Jeremiah

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

1This is the message that came to Jeremiah about all the Jews who were living in Egypt. They lived in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the region called Pathros.

2Thus saith the LORD 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, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,

2The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says this: You saw all the trouble I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie in ruins, and no one lives in them.

Note"LORD of hosts" means the LORD who commands armies. It is a title for God, not a name.

3Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

3This happened because of the evil the people did. They made me angry by burning incense and serving other gods. Neither they, nor you, nor your fathers had ever known those gods.

4Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

4Again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. They said, "Please do not do this hateful thing that I hate."

5But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.

5But the people would not listen or pay attention. They would not turn away from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods.

6Wherefore 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 wasted and desolate, as at this day.

6So my anger poured out and burned in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they are the empty ruins they are today.

7Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

7So now the LORD God of Armies, the God of Israel, says this: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and baby, leaving yourselves with no one left.

8In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

8Why do you make me angry with the things your hands make? You burn incense to other gods here in Egypt, where you have gone to live. You will destroy yourselves and become a name people use for cursing and mocking among all the nations of the earth.

9Have 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?

9Have you forgotten the evil your fathers did? Have you forgotten the evil of the kings of Judah and their wives, and the evil you and your wives did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.

10To this day they have not been humble. They have shown me no respect. They have not lived by my teaching or my rules, which I gave to you and to your fathers.

11Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

11So the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says this: I have decided to bring disaster on you and to cut off all Judah.

12And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

12I will take away those who are left of Judah, the ones who set their minds on going to live in Egypt. They will all meet their end there. They will fall by the sword or die of hunger, from the least important to the greatest. People will use their name as a curse, and be shocked and disgusted by them.

13For 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:

13I will punish those who live in Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with hunger, and with disease.

14So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.

14None of the people left from Judah who went to live in Egypt will escape or survive. They long to go back and live in Judah, but they will not return. Only a few runaways will get back.

15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

15Then the men who knew their wives were burning incense to other gods answered Jeremiah. So did all the women standing there, a huge crowd, and all the people living in Egypt and in Pathros. They said:

16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

16"We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD.

17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto 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: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

17We will do everything we said we would do. We will burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her. That is what we, our fathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty of food, we were doing well, and nothing bad happened to us.

Note"Queen of heaven" was the title of a goddess these people worshiped. Burning incense and pouring out drink offerings, which means pouring wine on the ground, were ways of honoring her.

18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

18But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have gone without everything. We have been dying by the sword and by hunger."

NoteIn 1611 English, "we have wanted all things" meant "we have lacked everything," not that they desired things.

19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

19The women added, "When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, our husbands knew all about it. They knew we made cakes shaped like her and poured out drink offerings to her."

20Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,

20Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, the men and the women, everyone who had given him that answer. He said:

21The 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, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?

21"Think about the incense you burned in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You, your fathers, your kings, your leaders, and the people of the land all did it. Did the LORD not remember it? Did he not think about it?

22So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

22The LORD could not put up with your evil deeds and hateful acts any longer. That is why your land became an empty ruin, a place people are shocked by and use as a curse. No one lives there, as you see today.

23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

23You burned incense and sinned against the LORD. You did not obey his voice or live by his teaching, his rules, and his warnings. That is why this disaster has come on you, as you see today."

24Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "Listen to the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who are in Egypt.

25Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

25The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says this: You and your wives said with your mouths what you then did with your hands. You said, "We will certainly keep the promises we made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." So go ahead, keep your promises. Do what you promised.

26Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.

26But hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah living in Egypt. I have made a promise by my own great name, says the LORD. No man of Judah anywhere in Egypt will ever again use my name and say, "As surely as the Lord GOD lives."

27Behold, 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.

27I am watching over them to bring harm, not good. Every man of Judah in Egypt will die by the sword or by hunger, until they are all gone.

28Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.

28Only a few will escape the sword and come back from Egypt to Judah. Then everyone left of Judah who went to live in Egypt will know whose word comes true, mine or theirs.

29And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

29This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place, says the LORD. Then you will know that my warnings of harm against you will surely come true.

30Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra 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.

30The LORD says this: I am going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, to his enemies who want to kill him. It will be like when I handed over Zedekiah king of Judah to his enemy Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who wanted to kill him.