Jeremiah 44:12

12 'And I will ¹take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all ²meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a ³curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach.

Jeremiah 44:12 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 44:12

And I will take the remnant of Judah
Such as remained of that tribe in the land of Judea after the captivity: and not all of them, but such that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn
there:
who were bent upon going thither, notwithstanding all the remonstrances made to them to the contrary; and were gone thither, and were now actually sojourners there: this describes such persons who wilfully, and of their own accord, went thither; and excepts those who were over-persuaded or over-powered to go along with them: and they shall all be consumed, [and] fall in the land of Egypt;
not by natural death, one after another; but by the judgments of God, as follows: they shall [even] be consumed by the sword [and] by the famine;
by the sword of the king of Babylon; and by famine, occasioned by a foreign army and sieges: they shall die; from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and
by the famine;
which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to express the universality of the destruction; that it should reach to persons of every age, state and condition, rank and degree, young and old, high and low, rich and poor: and they shall be an execration, [and] an astonishment, and a curse,
and a reproach; (See Gill on Jeremiah 42:18).

Jeremiah 44:12 In-Context

10 "But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers."'

11 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah.

12 'And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach.

13 'And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with pestilence.

14 'So there will be no refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return and live; for none will return except a few refugees.' "

Cross References

• 1. Jer 42:15-18, 22
• 2. Isaiah 1:28; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 44:7
• 3. Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 26:6; Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 42:18; Zechariah 8:13

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "face"
• [b]. Lit "be finished"