Jeremiah 44:1-19

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

1 The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in ¹Migdol, ²Tahpanhes, ³Memphis, and the land of ⁴Pathros, saying,

2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ⁵ruins and no one lives in them,

3 ⁶because * of their wickedness which they committed so as to ⁷provoke Me to anger by continuing to ⁸burn sacrifices and to ⁹serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers.

4 'Yet I ¹⁰sent you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying, "Oh, do not do this ¹¹abominable thing which I hate."

5 'But ¹²they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods.

6 'Therefore My ¹³wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the ¹⁴cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a ¹⁵desolation as it is this day.

7 'Now then thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you ¹⁶doing great harm to yourselves, so as to ¹⁷cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant,

8 ¹⁸provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, ¹⁹burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where * you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a ²⁰curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

9 "Have you forgotten the ²¹wickedness 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?

10 "But they ²²have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor ²³walked 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 ²⁴set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah.

12 'And I will ²⁵take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all ²⁶meet 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 ²⁷curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach.

13 'And I will ²⁸punish 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 ²⁹no 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 ³⁰longing * to return and live; for none will ³¹return except * a few refugees.' "

15 Then ³²all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,

16 "As for the ³³message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, ³⁴we are not going to listen to you!

17 "But rather * we will certainly ³⁵carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the ³⁶queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as ³⁷we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ³⁸plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.

18 "But since * we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ³⁹lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine."

19 "And," said the women, "when we were ⁴⁰burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ⁴¹without * our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"

Jeremiah 44:1-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 44

This chapter contains a sermon of Jeremiah's to the Jews in Egypt, reproving them for their idolatry there; their answer to it, expressing their resolution to continue in their idolatrous practices; and a denunciation of judgments upon them, of which a sign is given. The sermon begins with observing to them the destruction of Jerusalem, and the causes of it, idolatry and contempt of the prophets, Jer 44:1-6; then follows an expostulation with the present Jews for doing the same things, and exposing themselves and their posterity to the same punishment, Jer 44:7-10; upon which they are threatened with the sore judgments of God that should come upon them, and cut them off in general, Jer 44:11-14; yet such were the impudence and obstinacy of this people, that they declared they would not hearken to the prophet, but persist in their idolatry; it having been better with them when they practised it than when they left it, Jer 44:15-19; to which the prophet replies by observing, that for the idolatry of their fathers their land was become a desolation and a curse, as at this day, Jer 44:20-23; and assures them that destruction would come from the Lord upon them, which he had swore to, Jer 44:24-28; and a sign of it is given; the delivery of the king of Egypt into the hand of the king of Babylon, Jer 44:29,30.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 14:2; Jeremiah 46:14
• 2. Jeremiah 43:7; Ezekiel 30:18
• 3. Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 2:16; Jeremiah 46:14; Ezekiel 30:13, 16; Hosea 9:6
• 4. Isaiah 11:11; Ezekiel 29:14; Ezekiel 30:14
• 5. Isaiah 6:11; Jeremiah 4:7; Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 34:22; Micah 3:12
• 6. Nehemiah 9:33; Jeremiah 2:17-19; Jeremiah 44:23; Ezekiel 8:17, 18; Daniel 9:5
• 7. Isaiah 3:8; Jeremiah 7:19; Jeremiah 32:30-32; Jeremiah 44:8
• 8. Jeremiah 19:4
• 9. Deuteronomy 13:6; Deuteronomy 29:26; Deuteronomy 32:17
• 10. Jeremiah 7:13, 25; Jeremiah 25:4; Jeremiah 26:5; Jeremiah 29:19; Jeremiah 35:15; Zechariah 7:7
• 11. Jeremiah 16:18; Jeremiah 32:34, 35; Ezekiel 8:10
• 12. Jeremiah 11:8, 10; Jeremiah 13:10
• 13. Isaiah 51:17-20; Jeremiah 42:18; Ezekiel 8:18
• 14. Jeremiah 7:17, 34
• 15. Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 34:22
• 16. Numbers 16:38; Jeremiah 26:19; Ezekiel 33:11; Habakkuk 2:10
• 17. Jeremiah 3:24; Jeremiah 9:21; Jeremiah 51:22
• 18. 2 Kings 17:15-17; Jeremiah 25:6, 7; Jeremiah 44:3; 1 Corinthians 10:21, 22
• 19. Jeremiah 7:9; Jeremiah 11:12, 17; Jeremiah 44:3; Hosea 4:13; Habakkuk 1:16
• 20. 1 Kings 9:7, 8; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Jeremiah 42:18
• 21. Jer 7:9, 10, 17, 18; Jeremiah 44:17, 21
• 22. Jeremiah 6:15; Jeremiah 8:12
• 23. Jeremiah 26:4; Jeremiah 32:23; Jeremiah 44:23
• 24. Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:5, 6; Leviticus 26:17; Jeremiah 21:10; Amos 9:4
• 25. Jer 42:15-18, 22
• 26. Isaiah 1:28; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 44:7
• 27. Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 26:6; Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 42:18; Zechariah 8:13
• 28. Jeremiah 11:22; Jeremiah 44:27, 28
• 29. Jeremiah 22:10; Jeremiah 44:27
• 30. Jeremiah 22:26, 27
• 31. Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 10:20; Jeremiah 44:28; Romans 9:27
• 32. Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 1:5; Jeremiah 5:1-5
• 33. Jeremiah 43:2
• 34. Proverbs 1:24-27; Jeremiah 11:8, 10; Jeremiah 13:10
• 35. Numbers 30:12; Deuteronomy 23:23
• 36. 2 Kings 17:16; Jeremiah 7:18
• 37. Nehemiah 9:34; Jeremiah 32:32; Jeremiah 44:21
• 38. Exodus 16:3; Hosea 2:5-9; Philippians 3:19
• 39. Numbers 11:5, 6; Jeremiah 40:12; Malachi 3:13-15
• 40. Jeremiah 7:18
• 41. Numbers 30:6, 7; Jeremiah 44:15

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "incense"
• [b]. Lit "rising early and sending"
• [c]. Or "incense"
• [d]. Or "incense"
• [e]. Lit "crushed"
• [f]. Lit "evil"
• [g]. Lit "face"
• [h]. Lit "be finished"
• [i]. Lit "lifting up their soul"
• [j]. Or "incense"
• [k]. Lit "and"
• [l]. Lit "word"
• [m]. Or "so as to burn"
• [n]. Or "incense"
• [o]. Lit "bread"
• [p]. Lit "evil"
• [q]. Or "incense"
• [r]. Lit "been finished"
• [s]. Or "incense"
• [t]. Lit "to pour"
• [u]. Lit "to make an image of her"