Jeremiah 44:26

26 Therefore hear the word of ADONAI, all Y'hudah living in the land of Egypt: 'I swear by my own great name,' says ADONAI, 'that no man of Y'hudah will speak my name again in the land of Egypt, swearing, "As ADONAI, God, lives."

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 In addition, Yirmeyahu said to all the people, but especially the women: "Hear the word of ADONAI, all Y'hudah who are in the land of Egypt;
25 this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'You and your wives stated your intentions with your mouths and performed them with your hands - you said, "We will certainly fulfill our vows that we made to offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her."' Without doubt, you will indeed fulfill every point of your vows.
26 Therefore hear the word of ADONAI, all Y'hudah living in the land of Egypt: 'I swear by my own great name,' says ADONAI, 'that no man of Y'hudah will speak my name again in the land of Egypt, swearing, "As ADONAI, God, lives."
27 I am watching over them for harm, not for good. All the men of Y'hudah in the land of Egypt will be destroyed by sword and famine, until none of them is left.
28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Y'hudah few in number; and all the remnant of Y'hudah who went into the land of Egypt to live will know whose word will stand - mine or theirs!
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.