Jeremiah 44

Judgment on Jews in Egypt

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

²“The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah. Behold, today they are a desolation, and no man dwells in them,

³because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods that they didn’t know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

⁴However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, “Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I hate.”

⁵But they didn’t listen and didn’t incline their ear. They didn’t turn from their wickedness, to stop burning incense to other gods.

⁶Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured out, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is today.’

⁷“Therefore now the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the middle of Judah, to leave yourselves no one remaining,

⁸in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to live, that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

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

¹¹“Therefore the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

¹²I will take the remnant of Judah that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they will all be consumed. They will fall in the land of Egypt. They will be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They will die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine. They will be an object of horror, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach.

¹³For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, will escape or be left to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for no one will return except those who will escape.’”

The People's Defiant Response

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the LORD’s name, we will not listen to you.

¹⁷But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky 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 we had plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.

¹⁸But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”

¹⁹The women said, “When we burned incense to the queen of the sky and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people—to the men and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an answer, saying,

²¹“The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, didn’t the LORD remember them, and didn’t it come into his mind?

²²Thus the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation, an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is today.

²³Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the LORD’s voice, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is today.”

²⁴Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the LORD’s word, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!

²⁵The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, “We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her.” “‘Establish then your vows, and perform your vows.’

²⁶“Therefore hear the LORD’s word, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by my great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that my name will no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord GOD lives.”

²⁷Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.

²⁸Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah few in number. All the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, will know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.

²⁹“‘This will be the sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for evil.’

³⁰The LORD says, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.’”

Previous Jeremiah 43

Next Jeremiah 45

Jeremiah delivers God's final judgment oracle against the Jewish refugees who fled to Egypt after Jerusalem's destruction. Despite witnessing God's punishment of Jerusalem for idolatry, these exiles continue worshiping foreign gods, particularly the Queen of Heaven, throughout Egyptian cities like Memphis and Tahpanhes. When confronted with this prophecy of complete destruction, the people defiantly reject Jeremiah's message, claiming their idol worship brought them prosperity and vowing to continue their religious practices regardless of God's warnings.

Context

This chapter represents Jeremiah's final recorded prophecy, concluding his ministry with the tragic reality that even exile and destruction failed to turn God's people from idolatry.

Key Themes

Outline

1-6
God's Indictment of Egyptian Exiles The Lord reminds the Jewish refugees in Egypt that Jerusalem's destruction resulted from persistent idolatry despite prophetic warnings.
7-10
Continued Rebellion in Egypt God condemns the exiles for repeating the same idolatrous practices in Egypt that led to Judah's downfall.
11-14
Prophecy of Total Destruction The Lord pronounces complete judgment on the Egyptian Jewish community, declaring none will survive to return to Judah.
15-19
The People's Defiant Response The Jewish exiles boldly reject Jeremiah's message, attributing their past prosperity to worshiping the Queen of Heaven.
20-23
Jeremiah's Counter-Response The prophet argues that their idolatry, not their devotion to foreign gods, caused Jerusalem's destruction.
24-30
Final Divine Judgment God confirms the irrevocable nature of judgment while providing Pharaoh Hophra's downfall as a confirming sign.

Judgment on Jews in Egypt

44:1–44:14

prophecy speech wrathful

God pronounces judgment through Jeremiah on the Jews living in Egypt, condemning their continued idolatry and warning of destruction. He reminds them of Jerusalem's fate and declares they will face similar consequences for their persistent wickedness and idol worship.

person_contrast

Jeremiah's final recorded prophecy targets Jewish refugees in four specific Egyptian cities—Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and Pathros—marking his ministry's geographic expansion beyond Judah's borders.

The People's Defiant Response

44:15–44:30

prophecy dialogue defiant

The Jewish exiles in Egypt defiantly reject Jeremiah's message, insisting they will continue worshipping the queen of heaven despite God's warnings. Jeremiah responds that their idolatry is the cause of their judgment and desolation.

person_contrast

The exiles' collective defiance transforms Jeremiah from prophet delivering judgment to prophet receiving direct rejection, marking the only passage where an entire community openly refuses to hear God's word through him.

Insight Character Study

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Jeremiah 44:1 1 reference

Lexicals 1

Jeremiah 46:14 Lexical

“Declare in Egypt, publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes; say, ‘Stand up, and prepare, for the swor…

Jeremiah 44

Judgment on Jews in Egypt

The People's Defiant Response

Judgment on Jews in Egypt

The People's Defiant Response

Insights

Cross-References

Jeremiah 44:1 1 reference

Jeremiah 44:3 4 references

Jeremiah 44:4 1 reference

Jeremiah 44:5 2 references

Jeremiah 44:6 5 references

Jeremiah 44:7 1 reference

Jeremiah 44:8 5 references

Jeremiah 44:12 5 references

Jeremiah 44:13 5 references

Jeremiah 44:14 1 reference

Jeremiah 44:17 5 references

Jeremiah 44:18 5 references

Jeremiah 44:19 4 references

Jeremiah 44:22 2 references

Jeremiah 44:23 3 references

Jeremiah 44:25 4 references

Jeremiah 44:27 5 references

Jeremiah 44:28 3 references

Jeremiah 44:30 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context