The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who were living in the land of Egypt—at ^aMigdol, at ^bTahpanhes, at ^cMemphis, and in the land of ^dPathros, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and see, this day they are ^adesolated and no one lives in them 3 ^abecause of the wickedness which they committed, ^bprovoking Me to anger by continuing to ^cburn sacrifices and incense to ^dserve other gods that they had not known, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I ^asent to you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this ^bshamefully vile thing which I hate.” 5 But ^athey did not listen or turn obediently from their wickedness, and stop burning sacrifices and incense to other gods. 6 Therefore My ^awrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the ^bcities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; so they have become a ruin and a ^cdesolation, as it is this day. 7 Therefore now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Why did you ^acommit this great evil against yourselves bringing disaster that will ^bcut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant? 8 Why do you deliberately ^aprovoke Me to anger with the works (idols) of your hands, ^bburning sacrifices and incense to make-believe gods in the land of Egypt, where you of your own accord have come to live as temporary residents, that you might be cut off and become a ^ccurse and a disgrace an object of taunts among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the ^awickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives who served their foreign gods, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives who imitated the sin of the queens, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They ^ahave not become apologetic for their guilt and sin even to this day; they have not feared Me with reverence nor ^bwalked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’ Jer 6:15; 26:4-6; 44:23

11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to ^aset My face against you for woe—even to cut off (destroy) all Judah from the land. 12 And I will ^atake the remnant of Judah who have decided to go into the land of Egypt to live there instead of surrendering to the Chaldeans as directed, and they will all ^bfall and die in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or perish by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword or by famine; and they will become ^cdetestable, an object of horror, a curse, and a disgrace. 13 For I will ^apunish all the inhabitants of the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with virulent disease; 14 so ^anone of the survivors from the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to live there will survive, even though they lift up their souls in longing to return to the land of Judah, the place to which they ^blong to return to live; none will ^creturn except a few refugees.’”

15 Then ^aall the men who knew that their wives were burning ¹sacrifices to other gods, and all the women who were standing by, a large group, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the ^aword (message) that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, ^bwe are not going to listen to you. 17 But rather we will certainly ^aperform every word of the vows we have made: to burn sacrifices to the ^1bqueen of heaven (Ishtar) and to pour out drink offerings to her, just as ^cwe ourselves and our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ^dplenty of food and were prosperous and saw no misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ^alacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 And said the wives, “When we were ^aburning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ^bwithout the knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in the shape of a star to represent her and pour out drink offerings to her?”

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people who had given him that answer, 21 “The ^asmoking sacrifices (incense) that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the ^bstreets of Jerusalem—you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land—did not the LORD ^cremember in detail your idolatry and did it not all come into His mind? 22 The LORD could ^ano longer endure it, ^bbecause of the evil of your acts and the repulsive acts which you have committed; because of them your land has become a ^cruin, an object of horror and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned sacrifices to idols and because you have sinned against the LORD and have ^anot obeyed the voice of the LORD or ^bwalked in His law and in His statutes and in His testimonies, therefore this ^ctragedy has fallen on you, as it has this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “^aHear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are ^bin the land of Egypt, 25 thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: ‘You and your wives have both declared with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand, saying, “We will ^acertainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven (Ishtar) and to pour out drink offerings to her.” Surely then ^bconfirm your vows and go ahead and perform your vows! If you intend to defy all My warnings, proceed!’ 26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have ^asworn an oath by My great Name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My Name shall ^bnever again be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “^cAs the Lord GOD lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them ^afor harm and not for good; and ^ball the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine until they are all destroyed. 28 Yet a ^asmall number of My choosing ^bwho escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know ^cwhose words will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 And this will be the ^asign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that ^bMy words will surely stand against you for harm.’ 30 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will give ^1aPharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave ^bZedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”