Jeremiah 44 The word which came to Jeremias for all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt: for them settled at Magdolus, and at Taphnas, and in the land of Pathoura, saying.

Thomson⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ The word which came to Jeremias for all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt: for them settled at Magdolus, and at Taphnas, and in the land of Pathoura, saying. ² Thus said the Lord the God of Israel, You have seen all the evils which I brought upon Jerusalem, and upon the cities of Juda; ³ and behold they are desolate, without inhabitants because of their wickedness which they committed to provoke me, by going to burn incense to strange gods, which you knew not. ⁴ Though I sent to you my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Do not commit this abominable thing which I hate; ⁵ yet they hearkened not to me, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness so as not to burn incense to strange gods. ⁶ Therefore my wrath and mine indignation was poured out and kindled to a flame in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a desolation and a waste, as at this day. ⁷ Now then, thus said the Lord Almighty, Why do ye commit great evils against your souls, to cut off every man and woman of you, with the infant and suckling out of Juda, ⁸ so that none of you may be left; to provoke me with the works of your hands; by burning incense to strange gods in the land of Egypt, where you are come to dwell; that you may be cut off and become an execration and a reproach, among all the nations of the earth? ⁹ Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, and the evils of the kings of Juda, and the evils of your chiefs, and the evils of your wives, which they committed in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ They have not indeed even to this day desisted, nor have they adhered to the ordinances which I set before their fathers; ¹¹ therefore thus said the Lord, ¹² Behold I am setting my face to destroy all the remnant in Egypt; and they shall fall by the sword and by famine and die, both small and great: and they shall be for reproach and for destruction and for a curse. ¹³ For I will visit those settled in Egypt as I visited Jerusalem with sword and with famine, ¹⁴ so that none of this remnant of Juda who dwell in Egypt, shall be saved to return to the land of Juda, to which they earnestly hope to return, save those only who have made their escape thither. ¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense, and all the women, a great congregation, and all the people who were settled in the land of Egypt at Pathoura answered Jeremias, saying, ¹⁶ In regard to this word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, ¹⁷ we will not hearken to thee; for we will continue to perform every word which shall proceed from our mouth to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her; as we and our fathers and our kings and our chiefs did in the cities of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem; for we had then plenty of bread and were in happy circumstances and saw no evils: ¹⁸ but soon as we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, we all became fewer in number, and were wasted by sword and famine. ¹⁹ Now grant that we have burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out libations to her, have we without our husbands, made cakes for her or poured out to her libations? ²⁰ In reply to this Jeremias said to all the people, to the men in authority, and to the women and all the people who made him this answer; ²¹ This incense which you offered in the cities of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, and your kings and your chiefs, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember? ²² Did it not come into his mind so that the Lord could no longer forbear on the account of your evil doings and on the account of your abominations which you committed? So your land was made a desolation and a waste, ²³ and for a curse as at this day because of the incense, which you offered, and the sins which you committed against the Lord. As you hearkened not to the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his statutes and in his law and in his testimonies; therefore these evils have come upon you. ²⁴ Then Jeremias said to the people, particularly to the women, Hear a word of the Lord; ²⁵ Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel, Ye women have spoken with your mouths and with your hands confirmed it, saying, We will continue to perform the vows which we made to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out libations to her. You have obstinately adhered to your vows, and have actually performed them. ²⁶ Therefore hear a word of the Lord, all ye of Juda, who are settled in the land of Egypt; behold by my great name I have sworn said the Lord, my name shall no more be mentioned by the mouth of any Jew in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord liveth. ²⁷ Because I have watched over them, to afflict them, and not to do them good, therefore all the Jews who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, shall perish by sword and by famine, until there be an end of them. ²⁸ They indeed who have escaped from the sword being few in number, shall return to the land of Juda; but the remnant of Juda, who have staid in the land of Egypt to settle there, shall know whose word shall stand. ²⁹ Now this shall be a sign to you, that I will visit you for evil: ³⁰ thus said the Lord, Behold I deliver up Onaphre king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemy, and into the hands of him who seeketh his life, as I delivered Sedekias king of Juda into the hands of Nabuchodonosar king of Babylon, his enemy, and who sought his life.