¹This is the word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who were living in the land of Egypt, who lived in Migdol and in Tahpanhes and in Noph and in the land of Pathros. And it said, ²“This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘You see all the harm which I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah, and there they are, a desolation on this day, and there is no inhabitant in them, ³because of their evil which they have done, so as to provoke me to anger, by going to burn incense, and by serving other gods whom they had not known, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. ⁴Yet I sent to them all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, to say, «Please do not do this abominable thing, which I hate.» ⁵But they did not listen, and they did not incline their ears, by turning away from their evil – by not burning incense to other gods. ⁶So my fury with my anger was poured out, and it burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, which became a ruin and a desolation, as on this day. ⁷So now, this is what the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, says: «Why are you committing a great evil against yourselves, by going and cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and infant, not leaving yourselves a remnant, ⁸so as to provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you went to take up residence, cutting yourselves off, and so becoming an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth? ⁹Have you forgotten the evil deeds of your fathers, and the evil deeds of the kings of Judah, and the evil deeds of their wives, and your own evil deeds, and the evil deeds of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰They have not been contrite up to this day, and they have not shown fear, and they have not walked in my law, nor in my statutes which I set before you and before your fathers. ¹¹That is why this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‹I am about to take a firm stand against you, to your detriment, and to cut the whole of Judah off. ¹²And I will take the residue of Judah who took a firm stand to go to the land of Egypt, to take up residence there. And all of them in the land of Egypt will come to an end. They will fall by the sword and by famine. They will come to an end, both small and great. They will die by the sword and by famine, and they will be an object of cursing and of astonishment and of vilification and of reproach. ¹³And I will visit those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I visited Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with a plague. ¹⁴And there will be no-one either escaped or surviving from the residue of Judah who go to take up residence there in the land of Egypt, and to return to the land of Judah which they have set their heart on to return to, and to dwell there, for they will not return, except for escapees.› » ’ ” ¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood in a large convocation, and all the people who inhabited the land of Egypt in Pathros, answered Jeremiah and said, ¹⁶“As for the words which you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to heed you. ¹⁷For we insist on doing everything that left our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. And we had plenty of food, and we were prosperous, and we did not see trouble. ¹⁸But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring libations out to her, we have had a shortage of everything, and we have been perishing by the sword and by famine. ¹⁹And when we were burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring libations out to her, was it without our men that we made for her sacrificial cakes to worship her, and that we poured out libations to her?” ²⁰Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, against the men and against the women and against all the people who had given him that answer, and he said, ²¹“Has the Lord not remembered the burning of incense which you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem – you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land – and has it not come to his mind? ²²And the Lord can no longer endure the evil of your deeds – the abominations which you have committed – so your land has become a ruin and a desolation and an object of cursing, without an inhabitant, as it is this day, ²³because you burned incense and because you sinned against the Lord, and you did not obey the Lord, and you did not walk in his law or in his statutes or in his testimonies, which is why this trouble has befallen you, as it is this day.” ²⁴Then Jeremiah said to all the people including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. ²⁵This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have spoken vociferously, and you have confirmed it for your part, saying, «We will certainly fulfil our vows which we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.» You will certainly carry out your vows, and your vows you will certainly perform. ²⁶Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name will certainly not be called on in the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, «As my Lord the Lord lives», in all the land of Egypt. ²⁷I am about to watch over them to their detriment and not to their benefit, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will come to an end by the sword and by famine until they have been annihilated. ²⁸But some who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah – a few men – and the whole residue of Judah who went to the land of Egypt to take up residence there will know whose word will be established, mine or theirs. ²⁹And this is a sign to you, says the Lord, that I am going to visit you in this place, so that you will know that my words concerning you to your detriment will certainly be established. ³⁰This is what the Lord says: «I am about to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon – his enemy, and one who sought his life.» ’ ”