Worshiping Other Gods Brings Horrible Trouble
1A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was about all the Jews living in Lower Egypt. They were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis. It was also about all the Jews living in Upper Egypt. 2The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He said, “You saw all the trouble I brought on Jerusalem. I also brought it on all the towns in Judah. Today they lie there deserted and destroyed. 3That’s because of the evil things their people did. They made me very angry. They burned incense to other gods. And they worshiped them. They and you and your people of long ago never knew those gods. 4Again and again I sent my servants the prophets. They said, ‘Don’t worship other gods! The Lord hates it!’ 5But the people didn’t listen. They didn’t pay any attention. They didn’t turn from their sinful ways. They didn’t stop burning incense to other gods. 6So my burning anger was poured out. It blazed out against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. It made them the dry and empty places they are today.”
7The Lord God who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Why do you want to bring all this trouble on yourselves? You are removing from Judah its men and women, its children and babies. Not one of you will be left. 8Why do you want to make me angry with the gods your hands have made? Why do you burn incense to the gods of Egypt, where you now live? You will destroy yourselves. All the nations on earth will use your name as a curse. They will say you are shameful. 9Have you forgotten the evil things done by your people of long ago? The kings and queens of Judah did those same things. So did you and your wives. They were done in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. 10To this day the people of Judah have not made themselves humble in my sight. They have not shown any respect for me. They have not obeyed my law. They have not followed the rules I gave you and your people of long ago.”
11The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I have decided to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy the whole land of Judah. 12I will destroy the people of Judah who are left. They had decided to go to Egypt and make their homes there. But all of them will die in Egypt. They will die of war or hunger. All of them will die, from the least important of them to the most important. They will die of war or hunger. People will use their name as a curse. They will be shocked at them. They will say bad things about them. And they will say they are shameful. 13I will use war, hunger and plague to punish the Jews who live in Egypt. I punished Jerusalem in the same way. 14None of the people of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape. Not one of them will live to return to Judah. They long to return and live there. But only a few will escape from Egypt and go back.”
15All the Jews who were living in Lower and Upper Egypt gathered to give Jeremiah their answer. A large crowd had come together. It included men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods. Their wives were there with them. All of them said to Jeremiah, 16“We won’t listen to the message you have spoken to us in the Lord’s name! 17We will certainly do everything we said we would. We’ll burn incense to the female god called the Queen of Heaven. We’ll pour out drink offerings to her. We’ll do just as we and our people of long ago have done. Our kings and our officials also did it. All of us did it in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food. We were well off. We didn’t suffer any harm. 18But then we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven. We stopped pouring out drink offerings to her. And ever since that time we haven’t had anything. Instead, we’ve been dying of war and hunger.”
19The women added, “We burned incense to the Queen of Heaven. We poured out drink offerings to her. And our husbands knew we were making cakes that looked like her. They knew we were pouring out drink offerings to her.”
20Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people who were answering him. He spoke to men and women alike. He said, 21“Didn’t the Lord know you were burning incense in the towns of Judah? Didn’t he care that you were also doing it in the streets of Jerusalem? You and your people of long ago were doing it. Your kings and officials were doing it too. So were the rest of the people in the land. 22The Lord couldn’t put up any longer with the evil things you were doing. He hated the things you did. So your land became a curse. It became a dry and empty desert. No one lived there. And that’s the way it still is today. 23You have burned incense to other gods. You have sinned against the Lord. You haven’t obeyed him or his law. You haven’t followed his rules. You haven’t lived up to the terms of the covenant he made with you. That’s why all this trouble has come on you. You have seen it with your own eyes.”
24Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people. That included the women. He said, “All you people of Judah in Egypt, listen to the Lord’s message. 25The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘You and your wives have done what you promised you would do. You said, “We will certainly keep the promises we made to the Queen of Heaven. We’ll burn incense to her. We’ll pour out drink offerings to her.” ’
“Go ahead then. Do what you said you would! Keep your promises! 26But listen to the Lord’s message. Listen, all you Jews living in Egypt. ‘I make a promise by my own great name,’ says the Lord. ‘Here is what I promise. “No one from Judah who lives anywhere in Egypt will ever again pray in my name. None of them will ever make this promise. They will never say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord and King is alive.’ ” 27I am watching over them to do them harm and not good. The Jews in Egypt will die of war and hunger until all of them are destroyed. 28Some will not be killed. They will return to Judah from Egypt. But they will be very few. Then all the people of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know the truth. They will know whether what I say or what they say will come true.
29“ ‘I will give you a sign that I will punish you in this place,’ announces the Lord. ‘Then you can be sure that my warnings of harm against you will come true.’ 30The Lord says, ‘I am going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt. I will hand him over to his enemies who want to kill him. In the same way, I handed over King Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He was the enemy who wanted to kill Zedekiah.’ ”
Abosomsom Mu Amanehunu
1Saa asɛm yi baa Yeremia nkyɛn. Ɛfa Yudafoɔ a wɔtete Misraim anafoɔ fam wɔ Migdol, Tapanhes, Memfis ne Misraim atifi fam ho. 2“Yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ: Mohunuu amanehunu kɛseɛ a mede baa Yerusalem ne Yuda nkuro nyinaa so. Ɛnnɛ wɔayeyɛ amanfo na wɔasɛe 3ɛsiane bɔne a wɔayɛ no enti. Wɔhyee nnuhwam, somm anyame foforɔ a wɔn anaa mo anaa mo agyanom nnim wɔn de hyɛɛ me abufuo. 4Mpɛn bebree mesomaa mʼasomfoɔ adiyifoɔ a wɔkaa sɛ, ‘Monnyɛ saa atantanneɛ a mekyiri no!’ 5Nanso wɔantie. Wɔamfa anyɛ asɛm, na wɔannane amfiri wɔn amumuyɛsɛm ho na wɔannyae hye a wɔhye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ no. 6Enti, mehwiee mʼabufuo guiɛ na ɛdɛre kɔɔ Yuda nkuro ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so, ma ɛsɛɛsɛeɛ na ɛdedaa mpan sɛdeɛ ɛteɛ ɛnnɛ yi.
7“Na seesei, deɛ Asafo Awurade Onyankopɔn, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie: Adɛn enti na mode amanehunu kɛseɛ aba mo ho so, sɛ moyii mmarima ne mmaa, mmɔfra ne mmotafowa firii Yuda a moangya nkaeɛfoɔ biara amma mo ho. 8Adɛn enti na mode deɛ mo nsa ayɛ hyɛ me abufuo, na mohye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ wɔ Misraim, baabi a moabɛtena hɔ? Mobɛsɛe mo ho, na moayɛ nnomedeɛ ne nsopa wɔ asase so amanaman nyinaa mu. 9Mo werɛ afiri amumuyɛsɛm a mo agyanom, Yuda ahemfo ne ahemaa yɛeɛ, na mo ne mo yerenom nso yɛɛ wɔ Yuda asase ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so no anaa? 10Ɛbɛsi ɛnnɛ yi, wɔmmrɛɛ wɔn ho ase, wɔnnaa anidie adi na wɔnnii me mmara ne ahyɛdeɛ a mede maa mo ne mo agyanom no so.
11“Enti, deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie: Masi mʼadwene pi sɛ mede amanehunu bɛba mo so na masɛe Yuda nyinaa. 12Mɛfa Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔsii wɔn adwene pi sɛ wɔbɛkɔ Misraim akɔtena hɔ no. Wɔn nyinaa bɛwuwu wɔ Misraim; wɔbɛtotɔ akofena ano anaa ɛkɔm bɛkum wɔn. Ɛfiri akumaa so kɔsi ɔkɛseɛ so, akofena ne ɛkɔm bɛkunkum wɔn. Wɔbɛyɛ nnomedeɛ, ahodwiredeɛ, afɔbudeɛ ne ahohora. 13Mede akofena, ɛkɔm ne ɔyaredɔm bɛtwe wɔn a wɔtete Misraim aso, sɛdeɛ metwee Yerusalem aso no. 14Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔakɔtena Misraim no mu biara rennwane, na wɔremfa wɔn ho nni na wɔasane aba Yuda, asase a wɔpɛ sɛ wɔsane bɛtena so no; wɔn mu biara remma bio, gye sɛ adwanefoɔ kakraa bi.”
15Afei, mmarima a na wɔnim sɛ wɔn yerenom hye nnuhwam ma anyame foforɔ, wɔne mmaa a wɔwɔ hɔ no nyinaa ne nnipa a wɔwɔ Misraim Atifi fam ne Anafoɔ fam ka kyerɛɛ Yeremia sɛ, 16“Yɛrentie asɛm a waka akyerɛ yɛn wɔ Awurade din mu no! 17Ampa ara yɛbɛyɛ biribiara a yɛkaa sɛ yɛbɛyɛ: Yɛbɛhye nnuhwam ama Ɔsoro Hemmaa na yɛahwie ahwiesa ama no, sɛdeɛ yɛ ne yɛn agyanom, ahemfo ne adwumayɛfoɔ yɛɛ wɔ Yuda nkuro ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so pɛpɛɛpɛ. Saa ɛberɛ no na yɛwɔ aduane, na yɛdi yie a yɛnni ɔhaw biara nso. 18Nanso ɛfiri ɛberɛ a yɛgyaee nnuhwam a yɛhye ma Ɔsoro Hemmaa, na yɛgyaee ahwiesa a yɛde ma no no, biribiara abɔ yɛn na yɛrewuwu wɔ akofena ne ɛkɔm ano.”
19Na mmaa no nso ka kaa ho sɛ, “Ɛberɛ a yɛhyee nnuhwam maa44.19 mmaa—Ɛsiane sɛ na Ɔsoro Hemmaa no yɛ Babilonia bosom a ɔma awoɔ no enti, na mmaa di ne som no mu akotene. Ɔsoro Hemmaa na yɛhwiee ahwiesa maa no no, na yɛn kununom nnim sɛ yɛto ɔfam a ɛyɛ ne sɛso, hwie ahwiesa ma no anaa?”
20Na Yeremia ka kyerɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa, mmarima ne mmaa a wɔrebua noɔ no sɛ, 21“Mosusu sɛ, Awurade nnim sɛ na mo ne mo agyanom, mo ahemfo, adwumayɛfoɔ ne ɔmanfoɔ no hye nnuhwam ma ahoni wɔ Yuda nkuro so ne Yerusalem mmɔntene so anaa? 22Ɛberɛ a mo amumuyɛ ne akyiwadeɛ a moyɛeɛ no fonoo Awurade no, mo asase danee nnomedeɛ ne amanfo a obiara nte so, sɛdeɛ ɛte ɛnnɛ yi. 23Esiane sɛ moahye nnuhwam, ayɛ bɔne atia Awurade, na moannyɛ ɔsetie amma no, na moanni ne mmara, nʼahyɛdeɛ ne nʼadansesɛm soɔ enti, amanehunu aba mo so sɛdeɛ mohunu yi.”
24Afei, Yeremia ka kyerɛɛ nnipa no nyinaa a mmaa no ka ho sɛ, “Mo Yudafoɔ a mowɔ Misraim nyinaa montie Awurade asɛm. 25Yei ne deɛ Asafo Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ: Mo ne mo yerenom de mo nneyɛɛ akyerɛ mo bɔ a mohyɛɛ sɛ, ‘Ampa ara yɛbɛdi ɛbɔ a yɛhyɛɛ sɛ, yɛbɛhye nnuhwam ahwie ahwiesa ama Ɔsoro Hemmaa no, no so.’
“Monkɔ so, monni mo bɔhyɛ ne mo ntam so! 26Nanso, montie Awurade asɛm, mo Yudafoɔ a mowɔ Misraim nyinaa. ‘Mede me din kɛseɛ no ka ntam sɛ,’ deɛ Awurade seɛ nie, ‘obiara a ɔfiri Yuda a ɔte Misraim asase so baabiara remmɔ me din nka ntam bio da sɛ, “Sɛ Otumfoɔ Awurade te ase yi.” 27Na mɛhwɛ ama wɔahunu amane na ɛnyɛ yiedie; Yudafoɔ a wɔwɔ Misraim bɛwuwu wɔ akofena ne ɛkɔm ano kɔsi sɛ wɔbɛsɛe wɔn nyinaa. 28Wɔn a wɔbɛdwane afiri akofena ano na wasane afiri Misraim akɔ Yuda asase so no bɛyɛ kakraa bi. Afei Yuda nkaeɛfoɔ a wɔbɛtenaa Misraim no nyinaa bɛhunu deɛ nʼasɛm yɛ nokorɛ; me deɛ anaa wɔn deɛ.
29“ ‘Yei na ɛbɛyɛ nsɛnkyerɛnneɛ ama mo sɛ mɛtwe mo aso wɔ ha, na mo ahunu sɛ ampa ara mʼahunahuna a ɛfa ɔhaw ho no bɛba mu,’ Awurade na ɔseɛ. 30‘Mede Misraimhene Farao Hofra rebɛhyɛ nʼatamfoɔ a wɔpɛ sɛ wɔkum no no nsa, sɛdeɛ mede Yudahene Sedekia hyɛɛ Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar, ne ɔtamfoɔ a na ɔrepɛ no akum no no nsa. Yei ne deɛ Awurade seɛ.’ ”
