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Moff JER Chapter 45

◄ JER 45 ► ║ ©

45 This is what the prophet Jeremiah told Baruch the son of Neriah, after he had written on the scroll what Jeremiah dictated to him, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah: 2 “Here is what the Eternal, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

You say, ‘Alas now, the Eternal adds anguish to my pain;

I am wearied out with moaning, rest I cannot!’

But the Eternal says, ‘When I have to demolish what I built,

when I have to uproot what once I planted,

do you expect smooth fortunes for yourself?

Never expect that! Only, I promise you,

as I bring doom now upon all mankind,

I will let you escape with your own life,

wherever you must go.’ ”

8 Then Baruch the son of Neriah did all that the prophet Jeremiah had told him; he read the words of the Eternal from the scroll within the temple. 9 For when all the citizens of Jerusalem and all who came in to Jerusalem from the country towns of Judah were summoned to a fast before the Eternal in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, 10 Baruch read aloud Jeremiah’s message in the scroll to all the people, from the window of the side-room belonging to Gemariah the son of the secretary Shaphan, which was inside the upper court at the entrance to the new gate of the temple.

11 Now when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Eternal read from the scroll, 12 he walked down to the palace, where he found all the authorities seated in the secretary’s room--Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the others. 13 After Micaiah had told them all the words that he had heard Baruch read aloud from the scroll to the people, 14 the authorities all sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Kushi, to tell Baruch to bring the scroll from which he had been reading aloud to the people. 15 When Baruch appeared, scroll in hand, they told him to sit down and read it aloud. So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they had heard it all, they turned to one another in alarm, whispering, “We must inform the king of all this.” 17 They asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all this?” 18 Baruch answered “Jeremiah dictated it all to me, and I wrote it down in ink upon the scroll.” 19 So the authorities said to Baruch, “Go into hiding, you and Jeremiah; let no man know where you are.”

20 Then, after depositing the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king’s private cabinet and told the king everything. 21 The king sent Jehudi for the scroll; and when he brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary, he read it aloud to the king and all the authorities in attendance. 22 The king was in his winter apartments, with a brazier burning in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi read three or four leaves, the king would slash them off with a penknife and fling them into the fire burning upon the brazier, till the whole of the scroll was consumed in the fire burning upon the brazier. 24 There was no sense of horror, no tearing of clothes, on the part of the king or of any of his ministers who heard all these words, 25 although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah besought the king not to burn the scroll. However, he would not listen to them; 26 he ordered the royal prince Jerahmeel, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to fetch Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Eternal hid them safe.

27 After the king had burned the scroll containing the words which Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, this word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take once more another scroll, and write upon it all the words that were on the former scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And give Jehoiakim king of Judah this message from the Eternal: ‘You burned the scroll and asked me why I had written in it that the king of Babylon was coming to destroy this land and clear it of man and beast. 30 Well, here is what the Eternal has to say about Jehoiakim king of Judah: No descendant of his shall ever sit upon the throne of David, and his own corpse shall be flung out, exposed to the day’s heat and to the frost by night. 31 I will punish him, his offspring, and his ministers, for their evil doing; I will bring upon them and the citizens of Jerusalem all the miseries with which I have threatened them in vain.’ ” 32 So Jeremiah took another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote upon it, to Jeremiah’s dictation, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned, besides many other words of the same nature.

37 Zedekiah the son of Jehoiakim reigning in place of Koniah the son of Jehoiakim, having been set upon the throne of Judah by Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. 2 Neither he nor his ministers nor the people of the country paid any heed to messages of the Eternal delivered by the prophet Jeremiah. 5 However, when the Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt, and when news of this led the Chaldeans to abandon their siege of Jerusalem, 3 king Zedekiah sent Jehukal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to ask Jeremiah if he would pray for them to the Eternal their God. 4 (Jeremiah was moving in and out among the people; he had not yet been imprisoned.) 6 Then this word came from the Eternal to Jeremiah: 7 “The Eternal, the God of Israel, bids you say this to the king of Judah who sent you to consult me: ‘This army of the Pharaoh, advancing to relieve you, shall retreat to Egypt, its own country, 8 and the Chaldeans shall come back to assault this city, capturing it and burning it in flames. 9 Do not delude yourselves, says the Eternal, with the notion that the Chaldeans will leave you alone; they will not leave you alone. 10 Though you were to defeat the whole of this Chaldean host arrayed against you, till none were left but wounded men, one to a tent, they would start up to burn this city in the flames.’ ”

11 When the Chaldean forces had abandoned the siege of Jerusalem, in fear of the Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started from Jerusalem for the district of Benjamin, to take over some property among his own people. 13 But just as he reached the Benjamin-gate of the city, he was arrested by a sentry called Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, who shouted to the prophet Jeremiah, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14 “It is a lie,” said Jeremiah, “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” However, Irijah would not listen to him; he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the authorities, 15 who in anger had Jeremiah flogged and confined in the house of the secretary Jonathan, which had been turned into a prison. 16 So Jeremiah found himself in the dungeon cells, where for some time he had to stay.

17 Then king Zedekiah sent for him privately, and interviewed him in the palace. “Is there any word from the Eternal?” he asked. “There is,” said Jeremiah, adding, “word that you are to be handed over to the king of Babylon!” 18 Jeremiah then asked king Zedekiah, “For what crime against yourself or your ministers or this nation have you put me in prison? 19 Pray where have you put your prophets, who assured you that the king of Babylon would never attack you or this country? 20 Listen, my lord king, be gracious to my plea; let me not be taken back to the house of the secretary Jonathan, or I shall die there.” 21 So king Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the guard-house, where he got a loaf from the bakers’ bazaar every day, so long as any bread was left within the city.

38 Jeremiah lay in the qo guard-house. But Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jehukal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, had heard Jeremiah declaring in public that the Eternal said, 2 “Anyone who remains in the city shall die by the sword or by famine or by plague, but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans shall live, escaping with his life,” 3 or that the Eternal said, “This city shall certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and captured.” 4 So these authorities said to the king, “Pray have this fellow put to death; he takes the heart out of all the citizens and soldiers left within the city, by talking like this! The fellow is out to ruin the city, not to help it!” 5 “Well,” said king Zedekiah, “he is in your hands”--for the king was powerless against them. 6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into an underground cistern belonging to the royal prince Malchiah, below the guard-house, lowering him down with ropes; the cistern held no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

7 However, an Ethiopian eunuch called Ebedmelek, belonging to the royal household, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. 8 So Ebedmelek left the palace to find the king who was then seated as judge at the Benjamin-gate. 9 “Your majesty,” he said, “these men have treated the prophet Jeremiah foully; they have put him into a cistern, and he will die on the spot from starvation, for there is no food left in the city.” 10 Then the king ordered Ebedmelek to take three men and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he died. 11 Ebedmelek took the men with him and went to the palace, where he got some torn, tattered rags out of a lumber-room below the treasury; these he lowered by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern, 12 saying, “Put them between your armpits and the ropes.” 13 Jeremiah did so. And they pulled him up by the ropes out of the cistern.

Jeremiah then stayed in the guard-house. 14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah to the guards’ entrance into the temple. The king said, “I ask you a question which you must answer frankly.” 15 Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, “But if I tell you the truth, you will certainly put me to death, will you not? Besides, you will not listen to any advice from me.” 16 So the king swore this oath in secret to Jeremiah: “As the Eternal lives, who made this life of ours, I will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to these murderous men.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Eternal says, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surrender to the king of Babylon’s officers, then you save your life, and this city shall not be burned in flames; you and your household will be spared. 18 But if you will not surrender to the king of Babylon’s officers, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans to be burned in flames, and you cannot escape from their hands.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “But I am afraid the Chaldeans may hand me over to the Jews who have deserted to them, and they may ill-treat me.” 20 “They shall not hand you over,” Jeremiah answered; “do listen to what I say--it is the voice of the Eternal--and then all will go well with you, and you shall live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, then I have this vision for you from the Eternal: 22 I saw all the women who are left within the palace of the king of Judah, led away to the officers of the king of Babylon, and chanting as they went,

‘Your bosom friends have been too much for you

and led you far astray;

they got your feet deep in the mud,

then turned away.’ 23 All your wives and children shall be led away to the Chaldeans, and you yourself cannot escape from their hands; you shall be captured by the king of Babylon, and this city burned in flames.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Keep this interview a secret, and your life is safe. 25 If the authorities hear that I have been talking to you, and if they come and ask you to tell them what you said to the king and what the king said to you, on pain of death if you will not disclose it, 26 then you must tell them that you were petitioning the king not to be sent back to die at Jonathan’s house.” 27 The authorities did all come and question Jeremiah, and he answered them just as the king had told him; so they said no more, for the interview had been quite private. 28 Jeremiah then remained within the guardhouse till the day Jerusalem fell.

15 It was during Jeremiah’s detention in the guardhouse that this message came to him from the Eternal, 16 “Go and tell Ebedmelek the Ethiopian that the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, declares: ‘Though I am bringing evil and not good upon this city, as I said I would, 17 yet I will preserve you on that day--so the Eternal promises; you shall not be handed over to the men you are afraid of. 18 I will certainly rescue you; you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall escape with your life, because you have put your trust in me--so the Eternal promises.’ ”

28 When Jerusalem fell,

8 The Chaldeans burned down the royal palace and the houses of the common people, and they demolished the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief carried off to exile in Babylon the citizens who remained in the city, and those who had deserted to him, with all the craftsmen who were left. 10 However, he did leave in the land of Judah some poor people who were penniless, allotting them vineyards and fields.

11 As for Jeremiah, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon issued these orders to Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief: 12 “Take good care of him; do him no harm, but treat him as he wishes.” 13 So a message to this effect was forwarded by Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief to Nebushazban the field-marshal, and Nergalsarezer the cavalry commander, and the other principal officers of the king of Babylon.]]

40 A message that came from the Eternal to Jeremiah, after he had been released from Ramah by Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief, who had found him there, chained among the prisoners who were all being carried from Jerusalem and Judaea into exile at Babylon:

31 “Here is what the Eternal says:

‘A sound is heard at Ramah,

a wail, a passion of tears--

’tis Rachel sobbing for her children,

sobbing for her children gone,

refusing to be comforted.

But cease your sobbing,

stay your eyes from tears;

your labour for the children is not lost,

they shall return from the land of their foes;

there is hope for you in days to come,

your children shall return--the Eternal promises.’ ”

40 The commander-in-chief took Jeremiah and said to him, 2 “The Eternal your God pronounced this sentence of doom upon this place, and he has kept his word; 3 it is because you sinned against the Eternal and would not listen to him, that this has happened to you. 4 Well now, I am releasing you to-day from the chains upon your hands. If you care to come with me to Babylon, I will take good care of you. If not, then never mind; all the land lies open to you, go wherever you think right and good. 5 Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor of the towns of Judah; stay with him, or go wherever else you choose.” Then the commander-in-chief sent him off with some food and a present; 6 Jeremiah did go to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and stayed wi th him among the people who were left in the land.

When the leaders of the Jewish forces throughout the country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor of the land, in charge of the destitute men, women, and children who had not been carried off to exile in Babylon, 8 they and their men all went to Gedaliah at Mizpah; there were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah the son of a man from Maakah. 9 Gedaliah pledged his word to them and to their men, swearing that they need not fear to serve the Chaldeans; “stay on in the country,” he said, “serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well with you. 10 For my part I reside at Mizpah in order to represent your interests whenever Chaldean officials arrive upon the scene; but you can gather and store up wine, fruit, and oil; you can live in any towns you care to occupy.”

11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and elsewhere, heard that the king of Babylon had allowed some Jews to stay on in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor, 12 they too returned to Judah from the countries to which they had been driven; they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered large stores of wine and fruit.

13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah went with all the other leaders of the Jewish forces to Gedaliah at Mizpah and asked him, 14 “Are you aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe it. 15 Johanan the son of Kareah then had a private interview with him at Mizpah; he asked him, “Do let me go and kill Ishmael. No one need know about it. Why should he murder you? It will mean the dispersal of all the Jews who have rallied round you, and the ruin of all who are left in Judah.” 16 “No,” said Gedaliah to Johanan, “you must not do that; what you say about Ishmael is not true.”

41 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah; as they dined together, 2 Ishmael and his ten companions drew their swords and murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor of the country. 3 Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and all the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. 4 Next day, before any one knew about Gedaliah’s murder, 5 eighty pilgrims arrived from Shechem, Shilo, and Samaria, their beards shaved off, their bodies gashed, and their clothes torn, bringing vegetables and frankincense to be offered at the temple. 6 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, as they marched along wailing. When he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 But as soon as they were inside the town, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and his companions murdered them and flung their bodies into an underground cistern. 8 Ten men among them, however, said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us; we have stores hidden in the fields, wheat, barley, oil, and honey.” So he let them alone and did not murder them along with their fellows. 9 (The cistern into which Ishmael flung all the corpses of the men he murdered, was the large cistern constructed by king Asa during his campaign against Baasha Mng of Israel; the men whom Ishmael murdered filled it full.) 10 Ishmael then carried off as prisoners all the rest of the people at Mizpah, and the princesses whom Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief had left in charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

He started across country for Ammon. 11 But as soon as Johanan the son of Kareah and the other leaders of the Jewish forces heard of all the crimes committed by Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 12 they mustered all their men and set out to attack him. They came upon Ishmael the son of Nethaniah at the large pool of Gibeon. 13 When the prisoners whom Ishmael had carried off from Mizpah saw Johanan the son of Kareah and the other leaders of the forces with him, they all rejoiced 14 and broke away to join Johanan. 15 Ishmael escaped with eight of his men, and got away to the Ammonites, 16 while Johanan the son of Kareah and the other leaders of the forces with him took charge of all the people whom Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had carried off as prisoners from Mizpah after his murder of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, men, women, children, and eunuchs. 17 They travelled on, stopping for a while at the sheepfolds of Kim- ham near Bethlehem, whence they intended to move on to Egypt; 18 for they were terrified of the Chaldeans, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor of the country.

42 Then all the leaders of the Jewish forces, with Johanan the son of Kareah, Azariah the son of Maaseiah, and all the people high and low, said to the prophet Jeremiah, 2 “Let us entreat you to favour us by praying for us to the Eternal your God, a mere remnant as we are. We are but a few left out of many, as you can see for yourself; 3 let the Eternal your God direct us where to go and what to do.” 4 “I hear you,” said Jeremiah; “I will indeed pray to the Eternal your God, as you desire, and I will tell you whatever the Eternal’s answer may be, keeping nothing back.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “The Eternal be our true and faithful witness that we will follow any instructions which the Eternal sends to us through you. 6 Whether it be welcome or unwelcome, we will obey the word of the Eternal our God to whom we send you, and so obeying prosper.”

7 Ten days later, the Eternal’s word came to Jeremiah. 8 He summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the other leaders of the Jewish forces, along with all the people high and low, 9 and said to them, “Here is the word of the Eternal, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your humble petition: 10 If only you remain in this country, I will build you up, instead of pulling you down; I will plant you, instead of uprooting you; for I am sorry about the misery I have inflicted on you. 11 You are terrified of the king of Babylon? Never fear him, never fear him, the Eternal says, for I will be with you to rescue you from his hands. 12 I will have pity on you, and move him to have pity on you and allow you to remain in your own country. 13 But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this country,’ if you disobey the Eternal your God 14 and say, ‘No, we will go to Egypt and make our home in a land where we shall see no more war and hear no blare of trumpets and never starve,’ 15 then listen to what the Eternal says, O survivors of Judah; the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, declares, ‘If you are bent on going to Egypt and if you really settle there, 16 then the sword you dread shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, the hunger that you fear shall pursue you into Egypt, and you shall die there; 17 all who are bent on going to settle in Egypt shall die by the sword, by famine, or by plague, not one of them shall survive or escape the fate that I inflict upon them. 18 Here is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, declares: As my fury and anger have been poured out on the citizens of Jerusalem, so shall my fury be poured out upon you, when you enter Egypt; you shall become an object of execration and horror, accursed and derided, and you shall never see this place again!’ 19 O survivors of Judah, this is the Eternal’s word to you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ You will go? Then be sure of this, you have ruined yourselves. 20 I testify against you for sending me to the Eternal our God, asking me to pray for you to the Eternal our God, promising to do whatever I told you was the will of the Eternal our God, 21 and then, after I told you to-day, refusing to listen to any orders which the Eternal sends you by me. 22 For that, be sure, you are doomed to die by the sword, or by famine, or by the plague in the land where you choose to go and settle.”

43 When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words that the Eternal their God had sent him to deliver to them, 2 Azariah the son of Maaseiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and the rest of that insolent group, said to Jeremiah, “You are a liar; the Eternal our God never sent you to forbid us to go and settle in Egypt; 3 it is Baruch the son of Neriah who is setting you against us! He would have us handed over to the Chaldeans to be killed or carried prisoners to Babylon.”

4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, with all the other leaders of the Jewish forces and all the people, refused to obey the Eternal’s order to remain in the country of Judah; 5 Johanan the son of Kareah and all the other leaders took the survivors in Judah, who had come back to settle in the country, 6 men, women, and children, princesses, every person who had been entrusted by Nebuzaradan the commander-in-chief to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, took them all, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch the son of Neriah; 7 heedless of what the Eternal said, they entered the land of Egypt and reached Daphne.

8 At Daphne this message from the Eternal came to Jeremiah: 9 “Take some large stones in your hand, let some of the Jews see you hiding them secretly under the paved court in front of the entry to the Pharaoh’s house at Daphne, 10 and tell them that this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am sending for my servant Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, who shall erect his throne over these stones that you have buried, spreading his state carpet on the top of them. 11 He shall come to ravage the land of Egypt, inflicting death on those who are doomed to die, capturing those doomed to be imprisoned, and putting to the sword those who are doomed to the sword; 12 he shall set fire to the temples of the gods in Egypt, burning them and carrying off the idols; he shall scour the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks vermin out of his plaid; 13 he shall demolish the obelisks of Beth-shemesh, and then leave unmolested.’ ”

44 Here is the message that a A came to Jeremiah about all the Jews who were living in Egypt, at Migdol, Daphne, Memphis, and in Upper Egypt: 2 “The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, declares: ‘You have seen all the misery I have inflicted on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. There they lie to-day, empty and desolate, 3 for their wicked practices that angered me! They took to offering sacrifices in the service of foreign gods, unknown to them or to yourselves or to your fathers. 4 I sent you all my servants the prophets, earnestly and urgently, to forbid this abomination which I hated; 5 but they would not listen or obey, they would not give up their wicked practice of sacrificing to foreign gods. 6 So my fury and my anger broke out blazing through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, laying them waste and desolate, as they lie to-day. 7 Now then, says the Eternal, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, why will you ruin yourselves and put an end to Judah, man, woman, child, and babe? 8 Why anger me with your practices, sacrificing to foreign gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to settle? It will mean the end of you; all nations upon earth will curse and taunt you. 9 Have you forgotten the crimes of your fathers, and of the kings and leaders of Judah, ay and the crimes of your own wives in the country of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 It has not made them humble or afraid, not to this day; they have not followed my directions nor have they lived by the rules I gave to you and to your fathers. 11 Therefore, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have determined on evil against you, to make an end of Judah; 12 as for the survivors of Judah who made up their minds to go and settle in the land of Egypt, in the land of Egypt shall they all perish, all of them, falling by the sword and famine, dying young and old by sword and famine, and becoming an object of horror and execration, accursed and derided. 13 For, as I punished Jerusalem, so will I punish all who have settled in the land of Egypt, by sword, by famine, and by plague, 14 till not a single Jewish settler in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive to make his way back to the longed-for land of Judah; only a fugitive or two shall ever get back.’ ”

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives sacrificed to foreign gods, and all the women who were standing by, shouted loudly to Jeremiah, 16 “We will not listen to this word of yours that you have uttered as from the Eternal. 17 No, we mean to keep without fail this oath of ours to offer sacrifices to the Queen of heaven, and pour libations in her honour, as we used to do, we and our fathers, our kings and leaders, in the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we prospered and came to no harm. 18 But ever since we gave up sacrificing to the Queen of heaven and pouring out libations in her honour, we have beCn in utter need and at the mercy of the sword and famine.” 19 “Yes,” cried the women, “and had we not the consent of our husbands when we sacrificed to the Queen of heaven and poured libations in her honour and made cakes in the shape of her?” 20 [[Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women who had given this answer: 21 “You offered these sacrifices in the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and leaders and the commons? Yes, and did the Eternal forget it? 22 Did it not rankle in his mind, till he could bear your wicked practices and abominable crimes no longer? That is why your land lies desolate and empty, horrible and accursed, to-day. 23 This doom is yours to-day, because you offered these sacrifices, because you sinned against the Eternal and would not obey him, because you would not follow his directions and orders and injunctions.”]]

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women: “Listen to the word of the Eternal. 25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, declares: You women have done all you swore to do, saying, ‘We will perform our vows without fail, sacrificing to the Queen of heaven and pouring libations in her honour.’ Well, keep your word, carry out your vows! 26 But listen to the Eternal’s word, you Jews in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name that my name shall never be heard on the lips of any Jew who has gone to settle in Egypt. 28 Then the survivors of the Jews in Egypt will find out whose word stands, mine or theirs. 29 And here is the sign that I will punish you in this country, the Eternal says, to teach you that my threat of doom will stand against you: 30 I will deliver the Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies and murderers, as I put Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy and murderer.’ ” * * *

◄ JER 45 ► ║ ©

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