Jeremiah 44:2

2 "This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what's left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins,

Jeremiah 44:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 44:2

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel
In which manner the prophecies of this book are frequently prefaced; see ( Jeremiah 42:15 Jeremiah 42:18 ) ( 43:10 ) ; ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon
all the cities of Judah;
they saw it with their bodily eyes; they could not but serve it in their minds; nay, had an experimental knowledge of it; they suffered it in part themselves, and must be convicted in their own consciences that it was from the hand of the Lord: and, behold, this day they [are] a desolation, and no man dwelleth
therein;
lie waste, at this very time; the walls are broken down the houses are demolished; the goods in them carried off; no inhabitants left, or very few, to rebuild the cities, till the land, and dwell therein.

Jeremiah 44:2 In-Context

1 The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros:
2 "This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what's left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins,
3 and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods - no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about.
4 Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, "Please, please - don't do this, don't fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion."
5 But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.