Bible Strands
Jeremiah 44:17
Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The remnant of Judahites in Egypt speak to Jeremiah and his companions, rejecting his divine warning and defiantly declaring their continued worship of the Queen of Heaven. Their statement occurs during a confrontation over whether to obey God’s command to remain in Judah or flee to Egypt.
The words — עָשֹׂ֨ה ('a.Soh) and נַעֲשֶׂ֜ה (na.'a.Seh) carry the force of "certainly" and "we will do," emphasizing the speaker's absolute determination to fulfill their vows. These terms anchor the declaration in unyielding human resolve rather than divine instruction.
The thread — The verse echoes the pattern of ancestral idolatry recorded in Jeremiah 7:18 and Nehemiah 9:34, where kings, officials, and fathers persisted in forbidden worship. It also parallels the nostalgic justification for idolatry found in Exodus 16:3, where past provision is cited as proof of divine favor.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to confront the logic of self-justification, where past prosperity is wrongly attributed to disobedience and future disaster is ignored. It requires acknowledging that human vows cannot override divine warning, regardless of how convincingly they are defended.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto 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 victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 7:18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
- Nehemiah 9:34 Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
- Exodus 16:3 “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
- 2 Kings 17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.
- Jeremiah 44:21 “As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?
- Jeremiah 44:25 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands your words: ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Go ahead, then, do what you have promised! Keep your vows!
- Ezekiel 20:8 But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the land of Egypt.
- Hosea 2:5 For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’
- Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.