And when Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, with which Jehovah their God had sent him to them, all these words,

Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the proud men spoke to Jeremiah, saying,  ¹You are speaking falsehood; Jehovah our God has not sent you to say, You shall not go to Egypt to sojourn there.

But Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us so as to give us into the hand of the Chaldeans that they may put us to death or take us into exile to Babylon.

So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces and all the people did not listen to the voice of Jehovah to remain in the land of Judah.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah, who had returned from all the nations where they had been driven in order to sojourn in the land of Judah,

The men and the women and the little children and the king's daughters and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah;

And they came to the land of Egypt (for they did not listen to the voice of Jehovah) and came as far as Tahpanhes.

Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the mortar in the brickwork which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes in the sight of the Jews.

And say to them, Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I am going to send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will set his throne above these stones which I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

And he will come and strike the land of Egypt: those who are for death to death, and those who are for captivity to captivity, and those who are for the sword to the sword.

And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and carry them away captive; and he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment; and he will go out from there in peace.

And he will smash the pillars of Beth-shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt, and he will burn the houses of the gods of Egypt with fire.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in the land of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol and at Tahpanhes and at Memphis and in the land of Pathros, saying,

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, You have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and see, today they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them,

Because of their wickedness which they did to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense to serve other gods, which they did not know, neither they, you, nor your fathers.

Yet I sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Do not do this abominable thing which I hate.

But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense to other gods.

And My wrath and My anger poured forth and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as they are this day.

And now thus says Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Why do you do a great evil against your souls, so as to cut off from yourselves man and woman, little one and nursing child, from the midst of Judah, leaving yourselves no remnant,

Provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to sojourn, so that you might be cut off and that you might become 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 did in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

They have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared or walked in My law or in My statutes, which I set before you and before your fathers.

Therefore thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I will set My face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go to the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they will all be consumed; in the land of Egypt they will fall; by sword and by famine they will be consumed. From the small even unto the great, by sword and by famine they will die; and they will become an execration, an astonishment, and a curse and a reproach.

And I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem: with sword, with famine, and with pestilence.

And there will not be one who has escaped nor a survivor of the remnant of Judah, who went to sojourn there in the land of Egypt, even to return to the land of Judah, where they desire to return to dwell; for they will not return, except for some who will escape.

Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods and all the women who stood by, a great assemblage, even all the people who dwelt in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah, saying,

As for the word which you have spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, we will not listen to you.

But we will surely do everything which has gone out of our mouth, burning incense to the  ¹queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, just as we ourselves and our fathers, our kings, and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for we had plenty of food and were well off and did not see evil.

But since we ceased burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by sword and by famine.

And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out libations to her, did we make cakes to her, making images of her and pouring out libations to her, without our husbands?

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people concerning the men and concerning the women, even concerning all the people who had given him that answer, saying,

As for the incense which 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, did not Jehovah remember them, and did it not come up in His heart?

And Jehovah was no longer able to bear it because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you committed; therefore your land has become a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

Because you burned incense and because you sinned against Jehovah and did not listen to the voice of Jehovah or walk in His law or in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day.

Then Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:

Thus speaks Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows by which we have vowed to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her. Establish then your vows, and by all means perform your vows.

Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt, I have sworn by My great name, says Jehovah: My name shall no longer be called upon by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord Jehovah lives.

I will be watchful 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 sword and by famine until there is an end of them.

And those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number, and all the remnant of Judah who came to the land of Egypt to sojourn there will know whose word will be established, Mine or theirs.

And this will be a sign to you, declares Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, so that you will know that My words will surely be established against you for evil:

Thus says Jehovah, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.

The word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying,

Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, concerning you, O Baruch:

You said, Woe is me! For Jehovah has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have not found rest.

Thus you shall say to him, Thus says Jehovah, What I have built I am about to tear down; and what I have planted I am about to pluck up, even this whole land.

And are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for I am about to bring evil upon all flesh, declares Jehovah, but I will give your own life to you as spoil in all places where you may go.