Jeremiah 44:26

26 {Therefore} hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah, those who live in the land of Egypt: 'Look, I hereby swear by my great name,' says Yahweh, 'surely my name will no longer be called in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, "{as the Lord Yahweh lives}," in all the land of Egypt.

Jeremiah 44:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 44:26

Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell
in the land of Egypt (See Gill on Jeremiah 44:24); since you have made your vows, and will perform them, I will take an oath, and abide by it: behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord;
by his name Jehovah, which is incommunicable, and expressive of his eternity and immutability; or by himself, his name being himself, and than which he can swear by no greater, ( Hebrews 6:13 ) ; that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah
in all the land of Egypt, saying, the Lord God liveth:
this cannot be understood of the name of the Lord being called upon them, or of their being called by his name, and reckoned his people, which is the sense of Abarbinel; since this respects not a name by which they should be named, but which they should name; and intends their use of the divine name in an oath, of which this is a form, "the Lord God liveth": or as sure as the Lord lives, or by the living God, it is so and so; and especially as used in their vows to burn incense to the queen of heaven, they vowing by the living God that they would do so, which must be very abominable to him; and therefore he solemnly swears there should not be a Jew in all Egypt that should use it; the reason is, because everyone of them that did should be cut off, as follows:

Jeremiah 44:26 In-Context

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, "Hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who [are] in the land of Egypt.

25 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, {saying}, 'You and your wives have promised with your mouths and with your hands you have fulfilled, {saying}, "We certainly will carry out our vows that we vowed, to make smoke offerings to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations." You must certainly keep your vows and you must certainly carry out your vows.'

26 {Therefore} hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah, those who live in the land of Egypt: 'Look, I hereby swear by my great name,' says Yahweh, 'surely my name will no longer be called in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, "{as the Lord Yahweh lives}," in all the land of Egypt.

27 Look, I [am] going to watch over them for harm and not for good, and all people of Judah who [are] in the land of Egypt will perish by the sword and by the famine until their perishing.

28 And [the] survivors of [the] sword will return from the land of Egypt [to] the land of Judah {few in number}. And all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to dwell as aliens there will know whose word will endure, from me or from them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "To thus"
• [b]. Literally "the life of Lord Yahweh"