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The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jewsliving in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying,
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"Thussays the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'You yourselves have seenall the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, thisday they are in ruins and noonelives in them,
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because* of their wickednesswhich they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burnsacrifices and to serveothergodswhom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.
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'Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they havebecome a ruin and a desolation as it is thisday.
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'Now then thussays the LORDGod of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you doinggreatharm to yourselves, so as to cutoff from you man and woman, child and infant, from amongJudah, leaving yourselves withoutremnant,
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provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burningsacrifices to othergods in the land of Egypt, where* you are entering to reside, so that you might be cutoff and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
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"Have you forgotten the 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?
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"But they have not becomecontrite even to thisday, nor have they fearednorwalked in My law or My statutes, which I have setbefore you and before your fathers."'
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'And I will take away the remnant of Judahwho have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to residethere, and they will allmeet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Bothsmall and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach.
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'So there will be norefugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to residethere and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing* to return and live; for none will returnexcept* a few refugees.' "
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Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burningsacrifices to othergods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a largeassembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,
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"But rather* we will certainlycarry out everyword that has proceeded from our mouths, by burningsacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drinkofferings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princesdid in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were welloff and sawnomisfortune.
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"But since* we stoppedburningsacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drinkofferings to her, we have lackedeverything and have met our end by the sword and by famine."
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"And," said the women, "when we were burningsacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drinkofferings to her, was it without* our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drinkofferings to her?"