Study Desk

'Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.

saying, "No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or hear the sound of a trumpet, or hunger for bread, and we will stay there";

For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "As My anger and wrath have gushed out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will gush out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a disgrace; and you will not see this place again."

The LORD has spoken to you, you remnant of Judah, "Do not go to Egypt!" You know for certain that I have admonished you today.

For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it."

And now you shall know for certain that you will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague in the place where you desire to go to reside.

and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

"He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.

The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying,

"Therefore this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am going to set My face against you for a disaster, even to eliminate all Judah.

'So there will be no survivor or refugee for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return to live; for none will return except a few refugees.'"

"As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you!

"But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune.

"And," said the women, "when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?"

"As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your leaders, and the people of the land, did the LORD not remember them, and did all of this not come into His mind?

"This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, "We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!'

'Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword or by famine until they are completely gone.

'And this will be the sign to you,' declares the LORD, 'that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.'

'You said, "Oh, woe to me! For the LORD has added grief to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest."'

'But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, 'but I will give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go.'"