Jeremiah 51
1 The Word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews
dwelling in the land of Egypt, and for those settled in Magdolo and in
Taphnas, and in the land of Pathura, saying,
2 Thus has the Lord God of Israel
said; Ye have seen all the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon
the cities of Juda; and, behold, they are desolate without inhabitants,
3 because of their wickedness, which
they have wrought to provoke me, by going to burn
incense to other gods, whom ye knew not.
4 Yet I sent to you my servants the
prophets early in the morning, and I sent, saying, Do not ye this abominable
thing which I hate.
5 But they hearkened not to me, and
inclined not their ear to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn
incense to strange gods. 6 So mine
anger and my wrath dropped upon them, and was kindled
in the gates of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a
desolation and a waste, as at this day.
7 And now thus has the Lord Almighty
said, Wherefore do ye commit these great evils
against your souls? to cut off man and woman of you, infant and suckling from
the midst of Juda, to the end that not one of you should be left;
8 by provoking me with the works of
your hands, to burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which ye
entered to dwell there, that ye might be cut off, and that ye might become a
curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have ye forgotten the sins of your
fathers, and the sins of the kings of Juda, and the sins of your princes, and
the sins of your wives, which they wrought in the land of Juda, and in the
streets of Jerusalem? 10 And have not
ceased even to this day, and they have not kept to my ordinances, which I set
before their fathers.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord;
Behold, I do set my face against you
12 to destroy all the remnant that
are in Egypt; and they shall fall by the sword, and by famine, and shall be
consumed small and great: and they shall be for reproach, and for destruction,
and for a curse. 13 And I will visit
them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, with sword
and with famine: 14 and there shall
not one be preserved of the remnant of Juda that sojourn in the land of Egypt,
to return to the land of Juda, to which they hope in their hearts to return:
they shall not return, but only they that escape.
15 Then all the men that knew that
their wives burned incense, and all the women, a great multitude, and all the
people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathura, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16 As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the
name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee.
17 For we will surely perform every
word that shall proceed out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of
heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done,
and our kings and princes, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of
Jerusalem: and so we were filled with bread, and were
well, and saw no evils. 18 But since
we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, we have all been brought
low, and have been consumed by sword and by famine.
19 And whereas we burned incense to
the queen of heaven, and poured drink-offerings to her, did we make cakes to
her, and pour drink-offerings to her, without our husbands?
20 Then Jeremiah answered all the
people, the mighty men, and the women, and all the people that returned him
these words for answer, saying,
21 Did not the Lord remember the
incense which ye burned in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of
Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, and your kings, and your princes, and the
people of the land? and came it not into his heart?
22 And the Lord could no longer bear
you, because of the wickedness of your doings, and
because of your abominations which ye wrought; and so your land became a
desolation and a waste, and a curse, as at this day;
23 because of your burning incense,
and because of the things wherein ye sinned against
the Lord: and ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have not
walked in his ordinances, and in his law, and in his testimonies; and so these
evils have come upon you.
24 And Jeremiah said to the people,
and to the women, Hear ye the word of the Lord.
25 Thus has the Lord God of Israel
said; Ye women have spoken with your mouth, and ye fulfilled
it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform
our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to
pour drink-offerings to her: full well did ye keep to your vows, and ye have
indeed performed them.
26 Therefore hear ye the word of the
Lord, all Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great
name, saith the Lord, my name shall no longer be in the mouth of every Jew to
say, The Lord lives, in all the land of Egypt.
27 For I have watched over them, to
hurt them, and not to do them good: and all the Jews dwelling in the land of
Egypt shall perish by sword and by famine, until they are utterly consumed.
28 And they that escape the sword
shall return to the land of Juda few in number, and the remnant of Juda, who
have continued in the land of Egypt to dwell there,
shall know whose word shall stand.
29 And this
shall be a sign to you, that I will visit you for
evil. 30 Thus said the Lord; Behold,
I will give Uaphres king of Egypt into the hands of
his enemy, and into the hands of one that seeks his life; as I gave Sedekias
king of Juda into the hands of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, his enemy, and
who sought his life.
31 The Word which Jeremiah the Prophet spoke to Baruch
son of Nerias, when he wrote these words in the book from the mouth of
Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda.
32 Thus has the Lord said to thee, O
Baruch. 33 Whereas thou hast said,
Alas! alas! for the Lord has laid a grievous trouble upon me; I lay down in
groaning, I found no rest; 34 say
thou to him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I pull down those whom I have built
up, and I pluck up those whom I have planted.
35 And wilt thou seek great things
for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I bring evil
upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but I will give
to thee thy life for a spoil in every place whither
thou shalt go.