1   The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Judaeans who were living in Egypt, in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the district of Pathros: These are the words of the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: 2   You have seen the calamity that I brought upon Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah: 3   today they are laid waste and left uninhabited, all because of the wickedness of those who provoked me to anger by going after other gods, gods unknown to them, by burning sacrifices to them. ^noteIt was you and your fathers who did this. 4   I took pains to send all my servants the prophets to you with this warning: ‘Do not do this abominable thing which I hate.’ 5   But your fathers would not listen; they paid no heed. They did not give up their wickedness or cease to burn sacrifices to other gods; 6   so my anger and wrath raged like a fire through the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and they became the desolate ruin that they are today.

7   Now these are the words of the Lord the God of Hosts, the God of

Jeremiah after the capture of Jerusalem Israel: Why bring so great a disaster upon yourselves? Why bring destruction upon Judaeans, men and women, children and babes, and leave yourselves without a survivor? 8   This is what comes of your provoking me by all your idolatry in burning sacrifices to other gods in Egypt where you have made your home. You will destroy yourselves and become an object of ridicule and reproach to all the nations of the earth. 9   Have you forgotten all the wickedness committed by your forefathers, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by yourselves and your wives in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10   To this day you ^note have shown no remorse, no reverence; you have not conformed to the law and the statutes which I set before you and your forefathers. 11   These, therefore, are the words of the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: I have made up my mind to bring calamity upon you and exterminate the people of Judah. 12   I will deal with the remnant of Judah who were bent on going to make their home in Egypt; in Egypt they shall all meet their end. Some shall fall by the sword, others will meet their end by famine. High and low alike will die by sword or by famine and will be an object of execration and horror, of ridicule and reproach. 13   I will punish those who live in Egypt as I punished those in Jerusalem, by sword, famine, and pestilence. 14   Those who had remained in Judah came to make their home in Egypt, confident that they would return and live once more in Judah. But they shall not return; ^note not one of them shall survive, not one escape.

15   Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods and the crowds of women standing by ^note answered Jeremiah, ‘We will not listen to what you tell us in the name of the Lord. 16    17   We intend to fulfil all the promises by which we have bound ourselves: we will burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour drink-offerings to her as we used to do, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. We then had food in plenty and were content; no calamity touched us. 18   But from the time we left off burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring drink-offerings to her, we have been in great want, and in the end we have fallen victims to sword and famine.’ 19   And the women said, ^note ‘When we burnt sacrifices to the queen of heaven and poured drink-offerings to her, our husbands knew full well that we were making crescent-cakes marked with her image and pouring drink-offerings to her.’ 20   When Jeremiah received this answer from these men and women and all the people, 21   he said, ‘The Lord did not forget those sacrifices which you and your fathers, your kings and princes and the people of the land burnt in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they

Jeremiah after the capture of Jerusalem mounted up in his mind until he could no longer tolerate them, 22   so wicked were your deeds and so abominable the things you did. Your land became a desolate waste, an object of horror and ridicule, with no inhabitants, as it still is. 23   This calamity has come upon you because you burnt these sacrifices and sinned against the Lord and did not obey the Lord or conform to his laws, statutes, and teachings.’ ^note

24   Jeremiah further said to all the people and to the women, Listen to the word of the Lord, all you from Judah who live in Egypt. 25   These are the words of the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: You women ^note have made your actions match your words. ‘We will carry out our vows’, you said, ‘to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and to pour drink-offerings to her.’ Well then, fulfil your vows by all means, and make your words good. 26   But listen to the word of the Lord, all you from Judah who live in Egypt. I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall never again be on the lips of the men of Judah; they shall no longer swear in Egypt, ‘By the life of the Lord God.’ 27   I am on the watch to bring you evil and not good, and all the men of Judah who are in Egypt shall meet their end by sword and by famine until not one is left. ^note 28   It is then that all the survivors of Judah who have made their home in Egypt shall know whose word prevails, theirs or mine.

29   This is the sign I give you, says the Lord, that I intend to punish you in this place, so that you may learn that my words against you will prevail to bring evil upon you: 30   These are the words of the Lord: I will hand over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to his enemies and to those who seek his life, just as I handed over Zedekiah king of Judah to his enemy Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon who was seeking to take his life.

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