Bible Strands
Jeremiah 44:8
Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through Jeremiah to Jewish exiles who have relocated to Egypt. He addresses them during their settlement period to confront their ongoing idolatry.
The words — לְ/הַכְעִסֵ֙/נִי֙ (le./hakh.'i.Se./ni) literally means "by provoking to anger me." בְּ/מַעֲשֵׂ֣י (be./ma.'a.Sei) translates as "by the deeds of" and ties the provocation directly to human action.
The thread — The connection between idolatrous works and provoking God appears in Jeremiah 25:6 and Jeremiah 44:3. The warning of being cut off and becoming a reproach among nations aligns with the judgment outlined in Jeremiah 42:18.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that physical worship practices directly trigger divine judgment and public disgrace. It requires the reader to accept that idolatry severs covenant protection and guarantees communal condemnation.
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
In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 42:18 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’
- Jeremiah 25:6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’
- Jeremiah 44:3 because of the evil they have done. They provoked Me to anger by continuing to burn incense and to serve other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.
- 1 Kings 9:7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
- 2 Kings 17:15 They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
- 2 Chronicles 7:20 then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
- Jeremiah 18:16 They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- 1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Isaiah 3:8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.