Jeremiah 44:23

23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil hath come upon you, as at this day.

Jeremiah 44:23 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 44:23

And because ye have burnt incense
Not to Jehovah, but to the queen of heaven; which they owned they did, and determined they would; asserting it was better with them when they did it than when they omitted it; for which reason the prophet particularly mentions it, and assigns it as the cause of the present ruin and destruction of their land, city, and temple: and because ye have sinned against the Lord;
by worshipping idols; all sin is against the Lord, but especially idolatry: and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord;
by his prophets, who cautioned them against idolatry, reproved them for it, and told them what would be the consequence of it; but this they hearkened not unto, which was an aggravation of their sin: nor walked in his law;
the moral law, according to it; which is a rule of walk and conversation: nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies;
as not in the moral law, so neither in the ceremonial law, and the rites of that; nor in the judicial law, and the testifications of the will of God in either of them: therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day:
that is, the desolation on their land, as in ( Jeremiah 44:23 ) ; (See Gill on Jeremiah 44:23).

Jeremiah 44:23 In-Context

21 Is it not 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, that Jehovah remembered, and that came into his mind?

22 And Jehovah could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, [and] because of the abominations that ye had committed; and your land is become a waste, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as at this day.

23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil hath come upon you, as at this day.

24 And Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt.

25 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will certainly perform our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her. Ye will certainly establish your vows, and entirely perform your vows.