CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Jeremiah 44
Chapter 44 of 52
Chapter Overview
What happens in Jeremiah 44
Jeremiah delivers his final recorded message to the Jews living in Egypt. He warns them that their idol worship will bring destruction. But the people defiantly refuse to stop worshipping the 'queen of heaven,' claiming they were better off when they practiced that worship. God declares that almost none of them will return to Judah alive.
Scripture
Jeremiah 44
Jeremiah Warns Against Idol Worship in Egypt
Study note
By this time, Jewish communities had spread to several cities in Egypt: Migdol and Tahpanhes in the north, Memphis (Noph) in central Egypt, and Pathros in the south. Jeremiah reminded them of why Jerusalem was destroyed: their ancestors had burned incense to foreign gods despite being warned repeatedly by prophets. Now, incredibly, these refugees were doing the same thing in Egypt. They had not learned from the disaster that had already destroyed their homeland.
1 This word came to Jeremiah. It was about all the Jews who had settled in Egypt. Some lived in Migdol. Some lived in Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros. 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,
2 "The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw with your own eyes the terrible disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Look at those places now -- they are piles of rubble with nobody living in them." Thus 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,
3 "This happened because of the evil things the people did that made me furious. They kept going to burn incense and worship other gods -- gods that none of you, none of them, and none of your ancestors had ever known before." Because 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.
4 "Over and over again, I sent my prophets to beg them, 'Please stop doing these disgusting things that I hate!'" Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5 "But they would not listen. They would not pay any attention. They refused to stop doing evil or quit burning incense to false gods." But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.
6 "So my blazing anger was poured out and burned through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Therefore those places are the ruined wasteland you see today." Wherefore 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.
7 "Now the Lord God of Armies, the God of Israel, wants to know: Why are you doing this to yourselves? You are destroying every last man, woman, child, and baby from the people of Judah. You are making sure no survivors are left." Therefore 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;
8 "Why do you keep making me angry by burning incense to false gods here in Egypt where you now live? You are going to bring destruction on yourselves. Every nation on earth will use your name as a curse word and an insult." In 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?
9 "Have you already forgotten all the evil that was done before? Think about what your ancestors did. Think about what the kings of Judah did, and what their wives did. Think about what you yourselves have done and what your own wives have done -- all the evil committed in Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem." 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?
10 "Even to this very day, not one of you has shown any humility or reverence. None of you have followed the instructions and laws that I gave to you and your ancestors." They 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.
God's Judgment on Jews in Egypt
Study note
God declared that he was setting his face against the Jews in Egypt for their destruction. Just as he had punished Jerusalem, he would punish them. They would die by war, famine, and disease. None of them who had chosen to go to Egypt would escape or return to Judah, the land they longed for. Only a very small number would eventually make it back.
11 "So the Lord of Armies, Israel's God, says this. I have made up my mind. I will bring ruin on you. I will wipe out all who are left of Judah." Therefore 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.
12 "I will take this group that was so determined to come to Egypt, and they will all be destroyed here. They will die from battle or starvation -- every last one, from the most important to the least important. People will be horrified by what happens to them. Others will use their fate as a curse and an insult." And 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.
13 "I will punish those in Egypt the same way I punished Jerusalem. I will bring war, hunger, and disease." For 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:
14 "Out of all the people from Judah who came to Egypt, almost none will escape or survive to go back to Judah. They long to return and live there again, but except for a tiny number of refugees, none of them ever will." So 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.
The People's Defiant Response
Study note
The people openly defied Jeremiah. A large crowd, including women who had been burning incense to the 'queen of heaven' (likely the Babylonian goddess Ishtar or a similar deity), declared they would continue their idol worship. They claimed that when they worshipped the queen of heaven back in Judah, they had food and security, but when they stopped, disaster struck. This was a complete reversal of the truth: their idol worship was the cause of their disaster, not the solution. The women asked if their husbands approved of their worship, showing it was a widespread family practice.
15 Then a large crowd answered Jeremiah. It included all the men who knew their wives had been burning incense to idols. All the women standing there were part of the crowd too. So was everyone living in Egypt and the Pathros region. Then 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,
16 They said, "We do not care about this message you claim is from the Lord. We are not going to listen to you!" As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
17 But we will certainly do whatever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, 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: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But 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.
18 "But ever since we stopped worshiping the Queen of Heaven and quit making our offerings to her, everything has gone wrong. We have been losing people to war and famine ever since." But 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.
19 The women added, "When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, and when we baked cakes shaped in her image -- do you think we did all that without our husbands knowing? Of course they knew." And 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?
Jeremiah's Final Warning
Study note
Jeremiah responded forcefully. He told them that it was precisely their incense-burning to other gods that caused God's anger to fall on Jerusalem. Their refusal to obey God's law led to the destruction they had witnessed. Now God swore by his own great name that no Jew in Egypt would ever again call on his name. God would watch over them -- not for good but for disaster. As a sign that his words would come true, God declared that Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt would be defeated by his enemies, just as Zedekiah had been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar. This was fulfilled when Hophra was overthrown by his own general Amasis.
20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people. He spoke to men and women alike. He spoke to everyone who had given him that answer. Then 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,
21 "Do you think God did not notice the incense you burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? You, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the ordinary people all did it. Do you think God forgot about all of that?" 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, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
22 "The Lord finally reached the point where he could not take it anymore. Your evil actions and the terrible things you did were more than he could stand. That is exactly why your land turned into an empty wasteland, a place that shocks people and that everyone uses as an example of cursing. And that is exactly what it still looks like today." So 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.
23 "This disaster fell on you for one reason: you burned incense to false gods and sinned against the Lord. You refused to listen to his voice. You would not follow his teachings, his laws, or his instructions. Therefore all of this happened, and you can see it with your own eyes right now." Because 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.
24 Then Jeremiah said to the whole group, especially the women, "Listen to what the Lord has to say. This is for all you people from Judah who are living here in Egypt." Moreover 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:
25 "The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this: Both you and your wives have made your choice loud and clear. You said, 'We made promises to burn incense and pour out offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and we are going to keep those promises.' Fine then! Go right ahead! Keep your promises and follow through on what you said!" Thus 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.
26 "But hear what the Lord says, all you people of Judah living in Egypt: I swear by my own great name — no one from Judah in all of Egypt will ever use my name to make a promise again. None of them will ever say, 'As surely as the Lord God lives.'" Therefore 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.
27 "I have my eyes on them, but not to help them. I am watching them to bring disaster. Everyone from Judah who is in Egypt will die by war and famine until they are completely wiped out." 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.
28 "Only a handful of survivors will escape Egypt and make it back to Judah. Then this whole group that insisted on coming to Egypt will find out whose word comes true -- mine or theirs." Yet 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.
29 "And here is the proof, says the Lord, that I truly will punish you right here in this place. This sign will prove to you that my warnings against you will come true." And 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:
30 "The Lord says: I will hand over Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, to the people who want him dead. I will do to him what I did to King Zedekiah of Judah. I handed Zedekiah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who wanted him dead." Thus saith the LORD; 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.
Key Themes
Themes in Jeremiah 44
Defiant refusal to repentBlaming God for the consequences of sinThe queen of heaven idolatryThe final warning rejectedA remnant preserved despite widespread rebellion
Apply This Today
Living Jeremiah 44
The people's insistence that they were better off when worshipping idols shows how deeply self-deception can take root. When we attribute good outcomes to the wrong causes, we build our lives on dangerous lies. God's final warnings are acts of mercy, and refusing them leads to the very destruction we were trying to avoid.
Go Deeper
Study Jeremiah in Covenant Path
Read every chapter with study aids, bookmarks, and daily reading plans — free in the app.