Our Father's Warning to the Jews in Egypt
Speaking to Judeans settled across Egypt, our Father asks why they are repeating what emptied Judah. They answer plainly that life went better when they burned incense to the queen of heaven, and refuse to stop. The sign given is Pharaoh Hophra's fall.
44 1The word to Jeremiah about all the Jews living in Egypt, at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and Pathros:
2This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: You saw all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and every city of Judah. Today they're ruins, with no one living there, 3because of the evil they did to provoke me—burning offerings, serving other gods neither they, you, nor your ancestors knew. 4Yet I sent you all my servants the prophets, again and again, saying, 'Don't do this detestable thing I hate! 5But they did not listen or turn from their evil, from burning incense to other gods. 6So my wrath and anger poured out, blazing through Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets; they became the wasteland and ruin they remain today.
7This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: Why do you harm yourselves so greatly, cutting off man, woman, child, and infant from Judah, leaving yourselves no remnant?
8"You provoke me with your handiwork, burning offerings to other gods in Egypt, where you came to live—cutting yourselves off, becoming a curse and disgrace among all nations on earth. 9Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, Judah's kings, their wives, your own, and your wives'—done in Judah's land and Jerusalem's streets? 10To this day they haven't humbled themselves, feared, or followed my law and statutes set before you and your ancestors."
11So says the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel: I set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12"I will take Judah's remnant set on going to live in Egypt: they will all perish, falling there by sword and famine, least to greatest, dying by sword and famine, becoming a curse, a horror, a disgrace, and a mockery. 13I will punish those living in Egypt as I punished Jerusalem—by sword, famine, and plague. 14None of Judah's remnant who came to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to Judah, where they long to live again—none but a few escapees will return."
15Then all the men who knew their wives made offerings to other gods, all the women standing there—a large crowd—and all the people living in Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah: 16"The word you spoke to us in our Father's name—we won't listen to you. 17No—we will surely do all we vowed: make offerings to the queen of heaven, pour her drink offerings, as we did—we, our ancestors, our kings, our officials—in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets. Then we had plenty of food, thrived, and saw no disaster. a a v17 The Queen of Heaven was a popular ancient Near Eastern fertility goddess, likely Astarte or Ishtar, widely worshiped in Judah. 18But since we stopped burning incense and pouring drink offerings to the queen of heaven, we've lacked everything and been consumed by sword and famine."
19The women added, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven, pouring drink offerings to her, did we make cakes shaped like her and pour drink offerings without our husbands' knowledge?"
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, who had answered him this way. 21"The offerings you burned in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, the people of the land—didn't our Father remember them? Didn't it come to mind? 22So our Father could no longer bear your evil deeds and detestable things; your land became a ruin, a horror, a curse, uninhabited, as today. 23Because you burned offerings, sinned against our Father, and did not obey his voice or walk in his law, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster struck you, as it is today."
24Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, "Hear our Father's word, all Judah in the land of Egypt.
25This is what the Father of heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives spoke it with your mouths and did it with your hands: 'We will keep the vows we made—burn incense to heaven's queen and pour her drink offerings.' Keep your vows, then! Carry them out!"
26"Hear our Father's word, all Judah living in Egypt's land: Look, I have sworn by my great name, says he, that no man of Judah in all Egypt's land will again call on my name, saying, 'As the Sovereign Father lives. 27Look, I'm watching over them for harm, not good. All Judah's men in Egypt will die by sword and famine till none remain. 28Few sword-survivors will return from Egypt to Judah; then all Judah's remnant who went to Egypt to live there will know whose word stands—mine or theirs."
29This is the sign to you, declares our Father: I will punish you in this place, so you'll know my words against you will surely come true—for harm. 30This is what our Father says: I hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to his enemies who want him dead, as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who wanted him dead.'
