Jeremiah 44:19

“Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The women of the Judean diaspora address Jeremiah and the remaining community in Egypt. They respond to his prophecy of judgment by defending their recent idolatrous worship.

The words — מְקַטְּרִים (meqattērîm) literally means "were making smoke" or "burning incense." The interrogative particle הֲ (hă) frames the clause as a rhetorical question, translating to "was it not?" or "did we not?"

The thread — The text directly references the household practice recorded in Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:15. It parallels the Genesis 3:6 account of women initiating religious transgression.

Why it lands — The verse states that the women claim their idolatry was a joint household activity, not a secret rebellion. It requires readers to confront how communal tradition and spousal complicity can normalize practices that contradict explicit divine commands.

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

וְכִֽי־ve./khi-and/ if אֲנַ֤חְנוּ'a.Nach.nuwe מְקַטְּרִים֙me.ka.te.Rim[were] making smoke לִמְלֶ֣כֶתli/m.Le.khetto/ [the] queen of הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha./sha.Ma.yimthe/ heavens וּלְהַסֵּ֥ךְu./le./ha.Sekhand/ to/ pour outלָ֖הּla/hto <the>/ herנְסָכִ֑יםne.sa.Khimdrink offerings הֲמִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֣יha./mi./bal.'a.Dei¿/ <from>/ without אֲנָשֵׁ֗ינוּ'a.na.Shei./nuhusbands/ our עָשִׂ֨ינוּ'a.Si.nudid we makeלָ֤הּla/hfor <the>/ herכַּוָּנִים֙ka.va.Nimcakes לְהַ֣עֲצִבָ֔הle./Ha.'a.tzi.Va/hto/ form image/ her וְהַסֵּ֥ךְve./ha.Sekhand/ to pour outלָ֖הּla/hto <the>/ herנְסָכִֽים׃ פne.sa.Khimdrink offerings

King James Version

And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

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.
Jeremiah 44:15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3:11 “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Numbers 30:6 If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself,
Deuteronomy 7:3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
1 Kings 21:25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
2 Chronicles 21:6 And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Proverbs 11:21 Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.