44 Yahweh spoke to Yirmeyah about all the Judeans who lived in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis in northern/lower Egypt, as well as those in Patros in southern/upper Egypt: 2 Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh says that you yourselves have seen all the disasters that I sent to Yerushalem and Yehudah’s other cities. See, they’re just ruins today without anyone living in them. 3 That’s because of the wicked things they did to provoke me to anger by going to burn incense and to worship other gods that neither they themselves, nor you, nor your ancestors had ever heard about before. 4 I repeatedly sent all my servants, the prophets, to them to tell the people to stop doing those detestable things that I hate, 5 but they didn’t listen. They refused to take any notice of it, or to stop their wicked activities like burning incense to other gods. 6 So my anger and rage was poured out and burnt in Yehudah’s cities and Yerushalem’s streets like a fire and they’re still desolate ruins to this day.

7 So now Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh asks why you all insist on bringing this terrible harm onto yourselves that’ll see men and women, children and babies from Yehudah, eliminated without even leaving a remnant. 8 You’ve provoked me to anger by what you’ve all done with your own two hands, by burning incense to other gods in Egypt where you’ve all gone to live as foreigners. You’ve cut yourselves off so as to become a curse word and a reproach among all the nations in the world. 9 Have you all forgotten the wicked things done by your ancestors and also by Yehudah’s kings and their wives? Have you forgotten the evil committed by yourselves and your wives in Yehudah and on Yerushalem’s streets? 10 To this day, they still haven’t humbled themselves. They don’t respect the instructions or regulations that I gave them and their ancestors, and so they don’t follow them.

11 Therefore Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief says this: Listen, I’m about to start working against you all to bring disaster and destroy all Yehudah. 12 I’ll eliminate the small group of Judeans that has made up their minds to go to live as foreigners in Egypt. I’ll do that so that they’ll all die there Egypt—from either war or famine, and from the least to the very prominent people they’ll die and will become a curse word, a horror story, and something to ridicule and mock. 13 I will punish those living in Egypt just like I punished Yerushalem with war, famine, and deadly diseases 14 so that none of the remaining people from Yehudah who’ve gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive or be able to return to Yehudah when they want to return and live there. None of them will return except a few who escaped from there.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were in the great assembly, and all the people who were living in Lower and Upper Egypt, answered Yirmeyah: 16 Concerning that message that you told us in Yahweh’s name, we’re not listening to you 17 because we’ll certainly do everything that we said we’d do. We’ll burn incense to the queen of the skies and pour out drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in Yehudah’s cities and on Yerushalem’s streets. Then we’ll have plenty of food and will prosper, and won’t experience distress. 18 Whenever we didn’t do those things—not offering incense to the queen of the skies and not pouring out drink offerings to her—we were all suffering from poverty and dying from by war and famine.

19 The women said, “When we were offering incense to the queen of the skies and pouring out drink offerings to her, and when we were making cakes in her image and pouring out drink offerings to her, did you think we were doing it behind our husbands’ backs?”

20 Then Yirmeyah responded to all those who’d answered him including both men and women. He told them all this message: 21 Didn’t Yahweh remember the incense that you all burned in Yehudah’s cities and on Yerushalem’s streets—you and your ancestors, your kings and leaders, and the people of the land, and didn’t it come back to his mind ? 22 Eventually, he could no longer bear it because of your wicked behaviour, i.e., because of the detestable things that you all did. Then your land became a deserted wasteland and a curse, without inhabitants as it is today. 23 Because you all burnt incense to other gods and sinned against Yahweh, and because you wouldn’t listen to his voice, his instructions, his regulations, or his promises, this disaster has come against you as you all can see today.

24 Then Yirmeyah told all the people, including all those women, “Listen to Yahweh’s message, all of you from Yehudah who are now here in Egypt. 25 Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh says that both you and your wives have said out loud and confirmed with your actions that you’ll all certainly carry out your vows to worship the queen of the skies and to pour out drink offerings to her. So then, go ahead and do those things to fulfill your wows. 26 So then all of Yehudah who’re staying Egypt, listen to Yahweh’s message: Yahweh says, listen, I’ve promised by my powerful name that none of the men from Yehudah who’re living here in Egypt will call on my name any more, i.e., you’ll all no longer say, ‘As our master Yahweh lives.’ 27 Listen, I’m watching over them for disaster and not for good. Every Judean person in Egypt will meet their end through war or famine until they’re all eliminated. 28 Then a few survivors from the battles will return from Egypt to Yehudah region—only a small number of them. In that way, all the remaining Judens who went to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs. 29 Yahweh declares that this will be the sign for you all: I’m going to punish you all in this place so that you’ll know that what I’ve said will come to pass, resulting in harm for all of you. 30 Yahweh says: Listen, I’m about to hand the Egyptian king, Far-oh (Pharaoh) Hofra over to his enemies and to those who want to kill him. It’ll be the same as when I handed Yehudah’s King Tsidkiyah (Zedekiah) king of Judah over to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar—his enemy who wanted him dead.[ref]