耶利米书 44 – CCB & NIRV

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

耶利米书 44:1-30

耶和华给流亡埃及之人的信息

1论到那些住在埃及境内的密夺答比匿挪弗巴特罗地区的犹大人,耶和华的话传给了耶利米,说: 2以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华说,‘你们已看见了我降在耶路撒冷犹大各城的灾祸。如今它们一片荒凉,杳无人迹。 3这都是因为那里的居民犯罪作恶,向他们、你们和你们祖先都不认识的神明烧香祭拜,惹我发怒。 4我屡次差遣我的仆人——众先知警告他们不要再做令我深恶痛绝的事, 5他们却毫不理会,不肯改掉向假神烧香的恶行。 6因此,我的怒火在犹大的城邑和耶路撒冷的街上燃烧,使它们沦为废墟,正如今日一样。’ 7以色列的上帝——万军之上帝耶和华说,‘你们为什么自招大祸,使你们当中的男人、女人、孩童和婴儿都从犹大灭亡,无一幸免呢? 8你们为什么在埃及向别的神明烧香,惹我发怒,自招毁灭,成为天下万国咒诅和羞辱的对象呢? 9难道你们忘记了你们的祖先、犹大列王及其嫔妃,以及你们自己和妻子在犹大耶路撒冷街上的恶行吗? 10你们至今既不悔悟也不惧怕,不遵行我给你们和你们祖先设立的律法和诫命。

11“‘因此,看啊,我必严惩你们,毁灭整个犹大。这是以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华说的。 12我要毁灭那些执意去埃及住的犹大余民。他们必死于战争和饥荒,无论尊卑无一幸免。他们的下场将很可怕,成了被人责骂、咒诅和羞辱的对象。 13我要像惩罚耶路撒冷一样用战争、饥荒和瘟疫惩罚那些住在埃及的人。 14那些去埃及住的犹大余民没有几个能活着从埃及返回他们渴望的故乡。’”

15许多人知道自己的妻子曾向别的神明烧香。他们和他们的妻子以及住在埃及巴特罗地区的人对耶利米说: 16“我们不会听从你奉耶和华的名对我们说的话。 17但我们必照所许的愿向天后烧香奠酒,正如我们和我们的祖先、君王和官长在犹大各城和耶路撒冷街上所做的一样。那时,我们食物充足,生活幸福,无灾无祸。 18但自从我们停止向天后烧香奠酒后,我们便一无所有,不断有人死于战争和饥荒。” 19那些烧香的妇女说:“你以为我们的丈夫不知道我们向天后烧香奠酒、照着她的形象做祭饼吗?”

20于是,耶利米对在场所有答复他的男女说: 21“你们和你们的祖先、君王、官长及其他所有百姓在犹大各城和耶路撒冷的街上烧香,耶和华岂不记得,岂能遗忘? 22你们的可憎恶行令耶和华忍无可忍,以致祂使你们的土地一片荒凉,无人居住,被人咒诅,正如今天的情形。 23你们遭遇今天的灾祸是因为你们向别的神明烧香得罪耶和华,不听从祂的话,不遵行祂的律法、诫命和教诲。”

24耶利米又对在场的男女说:“你们住在埃及犹大人都要听耶和华的话。 25以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华说,‘你们和你们的妻子曾许愿向天后烧香奠酒,并且身体力行。你们继续还所许的愿吧!’ 26住在埃及犹大人啊,你们都要听耶和华的话。耶和华说,‘看啊,我以自己伟大的名起誓,再没有一个住在埃及犹大人会凭永活的主耶和华起誓。 27看啊,我一定要给你们降下灾祸而非祝福,使所有住在埃及犹大人死于战争和饥荒。 28刀下余生、从埃及返回犹大的人必寥寥无几。那时,你们这些去埃及住的犹大人必知道谁的话会实现,是我的还是你们的。 29我必在这地方惩罚你们,我要给你们一个预兆,好叫你们知道我言出必行。这是耶和华说的。 30我必把埃及王法老何弗拉交在想杀他的仇敌手中,就像我把犹大西底迦交在想杀他的仇敌巴比伦尼布甲尼撒手中一样。这是耶和华说的。’”

New International Reader’s Version

Jeremiah 44:1-30

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.’ ”