ⁵ But ^(L)they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn ^[b]sacrifices to other gods. ⁶ Therefore My ^(M)wrath and My anger gushed out and burned in the ^(N)cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become ruins and a ^(O)desolation as it is this day. ⁷ Now then, this is what the Lord God of armies, the God of Israel says: “Why are you ^(P)doing great harm to yourselves, to ^(Q)eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant, ^{8 (R)}provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, ^(S)burning ^[c]sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt where you are entering to reside, so that you may be eliminated and become a ^(T)curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth? ⁹ Have you forgotten the ^(U)wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ Yet they ^(V)have not become ^[d]contrite even to this day, nor have they feared, nor ^(W)walked in My Law or My statutes, which I placed before you and before your fathers.”’

¹¹ “Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(X)set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah. ¹² And I will ^(Y)take away the remnant of Judah who have set their ^[e]minds on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all ^[f](Z)meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or meet their end by famine. From the small to the great, they will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a ^(AA)curse, an object of horror, ^[g]an imprecation, and a disgrace. ¹³ And I will ^(AB)punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with plague. ¹⁴ So there will be ^(AC)no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are ^[h](AD)longing to return to live; for none will ^(AE)return except a few refugees.’”

¹⁵ Then ^(AF)all the men who were aware that their wives were burning ^[i]sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, ^[j]including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, ¹⁶ “As for the ^[k](AG)message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, ^(AH)we are not going to listen to you! ¹⁷ But we will certainly ^(AI)carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, ^[l]by burning ^[m]sacrifices to the ^(AJ)queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as ^(AK)we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ^(AL)plenty of ^[n]food and were well off and saw no ^[o]misfortune. ¹⁸ But since we stopped burning ^[p]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ^(AM)lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” ¹⁹ “And,” said the women, “when we were ^(AN)burning ^[q]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and ^[r]pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ^(AO)without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes ^[s]in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Disaster for the Jews

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying, ²¹ “As for the ^[t](AP)smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the ^(AQ)streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the Lord not ^(AR)remember them, and did all of this not come into His ^[u]mind? ²² So the Lord was ^(AS)no longer able to endure it, ^(AT)because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; so your land has become a ^(AU)place of ruins, an object of horror, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. ²³ Since you have burned ^[v]sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and ^(AV)not obeyed the voice of the Lord nor ^(AW)walked in His Law, His statutes, or His testimonies, therefore this ^(AX)disaster has happened to you, as it has this day.”

²⁴ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “^(AY)Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are ^(AZ)in the land of Egypt! ²⁵ This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel ^[w]says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will ^(BA)certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn ^[x]sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” ^(BB)By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’ ^{26 [y]}In return, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have ^(BC)sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall ^(BD)never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “^(BE)As the Lord ^[z]God lives.” ²⁷ Behold, I am watching over them ^(BF)for harm and not for good, and ^(BG)all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will ^[aa]meet their end by the sword or by famine until they ^[ab]are completely gone. ^{28 (BH)}Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah ^[ac](BI)few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know ^(BJ)whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. ²⁹ And this will be the ^(BK)sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that ^(BL)My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.’ ³⁰ This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand ^(BM)Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed ^(BN)Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 44:3 Or incense
2. Jeremiah 44:5 Or incense
3. Jeremiah 44:8 Or incense
4. Jeremiah 44:10 Lit crushed
5. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit faces
6. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit be finished
7. Jeremiah 44:12 Lit a curse-formula
8. Jeremiah 44:14 Lit lifting up their soul
9. Jeremiah 44:15 Or incense
10. Jeremiah 44:15 Lit and
11. Jeremiah 44:16 Lit word
12. Jeremiah 44:17 Or so as to burn
13. Jeremiah 44:17 Or incense
14. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit bread
15. Jeremiah 44:17 Lit evil
16. Jeremiah 44:18 Or incense
17. Jeremiah 44:19 Or incense
18. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to pour
19. Jeremiah 44:19 Lit to make an image of her
20. Jeremiah 44:21 Or incense
21. Jeremiah 44:21 Lit heart
22. Jeremiah 44:23 Or incense
23. Jeremiah 44:25 Lit says, saying
24. Jeremiah 44:25 Or incense
25. Jeremiah 44:26 Lit Therefore
26. Jeremiah 44:26 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
27. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit be finished
28. Jeremiah 44:27 Lit come to an end
29. Jeremiah 44:28 Lit men of number

Cross references

1. Jeremiah 44:1 : Ex 14:2; Jer 46:14
2. Jeremiah 44:1 : Jer 43:7; Ezek 30:18
3. Jeremiah 44:1 : Is 19:13; Jer 2:16; 46:14; Ezek 30:13, 16; Hos 9:6
4. Jeremiah 44:1 : Is 11:11; Ezek 29:14; 30:14
5. Jeremiah 44:2 : Is 6:11; Jer 4:7; 9:11; 34:22; Mic 3:12
6. Jeremiah 44:3 : Neh 9:33; Jer 2:17-19; 44:23; Ezek 8:17, 18; Dan 9:5
7. Jeremiah 44:3 : Is 3:8; Jer 7:19; 32:30-32; 44:8
8. Jeremiah 44:3 : Jer 19:4
9. Jeremiah 44:3 : Deut 13:6; 29:26; 32:17
10. Jeremiah 44:4 : Jer 7:13, 25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; Zech 7:7
11. Jeremiah 44:4 : Jer 16:18; 32:34, 35; Ezek 8:10
12. Jeremiah 44:5 : Jer 11:8, 10; 13:10
13. Jeremiah 44:6 : Is 51:17-20; Jer 42:18; Ezek 8:18
14. Jeremiah 44:6 : Jer 7:17, 34
15. Jeremiah 44:6 : Jer 4:27; 34:22
16. Jeremiah 44:7 : Num 16:38; Jer 26:19; Ezek 33:11; Hab 2:10
17. Jeremiah 44:7 : Jer 3:24; 9:21; 51:22
18. Jeremiah 44:8 : 2 Kin 17:15-17; Jer 25:6, 7; 44:3; 1 Cor 10:21, 22
19. Jeremiah 44:8 : Jer 7:9; 11:12, 17; 44:3; Hos 4:13; Hab 1:16
20. Jeremiah 44:8 : 1 Kin 9:7, 8; 2 Chr 7:20; Jer 42:18
21. Jeremiah 44:9 : Jer 7:9, 10, 17, 18; 44:17, 21
22. Jeremiah 44:10 : Jer 6:15; 8:12
23. Jeremiah 44:10 : Jer 26:4; 32:23; 44:23
24. Jeremiah 44:11 : Lev 17:10; 20:5, 6; 26:17; Jer 21:10; Amos 9:4
25. Jeremiah 44:12 : Jer 42:15-18, 22
26. Jeremiah 44:12 : Is 1:28; Jer 16:4; 44:7
27. Jeremiah 44:12 : Is 65:15; Jer 18:16; 24:9; 26:6; 29:18; 42:18; Zech 8:13
28. Jeremiah 44:13 : Jer 11:22; 44:27, 28
29. Jeremiah 44:14 : Jer 22:10; 44:27
30. Jeremiah 44:14 : Jer 22:26, 27
31. Jeremiah 44:14 : Is 4:2; 10:20; Jer 44:28; Rom 9:27
32. Jeremiah 44:15 : Prov 11:21; Is 1:5; Jer 5:1-5
33. Jeremiah 44:16 : Jer 43:2
34. Jeremiah 44:16 : Prov 1:24-27; Jer 11:8, 10; 13:10
35. Jeremiah 44:17 : Num 30:12; Deut 23:23
36. Jeremiah 44:17 : 2 Kin 17:16; Jer 7:18
37. Jeremiah 44:17 : Neh 9:34; Jer 32:32; 44:21
38. Jeremiah 44:17 : Ex 16:3; Hos 2:5-9; Phil 3:19
39. Jeremiah 44:18 : Num 11:5, 6; Jer 40:12; Mal 3:13-15
40. Jeremiah 44:19 : Jer 7:18
41. Jeremiah 44:19 : Num 30:6, 7; Jer 44:15
42. Jeremiah 44:21 : Ezek 8:10, 11
43. Jeremiah 44:21 : Jer 11:13; 44:9, 17
44. Jeremiah 44:21 : Ps 79:8; Is 64:9; Jer 14:10; Hos 7:2; Amos 8:7
45. Jeremiah 44:22 : Is 7:13; 43:24; Mal 2:17
46. Jeremiah 44:22 : Jer 4:4; 21:12; 30:14
47. Jeremiah 44:22 : Gen 19:13; Ps 107:33, 34; Jer 25:11, 18, 38; 29:18; 42:18; 44:12
48. Jeremiah 44:23 : Jer 7:13-15; 40:3
49. Jeremiah 44:23 : Jer 44:10; Ps 119:136, 150
50. Jeremiah 44:23 : 1 Kin 9:9; Neh 13:18; Jer 44:2; Dan 9:11, 12
51. Jeremiah 44:24 : Jer 42:15; 44:16
52. Jeremiah 44:24 : Jer 43:7; 44:15, 26
53. Jeremiah 44:25 : Jer 44:17; Matt 14:9; Acts 23:12
54. Jeremiah 44:25 : Ezek 20:39
55. Jeremiah 44:26 : Gen 22:16; Deut 32:40, 41; Jer 22:5; Amos 6:8; Heb 6:13
56. Jeremiah 44:26 : Ps 50:16; Ezek 20:39
57. Jeremiah 44:26 : Is 48:1, 2; Jer 5:2
58. Jeremiah 44:27 : Jer 1:10; 31:28; 39:16
59. Jeremiah 44:27 : 2 Kin 21:14; Jer 44:14
60. Jeremiah 44:28 : Jer 44:14
61. Jeremiah 44:28 : Is 10:19; 27:12, 13
62. Jeremiah 44:28 : Ps 33:11; Is 14:27; 46:10, 11; Zech 1:6
63. Jeremiah 44:29 : Is 7:11, 14; 8:18; Jer 44:30; Matt 24:15, 16, 32
64. Jeremiah 44:29 : Prov 19:21; Is 40:8
65. Jeremiah 44:30 : Jer 43:9-13; 46:25; Ezek 29:3; 30:21
66. Jeremiah 44:30 : 2 Kin 25:4-7; Jer 34:21; 39:5-7