August 11, 2025
The people persist in their wickedness.
Jeremiah 42-44
Caroline Tamez
Big Book Idea
Being a messenger of truth in a dark place can be challenging, but it is worth it.
Key Verse | Jeremiah 44:4-5
"Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!' But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods."
Jeremiah 42-44
Chapter 42
Warning Against Going to Egypt
1 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— 3 that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”
7 At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ 15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. 17 All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.
18 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. 19 The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day 20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ 21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. 22 Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”
Chapter 43
Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
1 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— 6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: 9 “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. 12 I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. 13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”
Chapter 44
Judgment for Idolatry
1 The 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 “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, 3 because 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. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore 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. 7 And 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? 8 Why 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? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their 1 44:9 Hebrew his wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They 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.
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. 12 I 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. 13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 so 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.”
15 Then 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: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But 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. 18 But 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.” 19 And the women said, 2 44:19 Compare Syriac; Hebrew lacks And the women said “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?”
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: 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? 22 The 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. 23 It 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.”
24 Jeremiah 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. 25 Thus 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! 26 Therefore 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.’ 27 Behold, 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. 28 And 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. 29 This 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: 30 Thus 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.”
Table of Contents
Introduction to Jeremiah
Timeline
Author and Date
Jeremiah was called to be a prophet c. 627 B.C., when he was young (1:6). He served for more than 40 years (1:2–3). Jeremiah had a difficult life. His messages of repentance delivered at the temple were not well received (7:1–8:3; 26:1–11). His hometown plotted against him (11:18–23), and he endured much persecution (20:1–6; 37:11–38:13; 43:1–7). At God’s command, he never married (16:1–4). Although he preached God’s word faithfully, he apparently had only two converts: Baruch, his scribe (32:12; 36:1–4; 45:1–5); and Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch who served the king (38:7–13; 39:15–18). Though the book does not reveal the time or place of Jeremiah’s death, he probably died in Egypt, where he had been taken by his countrymen against his will after the fall of Jerusalem (43:1–7). He most likely did not live to see the devastation he mentions in chs. 46–51.
Purpose
Jeremiah and Baruch left a record of the difficult times in which they lived, God’s message for those times, and God’s message for the future of Israel and the nations.
Key Themes
- God and humanity. God alone is a living God. God alone made the world. All other so-called gods are mere idols (10:1–16). This Creator God called Israel to a special relationship (chs. 2–6), gave her his holy word, and promised to bless her temple with his name and presence (7:1–8:3). God rules both the present and the future (1:4–16; 29:1–10), protects his chosen ones (1:17–19; 29:11–14; 39:15–18; 45:1–5), and saves those who turn to him (12:14–17). Because God is absolutely trustworthy and always keeps his promises, his grace triumphs over sin and judgment when people repent and turn to him.
The human heart is sick, and no one except God can cure it (17:9–10). The nations worship idols instead of their Creator (10:1–16). Israel, God’s covenant people, went after other gods (chs. 2–6), defiled the temple by their unwillingness to repent (7:1–8:3; 26:1–11), and oppressed one another (34:8–16). Since Israel and the nations have sinned against God (25:1–26), God the Creator is also the Judge of every nation on the earth he created (chs. 46–51).
- Old covenant, Messiah, and new covenant. God made a covenant with Israel, based on his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12–50). As time passed, God’s covenant with Israel included his promise to David of an eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). God used Jeremiah to deliver the good news that, sometime in the future, God would “make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). This covenant would be different in one major way. The new covenant partners will not break the covenant, as most of the old partners did even though God was completely faithful (31:32). Instead, the new covenant partners will have the word of God so ingrained in their hearts through God’s power that they will know and follow God all their lives (31:33–34).
Thus, all the new covenant partners will be believers who are forgiven and empowered by God; he will “remember their sin no more” (31:34). Hebrews 8:8–12 quotes Jer. 31:31–34 as evidence that the new covenant has come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The coming of Jesus the Messiah fulfills God’s promises to Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets.
Outline
- Introduction (1:1–19)
- Israel’s Covenantal Adultery (2:1–6:30)
- False Religion and an Idolatrous People (7:1–10:25)
- Jeremiah’s Struggles with God and Judah (11:1–20:18)
- Jeremiah’s Confrontations (21:1–29:32)
- Restoration for Judah and Israel (30:1–33:26)
- God Judges Judah (34:1–45:5)
- God’s Judgment on the Nations (46:1–51:64)
- Conclusion: The Fall of Jerusalem (52:1–34)
Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeremiah
c. 597 B.C.
The book of Jeremiah is set during the politically tumultuous times following the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. During Jeremiah’s life, several groups of Judeans were deported to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Though the precise boundaries of Judea and the surrounding regions during this period are difficult to determine, they likely resembled those that previously existed under Assyrian rule, with the exception that Edom (Idumea) was now the area formerly belonging to southern Judah.
Fact: Tahpanhes
Tahpanhes (43:7) was a fortified city in the eastern part of the Nile delta, near what is now the Suez Canal. Archaeologists have found a large building that may have served as a governor’s residence. Since all such buildings would have belonged to the state, this may be the “Pharaoh’s palace” mentioned in v. 9.
Fact: Pharaoh Hophra
Pharaoh Hophra had a tumultuous nineteen-year reign. To the northeast he faced the Babylonians as they invaded Israel; to the west, the armies of Greece were invading Libya. He sent an army to Jerusalem to assist the Israelites but they were defeated, as were his forces in Libya. His own general overthrew him in 570 B.C., and he was killed in battle three years later, thus fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophesy (44:30).
Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeremiah
c. 597 B.C.
The book of Jeremiah is set during the politically tumultuous times following the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. During Jeremiah’s life, several groups of Judeans were deported to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Though the precise boundaries of Judea and the surrounding regions during this period are difficult to determine, they likely resembled those that previously existed under Assyrian rule, with the exception that Edom (Idumea) was now the area formerly belonging to southern Judah.
Jeremiah Prophesies against Egypt
c. 586 B.C.
Many of the leading families who had been freed from Ishmael chose to flee to Egypt to escape the Babylonians’ wrath over Gedaliah’s murder. Though Jeremiah himself warned against this course of action, he apparently was forced to accompany the refugees to Tahpanhes in Egypt, where he delivered a prophecy against Egypt and all the Judeans who had fled there. Archaeological evidence has corroborated the influx of significant populations of Judean refugees during this time as far south as Elephantine (near Syene), at the first cataract of the Nile River.
Jer. 42:1–4 The leaders ask Jeremiah to seek God’s will. They are desperate and devastated and claim to desire to know the thing that they should do.
Jer. 42:7–9 Jeremiah waits for God’s word (see 28:11–12), and when it comes he summons the people. At the end of ten days. Though Jeremiah was a faithful and true prophet of God, he could not give prophecies whenever he wanted. He had to wait for the Lord to speak to him.
Jer. 42:10 Jeremiah delivers a word of promise: God has ceased bringing disaster. If the people stay in Judah, God will build and plant them, which are metaphors for renewal (1:10; 24:6; 31:28).
Jer. 42:11 with you, to save you and to deliver you. God gives the people the same promise he gave Jeremiah at his call (1:19; see also 39:17). Their lives will be as safe as Jeremiah’s has been.
Jer. 42:13–17 Rejecting God’s promise and fleeing to Egypt will result in Judah experiencing what they fear. Babylon will defeat Egypt; the exiles are safer in Judah.
Jer. 42:18 God’s anger and wrath were warned about (4:4; 7:20; 21:5), then poured out (39:1–10).
Jer. 42:19–20 Jeremiah could hardly speak more plainly: to obey means life; to disobey means death.
Jer. 43:4–6 Johanan and company did not obey the voice of the LORD. Rather, they took to Egypt the captives they had rescued (41:11–18). They also took Jeremiah and Baruch (43:6) as hostages.
Fact: Tahpanhes
Tahpanhes (43:7) was a fortified city in the eastern part of the Nile delta, near what is now the Suez Canal. Archaeologists have found a large building that may have served as a governor’s residence. Since all such buildings would have belonged to the state, this may be the “Pharaoh’s palace” mentioned in v. 9.
Fact: Tahpanhes
Tahpanhes (43:7) was a fortified city in the eastern part of the Nile delta, near what is now the Suez Canal. Archaeologists have found a large building that may have served as a governor’s residence. Since all such buildings would have belonged to the state, this may be the “Pharaoh’s palace” mentioned in v. 9.
Jer. 43:9–10 Jeremiah performs another symbolic act. Compare 13:1–14; 16:1–13; 19:1–15; 27:1–28:17; 32:1–15. This time he places large stones near one of Pharaoh’s palaces and promises that God will place Nebuchadnezzar’s throne on these stones.
Jer. 43:12 as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin. Nebuchadnezzar will pick off Egypt’s cities as easily as a shepherd picks lice off his clothing.
Jer. 43:13 obelisks of Heliopolis. Sacred pillars in the temples of Heliopolis, about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Cairo. Jeremiah highlights the gods’ powerlessness. See 10:1–16.
Jer. 44:1 The diversity of locations in Egypt emphasizes that the message that follows is for all the Judeans . . . in the land of Egypt. Clearly many Judean refugees had fled to Egypt.
Jeremiah Prophesies against Egypt
c. 586 B.C.
Many of the leading families who had been freed from Ishmael chose to flee to Egypt to escape the Babylonians’ wrath over Gedaliah’s murder. Though Jeremiah himself warned against this course of action, he apparently was forced to accompany the refugees to Tahpanhes in Egypt, where he delivered a prophecy against Egypt and all the Judeans who had fled there. Archaeological evidence has corroborated the influx of significant populations of Judean refugees during this time as far south as Elephantine (near Syene), at the first cataract of the Nile River.
Jer. 44:4–5 This disaster came upon Jerusalem because the people rejected God’s servants the prophets and refused to turn from idolatry (25:4; 35:15).
Jer. 44:9–10 The people commit the same acts Jeremiah condemned in 7:16–20. Despite all they have endured, they continue to reject God’s word revealed through Moses (9:13–14; 26:4–6).
Jer. 44:11–14 Babylon will complete its role as an instrument of God’s wrath (27:1–15) against Judah’s idolatrous remnant. Judah will become a warning to other peoples (18:16; 24:9; 29:18; 34:17).
Jer. 44:17–18 The refugees will continue to worship the queen of heaven, which most likely refers to Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. The whole nation (fathers, kings, officials) participated in the cult (see 7:18).
Jer. 44:21–23 Jeremiah argues that Judah’s participation in idolatry led to their defeat. God remembered what they did, and he acted accordingly.
Jer. 44:26 These Judeans have reversed salvation history by returning to Egypt and her gods. So, God will take back the name he revealed to Moses (Ex. 3:14; 6:2–3) and the saving, covenantal presence his name symbolizes.
Jer. 44:29–30 God offers the people a sign: when Egypt’s current king dies, they will know that God has spoken truly. Hophra ruled Egypt c. 589–570 B.C. He supported Zedekiah against Babylon (37:5), so he was probably a special favorite of the Judeans. hand of his enemies. Domestic enemies overthrew Hophra in 570 B.C. and killed him three years later.
Fact: Pharaoh Hophra
Pharaoh Hophra had a tumultuous nineteen-year reign. To the northeast he faced the Babylonians as they invaded Israel; to the west, the armies of Greece were invading Libya. He sent an army to Jerusalem to assist the Israelites but they were defeated, as were his forces in Libya. His own general overthrew him in 570 B.C., and he was killed in battle three years later, thus fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophesy (44:30).
Listen to the Podcast
Listen NowDive Deeper | Jeremiah 42-44
Throughout all of Scripture, God is faithful to keep his promises. We can trust that following God's commands is the best way to live our lives and bring him glory.
In Jeremiah 42-43, God makes it clear to Jeremiah that the people should remain in Jerusalem. Even though the state of the city is not appealing, God ensures compassion, protection, and restoration for his people if they follow this command. He then warns them of the dangers and temptations that would come upon them if they chose to rebel and go to Egypt. Because of pride, the Judeans disobey God and migrate to Egypt, bringing Jeremiah along with them.
Jeremiah 44 shines a light on the destruction that will come upon the Judeans. They fall into the exact temptations that they were warned of and become idolaters. In the midst of chaos, Jeremiah chooses to trust God and speak the truth to those who are going astray.
God sent his prophet to guide out of darkness those whom he loves. While the Judeans didn't listen to Jeremiah's warnings, we have an opportunity to be led by Jesus to freedom. Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death." While God uses Jeremiah, it is ultimately God who speaks truth to his people and who can set us free through his Son Jesus.
This month's memory verse
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
– Lamentations 3:21-23
Discussion Questions
1. Just like Jeremiah, God has called us to speak truth in love in the midst of darkness. What platform has God given you to fulfill this command?
2. Take a look at Ezekiel 33:1-10 and Matthew 28:19-20. We are held responsible for our level of obedience (Ezekiel 33), and God has commanded us to make disciples (Matthew 28). What opportunities do you have to share the gospel? Ask God to provide more opportunities. Do you trust God to provide while you share his gospel? Remember Jesus' words in John 16:33b: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
3. What are some current idols in your life? Confess them to God and to other fellow Christ-followers. Encourage one another through accountability, prayer, and worship of God.