THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 44 ©
Jeremiah represents before the eyes of the people in Egypt the former sins and punishments of Judah, v. 1, etc. He likewise prophecies unto them their destruction in Egypt, 11. The desperate obstinacy of the Jews against this prophecy, 15. For which the prophet grievously threatens them the second time, and for a sign foretells what shall befall the king of Egypt, 20.
THE 1word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at 2Migdol, and at 3Tahpanhes, and at 4Noph, and in the country of 5Pathros, saying,
Thus saith the LORD of 6hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the 7evil 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 8early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not 9this 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.
Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poureda forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great 10evil against your 11souls, 12to cut off from you man and woman, 13child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might 14cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
Have ye forgotten the 15wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which 16they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
They are not 17humbled even unto this day, 18neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and 19before your fathers.
¶Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, Ib will set my 20face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.
And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their 21faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the swordcand by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an 22execration,dand an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall 23escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, 24to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall 25escape.
¶Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
But we will 26certainly do whatsoever 27thing goeth forth 28out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the 29queene of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were 30well, and 31saw no evil.
But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her 32cakes 33to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, 34without our men?
¶Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him 35that answer, saying,
The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and 36came it not into his mind?
So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an 37astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your 38wives have both spoken with your mouths, and 39fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will 40surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: 41ye will 42surely accomplish your vows, and 43surely perform your vows.
Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any 44man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.45
Behold, I will 46watchf over them for evil, and not for good: and all the 47men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
Yet a 48small number that escape 49the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that 50are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall 51know whose words shall stand, 52mine, or theirs.
¶And 53this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will 54punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall 55surely stand against you for evil:
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra56 king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his 57life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.