← All Chapters The Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 44

Jeremiah 44: Stubborn Hearts and the Queen of Heaven

In Egypt the remnant defiantly vows to keep worshiping the queen of the sky, and God declares that judgment will pursue them until they know whose word stands.

Coming soon

Jeremiah 44 (WEB)

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

2 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,

3 because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods, that they didn’t know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

4 However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I hate.

5 But they didn’t listen, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

6 Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured out, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.

7 Therefore now thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel: Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the midst of Judah, to leave yourselves no one remaining;

8 in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

9 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 committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10 They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.

11 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

12 I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;

14 so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for no one shall return save such as shall escape.

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

16 As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.

17 But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.

18 But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

19 When we burned incense to the queen of the sky, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an answer, saying,

21 The incense that 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, didn’t Yahweh remember them, and didn’t it come into his mind?

22 so that Yahweh could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed; therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

23 Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against Yahweh, and have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day.

24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, and to all the women, Hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:

25 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows.

26 Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says Yahweh, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord Yahweh lives.

27 Behold, I watch 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 the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.

28 Those who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

29 This shall be the sign to you, says Yahweh, that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

30 Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.

Summary

God's word comes to all the Judeans living in Egypt, calling them to remember the desolation that idolatry brought upon Jerusalem and Judah. Despite that warning, they continue burning incense to other gods in Egypt, provoking the LORD to anger and bringing ruin on themselves. God appeals to their memory and pleads with them not to repeat their fathers' wickedness, yet the people—especially the women, with their husbands' consent—defiantly answer that they will keep their vows to the queen of the sky, claiming they prospered when they worshiped her and suffered when they stopped. Jeremiah confronts this twisted reasoning, explaining that it was precisely their incense to false gods that brought the disaster they remember. He declares that God has sworn by his great name that his name will no longer be invoked by any Judean in Egypt, and that the remnant there will be consumed by sword and famine until almost none are left. As a sign that his word will stand, God promises to give Pharaoh Hophra into the hand of his enemies, just as he gave Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar.

Key Figures

  • Jeremiah — The aged prophet who, in Egypt, confronts the remnant's idolatry and announces that God's word, not theirs, will surely stand.
  • The Judeans in Egypt — The exiles who defiantly insist on worshiping the queen of the sky, crediting her for past prosperity and refusing the LORD's warning.
  • The queen of the sky — The pagan goddess to whom the people burn incense and pour out drink offerings, the idol at the heart of their stubborn rebellion.
  • Pharaoh Hophra — The king of Egypt whose coming downfall God appoints as a sign that his word of judgment against the remnant will certainly come to pass.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 44:28 (WEB)

Those who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

Lessons Learned

  • Idolatry blinds the heart, even rewriting history to credit false gods for blessings God alone gives.
  • Refusing to learn from past judgment hardens us toward greater judgment.
  • God's name and word will be vindicated; in the end all will know whose word stands.
  • Persistent, defiant sin can place us beyond the season of warning into the time of consequence.
  • Idolatry distorts memory. The people claim that when they served the queen of the sky “then had we plenty of food, and were well” (Jeremiah 44:17, WEB). Sin reinterprets the past to justify the present.
  • God pleads before he punishes. “Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I hate” (Jeremiah 44:4, WEB). The LORD repeatedly sent his prophets, longing for repentance rather than ruin.
  • Defiance has a limit. God swears that his name will “no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt” (Jeremiah 44:26, WEB). Hardened rebellion forfeits the privilege of his promises.
  • God's word always prevails. The remnant “shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs” (Jeremiah 44:28, WEB). In every contest between human will and God's word, his word is vindicated.
  1. How do the people use their own history to defend worshiping the queen of the sky, and where does their reasoning go wrong?
  2. What does it reveal about idolatry that they credit a false god for the times they felt safe and prosperous?
  3. Why does God point them back to the desolation of Jerusalem before pronouncing judgment?
  4. What is the meaning of the contest over “whose word shall stand” (44:28)?
  5. Where might you be tempted to credit something other than God for your blessings, and how can you reorder your trust?
  1. They argue that when they worshiped the queen of the sky they prospered, and that troubles came only when they stopped (44:17-18). Their reasoning ignores the very judgment Jeremiah names: it was idolatry that destroyed Jerusalem. Sin twists cause and effect to keep the heart's idols enthroned.
  2. Crediting a false god for prosperity shows how idolatry rewrites reality to serve itself. It reveals hearts that interpret comfort as divine approval and hardship as the cost of obedience—exactly backwards from the truth God had spoken.
  3. God grounds the warning in fresh, undeniable memory: Jerusalem lies desolate because of this very sin (44:2-6). He reasons with them from experience, longing for repentance, so that the coming judgment cannot be called unjust or unforeseen.
  4. The phrase frames the whole conflict as a contest of authority: the people's stubborn vows against God's sworn word. History will settle it, and only a few survivors will return to confirm that God's word, not theirs, prevailed—a sobering vindication of his truth.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to examine whether they attribute security and success to money, work, relationships, or routines rather than to God. As leader, invite gentle reflection and a reordering of trust toward the Giver of every good gift.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.