Jeremiah delivers God's word to the Jews in Egypt, reminding them of Judah's desolation due to their idolatry and warning against continuing this sin. Despite the warning, the people defiantly vow to continue worshipping the "queen of heaven," attributing past prosperity to it. Consequently, God declares that those who remain in Egypt and persist in idolatry will be consumed by sword and famine, with only a small remnant escaping.
The 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,
Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,
because 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.
Therefore 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 this day.
Therefore now thus says the LORD, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 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 midst of Judah, to leave yourselves no one remaining;
in 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?
Have you 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 committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
They 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.
I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall 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 shall return save such as shall escape.
Then 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,
But 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 had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.
But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
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?
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?
so that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed; therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
Because you have burned incense, and because you 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 has happened to you, as it is this day.
Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, 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.
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 shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord GOD lives.
Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.
Those who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.
This shall be the sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:
Thus says the LORD, 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; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.
Study Notes for Jeremiah 44
Verse 1
This chapter is Jeremiah’s final recorded prophetic address. Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph (Memphis), and Pathros (Upper Egypt) show the wide dispersal of the Jewish refugees throughout Egypt, indicating the scope of the coming judgment.
Verse 3
The reason for Jerusalem's destruction was idolatry. The phrase 'whom they knew not' emphasizes that these foreign deities had no covenant relationship with Israel, contrasting with the God of Israel.
Verse 4
'Rising early and sending them' is a characteristic phrase in Jeremiah, emphasizing the persistent and tireless efforts God made through his prophets to warn the people.
Verse 7
'Against your souls' highlights the self-destructive nature of sin. By committing idolatry, the people were actively choosing behaviors that would lead to their own annihilation.
Verse 8
'A curse and a reproach' is covenant language (Deut. 28:37). The people sought safety in Egypt but found the curse promised to those who break the covenant.
Verse 12
The tragic irony is that this 'remnant' survived the Babylonian destruction only to face certain death in Egypt, proving that flight to Egypt was the ultimate act of disobedience.
Verse 14
This prophecy assures that the exiles’ hope of returning to Judah will be frustrated by divine judgment. Only a handful of 'escapers' (v. 28) will survive, likely those who flee Egypt before the coming judgment.
Verse 15
The response comes from a 'great multitude' of people residing even in Pathros (Upper Egypt), demonstrating the unified and widespread nature of the rebellion against God’s word.
Verse 17
'Queen of heaven' refers to a major Mesopotamian/Canaanite fertility goddess (Ishtar/Astarte). The people openly justify their idolatry by claiming that it brought them prosperity, a complete inversion of covenant theology.
Verse 18
The people present a historically false argument: they claim that the destruction of Judah happened *because* they stopped worshipping the Queen of Heaven, rather than because of their persistent idolatry (as Jeremiah stated in vv. 2-6).
Verse 19
The women defend their actions by noting the complicity of the men. This confirms that the cult of the Queen of Heaven was deeply embedded in Judahite society and involved communal, family-based worship.
Verse 20
Jeremiah’s reply redirects their focus, insisting that their past idolatry in Judah was the precise cause of their current desolation, not the cessation of that worship.
Verse 22
'The LORD could no longer bear' is anthropomorphic language emphasizing that God’s righteous patience had reached its limit due to their persistent sin and abominations.
Verse 26
God swears by his 'great name,' an oath of finality. This means the covenant relationship is severed for those in Egypt; they will no longer be able to invoke the name of the living God.
Verse 28
The ultimate test of prophecy: the destruction of the many and the survival of the few will prove that Jeremiah’s words (God’s words) stand, while the defiant claims of the people will be shown false.
Verse 30
Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) was overthrown and later killed by his own people (c. 570 BC). This specific, verifiable sign confirms God’s sovereign control over Egypt and validates Jeremiah’s entire prophecy.
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