Judgment on the Jews in Egypt

1THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS for all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt, and for those settled in Magdolo and in Taphnas, and in the land of Pathura, saying, 2Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye have seen all the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon the cities of Juda; and, behold, they are desolate without inhabitants, 3because of their wickedness, which they have wrought to provoke me, by going to burn incense to other gods, whom ye knew not. 4yet I sent to you my servants the prophets early in the morning, and I sent, saying, Do not ye this abominable thing which I hate. 5But they hearkened not to me, and inclined not their ear to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense to strange gods. 6So mine anger and my wrath dropped upon them, and was kindled in the gates of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a desolation and a waste, as at this day. 7And now thus has the Lord Almighty said, Wherefore do ye commit these great evils against your souls? to cut off man and woman of you, infant and suckling from the midst of Juda, to the end that not one of you should be left; 8by provoking me with the works of your hands, to burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which ye entered to dwell there, that ye might be cut off, and that ye might become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9Have ye forgotten the sins of your fathers, and the sins of the kings of Juda, and the sins of your princes, and the sins of your wives, which they wrought in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10And have not ceased even to this day, and they have not kept to my ordinances, which I set before their fathers.

11Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold I do set my face against you 12to destroy all the remnant that are in Egypt; and they shall fall by the sword, and by famine, and shall be consumed small and great: and they shall be for reproach, and for destruction, and for a curse. 13And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, with sword and with famine: 14and there shall not one be preserved of the remnant of Juda that sojourn in the land of Egypt, to return to the land of Juda, to which they hope in their hearts to return: they shall not return, but only they that escape.

The Stubbornness of the People

15Then all the men that knew that their wives burned incense, and all the women, a great multitude, and all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathura, answered Jeremias, saying, 16As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee. 17For we will surely perform every word that shall proceed out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, and our kings and princes, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and so we were filled with bread, and were well, and saw no evils. 18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, we have all been brought low, and have been consumed by sword and by famine. 19And whereas we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured drink-offerings to her, did we make cakes to her, and pour drink-offerings to her, without our husbands?

The Final Judgment

20Then Jeremias answered all the people, the mighty men, and the women, and all the people that returned him these words for answer, saying, 21Did not the Lord remember the incense which ye burned in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, and your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land? and came it not into his heart? 22And the Lord could no longer bear you, because of the wickedness of your doings, and because of your abominations which ye wrought; and so your land became a desolation and a waste, and a curse, as at this day; 23because of your burning incense, and because of the things wherein ye sinned against the Lord: and ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his ordinances, and in his law, and in his testimonies; and so these evils have come upon you.

24And Jeremias said to the people, and to the women, Hear ye the word of the Lord. 25Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye women have spoken with your mouth, and ye fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her: full well did ye keep to your vows, and ye have indeed performed them. 26Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, my name shall no longer be in the mouth of every Jew to say, The Lord lives, in all the land of Egypt. 27For I have watched over them, to hurt them, and not to do them good: and all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt shall perish by sword and by famine, until they are utterly consumed. 28And they that escape the sword shall return to the land of Juda few in number, and the remnant of Juda, who have continued in the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand. 29And this shall be a sign to you, that I will visit you for evil. 30Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will give Uaphres king of Egypt into the hands of his enemy, and into the hands of one that seeks his life; as I gave Sedekias king of Juda into the hands of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, his enemy, and who sought his life.