Jeremiah 44

The Same Fate Will Fall upon All

44The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros:H1697H3414H3064H3427H776H4714H3427H4024H8471H5297H776H6624H5592"This is what GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what's left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins,H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7200H7451H935H3389H5892H3063H3117H2723H34273and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about.H6440H7451H6213H3707H3212H6999H5647H312H430H3045H14Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, "Please, please—don't do this, don't fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion."H7971H5650H5030H7925H7971H559H6213H8441H1697H81305But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one.H8085H5186H241H7725H7451H6999H312H4306So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they're still in ruins and wasted.'H2534H639H5413H1197H5892H3063H2351H3389H2723H8077H31177"This is the Message of GOD, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected?H559H3068H430H6635H430H3478H6213H1419H7451H5315H3772H376H802H5768H3243H8432H3063H3498H76118And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you've come to live? You'll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.H3707H4639H3027H6999H312H430H776H4714H935H1481H3772H7045H2781H1471H7769"'Have you so soon forgotten the evil lives of your ancestors, the evil lives of the kings of Judah and their wives, to say nothing of your own evil lives, you and your wives, the evil you flaunted in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?H7911H7451H1H7451H4428H3063H7451H802H7451H7451H802H6213H776H3063H2351H338910And to this day, there's not a trace of remorse, not a sign of reverence, nobody caring about living by what I tell them or following my instructions that I've set out so plainly before you and your parents!H1792H3117H3372H1980H8451H2708H5414H6440H6440H111So this is what GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies decrees: "'Watch out! I've decided to bring doom on you and get rid of everyone connected with Judah.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7760H6440H7451H3772H306312I'm going to take what's left of Judah, those who have decided to go to Egypt and live there, and finish them off. In Egypt they will either be killed or starve to death. The same fate will fall upon both the obscure and the important. Regardless of their status, they will either be killed or starve. You'll end up cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked.H3947H7611H3063H7760H6440H935H776H4714H1481H8552H5307H776H4714H8552H2719H7458H4191H6996H1419H2719H7458H423H8047H7045H278113I'll give those who are in Egypt the same medicine I gave those in Jerusalem: massacre, starvation, and disease.H6485H3427H776H4714H6485H3389H2719H7458H169814None of those who managed to get out of Judah alive and get away to Egypt are going to make it back to the Judah for which they're so homesick. None will make it back, except maybe a few fugitives.'"H7611H3063H935H776H4714H1481H6412H8300H7725H776H3063H5375H5315H7725H3427H7725H6405

Making Goddess Cookies

15The men who knew that their wives had been burning sacrifices to the no-gods, joined by a large crowd of women, along with virtually everyone living in Pathros of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:H582H3045H802H6999H312H430H802H5975H1419H6951H5971H3427H776H4714H6624H6030H3414H55916"We're having nothing to do with what you tell us is GOD's Message.H1697H1696H8034H3068H808517We're going to go right on offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, keeping up the traditions set by our ancestors, our kings and government leaders in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem in the good old days. We had a good life then—lots of food, rising standard of living, and no bad luck.H6213H6213H1697H3318H6310H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6213H1H4428H8269H5892H3063H2351H3389H7646H3899H2896H7200H745118But the moment we quit sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her, everything fell apart. We've had nothing but massacres and starvation ever since.H2308H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H2637H8552H2719H745819" And then the women chimed in: "Yes! Absolutely! We're going to keep at it, offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her. Aren't our husbands behind us? They like it that we make goddess cookies and pour out our offerings to her."H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6213H3561H6087H5258H5262H1107H58220Then Jeremiah spoke up, confronting the men and the women, all the people who had answered so insolently. He said,H3414H559H5971H1397H802H5971H1697H6030H55921"The sacrifices that you and your parents, your kings, your government officials, and the common people of the land offered up in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—don't you think GOD noticed? He noticed, all right.H7002H6999H5892H3063H2351H3389H1H4428H8269H5971H776H3068H2142H5927H382022And he got fed up. Finally, he couldn't take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. Your land became a wasteland, a death valley, a horror story, a ghost town. And it continues to be just that.H3068H3201H5375H6440H7455H4611H6440H8441H6213H776H2723H8047H7045H3427H311723This doom has come upon you because you kept offering all those sacrifices, and you sinned against GOD! You refused to listen to him, wouldn't live the way he directed, ignored the covenant conditions."H6440H834H6999H2398H3068H8085H6963H3068H1980H8451H2708H5715H7451H7122H311724Jeremiah kept going, but now zeroed in on the women: "Listen, all you who are from Judah and living in Egypt—please, listen to GOD's Word.H3414H559H5971H802H8085H1697H3068H3063H776H471425GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'You women! You said it and then you did it. You said, "We're going to keep the vows we made to sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out offerings to her, and nobody's going to stop us!"' "Well, go ahead. Keep your vows. Do it up big.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H559H802H1696H6310H4390H3027H559H6213H6213H5088H5087H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6965H6965H5088H6213H6213H508826But also listen to what GOD has to say about it, all you who are from Judah but live in Egypt: 'I swear by my great name, backed by everything I am—this is GOD speaking!—that never again shall my name be used in vows, such as "As sure as the Master, GOD, lives!" by anyone in the whole country of Egypt.H8085H1697H3068H3063H3427H776H4714H7650H1419H8034H559H3068H8034H7121H6310H376H3063H776H4714H559H136H3069H241627I've targeted each one of you for doom. The good is gone for good. "'All the Judeans in Egypt will die off by massacre or starvation until they're wiped out.H8245H7451H2896H376H3063H776H4714H8552H2719H7458H361528The few who get out of Egypt alive and back to Judah will be very few, hardly worth counting. Then that ragtag bunch that left Judah to live in Egypt will know who had the last word.H4962H4557H6412H2719H7725H776H4714H776H3063H7611H3063H935H776H4714H1481H3045H1697H696529"'And this will be the evidence: I will bring punishment right here, and by this you'll know that the decrees of doom against you are the real thing.H226H5002H3068H6485H4725H3045H1697H6965H6965H745130Watch for this sign of doom: I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, those who are out to kill him, exactly as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah to his enemy Nebuchadnezzar, who was after him.H559H3068H5414H6548H4428H4714H3027H341H3027H1245H5315H5414H6667H4428H3063H3027H5019H4428H894H341H1245H5315