Guds dom over afgudsdyrkelsen blandt judæerne i Egypten
1Herren gav mig derefter følgende budskab om de judæere, der havde slået sig ned i byerne Migdol, Takpankes og Memfis i det nordlige Egypten og i området Patros i det sydlige Egypten:2Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, siger: „I ved, hvad jeg gjorde ved Jerusalem og Judas byer. De ligger nu i ruiner og er folketomme.3Jeg måtte straffe befolkningen for deres ondskab, for de provokerede mig med deres afgudsdyrkelse. De dyrkede fremmede guder, som hverken de eller I eller jeres forfædre før kendte til.4Gang på gang sendte jeg mine tjenere, profeterne, til dem for at advare dem: ‚Hold dog op med jeres afskyelige afgudsdyrkelse. I ved jo, at jeg hader det.’5Men de ville ikke høre efter, og de omvendte sig ikke fra deres ondskab. De blev ved med at ofre røgelse til de fremmede guder.6Da kogte min vrede over, og min glødende harme faldt som ild ned over Judas byer og Jerusalems gader, så de nu er øde tomter.7Og nu spørger Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, jer: Hvorfor vil I ødelægge jer selv? Hvorfor vil I være årsag til, at samtlige mænd, kvinder, børn og spædbørn må lade livet?8Her i Egypten, hvor I har slået jer ned, har I igen provokeret mig til vrede ved at lave nye afguder og ofre røgelse til dem. Derved har I fældet dommen over jer selv: I vil blive udryddet, og over hele verden vil man håne og forbande jer.9Har I glemt jeres forfædres ondskab? Har I glemt alle de synder, som Judas konger og dronninger begik? Har I glemt jeres egne synder og jeres koners synder i Juda og Jerusalem?10Indtil i dag har mit folk ikke angret eller vist mig respekt. I har ikke adlydt de love og forskrifter, jeg gav jer og jeres forfædre.11Derfor siger Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud: Jeg har besluttet at udrydde jer.12Jeg vil tilintetgøre den rest af Juda, der absolut ville flygte til Egypten. De skal alle sammen dø her enten i krig eller af sult, og de vil blive hånet, foragtet og forbandet.13De kommer til at opleve den samme straf her, som ramte Jerusalem: krig, sult og epidemier.14I flygtede herned i håbet om engang at vende tilbage, men kun en ganske lille rest får lov at vende tilbage. Det store flertal skal dø i Egypten.”15En stor gruppe judæere fra både det nordlige og sydlige Egypten hørte mit budskab. Selv om det var kvinderne, der brændte røgelse for de egyptiske afguder, var mændene udmærket godt klar over det. Forsamlingen gav mig nu følgende svar:16„Vi vil ikke høre på de budskaber, du påstår, at Herren har givet dig.17Vi har lovet at brænde røgelse for Himlens Dronning og give hende drikofre, og det vil vi blive ved med. Det er jo ikke andet end det, vores forfædre og konger og ledere gjorde før i tiden i Judas byer og Jerusalems gader.[1] Dengang led vi ingen nød. Vi havde masser at spise, og vi havde lykken med os. (2.Kong 21,3; 2.Kong 23,26)18Men da vi holdt op med at brænde røgelse og bringe drikofre til Himlens Dronning, gik alting galt for os, og vi blev plaget af krig og sult.”19Kvinderne tilføjede: „Tror du for øvrigt, at vi dyrker Himlens Dronning, udgyder drikofre til hende og bager kager til hendes ære uden at vores mænd ved det?”20Da sagde jeg til den store forsamling af mænd og kvinder:21„Herren så til med afsky, dengang jeres forfædre og konger og ledere brændte røgelse for afguderne i Judas byer og Jerusalems gader.22Det var jo netop, fordi Herren ikke længere kunne holde ud at se på jeres ondskab og jeres afskyelige afgudsdyrkelse, at han ødelagde landet, så det i dag er et forbandet land med folketomme ruinbyer.23Kan I da ikke forstå, at netop jeres afgudsdyrkelse og jeres oprør imod Herren og hans love og forordninger var årsag til jeres ulykke?24Hør nu, hvad Herren siger til alle jer judæere, som har slået jer ned i Egypten.25Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, siger: I er alle sammen fast besluttede på at fortsætte med at brænde røgelse og give drikofre til Himlens Dronning, både mænd og kvinder. Så gør da, hvad I har lovet hende!26Men hør Herrens ord, alle I judæere, der har slået jer ned i Egypten: Jeg sværger ved mit eget mægtige navn, at ingen af jer længere får mulighed for at påkalde mig og sige: ‚Så sandt Herren lever!’27Jeg skal sørge for, at I rammes af ulykke, så I alle omkommer som ofre for krig og sult her i Egypten.28Det bliver kun en lille rest, der undslipper min vrede og vender tilbage til Judas land. Til den tid vil alle de judæere, som kom til Egypten for at bosætte sig her, erkende, hvem der havde ret, jer eller mig.29Og nu vil jeg give jer et tegn på, at jeg mener mine trusler om straf alvorligt:30Jeg vil udlevere Egyptens konge, Hofra, til hans fjender på samme måde, som jeg udleverede kong Zidkija af Juda til kong Nebukadnezar af Babylon.”
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, (2.Mos 14,2; Es 11,11; Jer 43,7; Jer 44,15; Jer 46,14)2“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, (Jer 44,6)3because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. (5.Mos 6,14; Jer 1,16; Jer 7,18; Jer 19,4; Jer 44,8)4Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ (2.Krøn 36,15)5But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. (Jer 34,14)6Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. (Jer 7,20; Jer 7,34; Jer 9,11)7And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? (4.Mos 16,38; Ord 20,2; Jer 38,23; Klag 2,11; Hab 2,10)8Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? (Jer 18,16; Jer 42,18; Jer 44,3)9Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their[1] wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? (1.Kong 11,1; 1.Kong 11,8; 1.Kong 15,13; 2.Kong 11,1; Jer 15,4; Jer 44,15; Jer 44,25)10They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers. (Ord 28,14)11“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. (Jer 21,10)12I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. (Jer 6,13; Jer 18,16; Jer 42,15; Jer 42,16; Jer 44,8)13I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, (Jer 43,11)14so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.” (Jer 22,27; Jer 42,17; Jer 44,28)15Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: (Jer 44,1; Jer 44,9; Jer 44,25)16“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you. (Jer 6,16; Jer 42,13)17But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. (Dom 11,36; 1.Kong 11,33; 2.Kong 21,3; Jer 7,18; Jer 19,13)18But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” (Jer 44,17; Klag 3,22)19And the women said,[2] “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” (4.Mos 30,6; Jer 7,18)20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: (Jer 43,6)21“As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind? (Jer 44,17; Ez 8,10; Ez 21,24)22The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. (Jer 4,7; Jer 5,9; Jer 5,29; Jer 7,34; Jer 18,16; Ez 8,6)23It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.” (5.Mos 31,29; Jer 40,3)24Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. (Jer 43,5; Jer 44,15)25Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! (Jer 44,16; Jer 44,17)26Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord God lives.’ (Jer 4,2; Jer 22,5; Jer 44,24; Ez 20,39)27Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. (Jer 31,28; Jer 42,16)28And those who escape the sword shall 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 live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. (Es 27,13; Jer 44,14; Jer 44,17; Jer 44,25; Ez 6,8)29This shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: (Ord 19,21)30Thus says the Lord, 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.” (Jer 39,5; Jer 46,17; Jer 46,26; Ez 29,2; Ez 30,21)