Judgment on the Jews in Egypt 1 DBY The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, BSB BSB: This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
2 DBY Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold they are, this day, a waste, and no man dwelleth therein, BSB BSB: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, they lie today in ruins and desolation
3 DBY because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense to serve other gods which they knew not, they, nor ye, nor your fathers. BSB BSB: because of the evil they have done. They provoked Me to anger by continuing to burn incense and to serve other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.
4 DBY And I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing which I hate! BSB BSB: Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’
5 DBY But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. BSB BSB: But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.
6 DBY And my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are become a waste, a desolation, as at this day. BSB BSB: Therefore My wrath and anger poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so that they have become the desolate ruin they are today.
7 DBY And now thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you no remnant; BSB BSB: So now, this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves by cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and infant, leaving yourselves without a remnant?
8 DBY provoking me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are come to sojourn, that ye should be cut off, and that ye should be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? BSB BSB: Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.
9 DBY Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? BSB BSB: Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers and of the kings of Judah and their wives, as well as the wickedness that you and your wives committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 DBY They are not humbled unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes which I set before you and before your fathers. BSB BSB: To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed My instruction or the statutes that I set before you and your fathers.
11 DBY Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will set My face to bring disaster and to cut off all Judah.
12 DBY And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to enter into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed: in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, from the least even unto the greatest; they shall die by the sword and by the famine, and they shall be an execration, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. BSB BSB: And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.
13 DBY And I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; BSB BSB: I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,
14 DBY and none of the remnant of Judah, that have come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, so as to return into the land of Judah, whither they have a desire to return to dwell there; for none shall return but such as shall escape. BSB BSB: so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for none will return except a few fugitives.”
The Stubbornness of the People 15 DBY Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assemblage, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, BSB BSB: Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
16 DBY As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee,BSB BSB: “As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
17 DBY but we will certainly do every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and we had plenty of bread, and were well, and saw no evil. BSB BSB: Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
18 DBY But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have wanted everything, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. BSB BSB: But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
19 DBY And when we burned incense to the queen of the heavens and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we make for her cakes to portray her, and pour out drink-offerings to her, without our husbands? BSB BSB: “Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
Calamity for the Jews 20 DBY And Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people that had given him that answer, saying, BSB BSB: Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,
21 DBY Is it not the incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes and the people of the land, that Jehovah remembered, and that came into his mind? BSB BSB: “As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?
22 DBY And Jehovah could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations that ye had committed; and your land is become a waste, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as at this day. BSB BSB: So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
23 DBY Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil hath come upon you, as at this day. BSB BSB: Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in His instruction, His statutes, and His testimonies, this disaster has befallen you, as you see today.”
24 DBY And Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt. BSB BSB: Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all those of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
25 DBY Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will certainly perform our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her. Ye will certainly establish your vows, and entirely perform your vows. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows!
26 DBY Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord Jehovah liveth. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah living in Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that never again will any man of Judah living in the land of Egypt invoke My name or say, ‘As surely as the Lord GOD lives.’
27 DBY Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. BSB BSB: I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.
28 DBY And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, a very small company; and all the remnant of Judah, that have come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine or theirs. BSB BSB: Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs!
29 DBY And this shall be the sign unto you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall certainly stand against you for evil: BSB BSB: This will be a sign to you that I will punish you in this place, declares the LORD, so that you may know that My threats of harm against you will surely stand.
30 DBY thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give Pharaoh-Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.”