Keraia
Jeremiah 44

Jeremiah 44:17

The Stubbornness of the People · Jeremiah 44:15–19
Read Jeremiah 44

Translations

Modern
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.
Traditional
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.
Literal
For we will surely do will we do every word that has gone forth from our mouth, burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out to her drink offerings, as we have done—we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem. And we were satisfied with food, and we were well, and we did not see evil.
Latin
…sed facientes faciemus omne verbum quod egredietur de ore nostro, ut sacrificemus reginæ cæli, et libemus ei libamina, sicut fecimus nos et patres nostri, reges nostri et principes nostri, in urbibus Juda, et in plateis Jerusalem: et saturati sumus panibus, et bene nobis erat, malumque non vidimus.

Original

Hebrew
English
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.

Notes

Jeremiah 44:17

  • The Judean refugees thought they had freedom. They believed obeying the Lord meant being in bondage, while pagan worship led to fulfillment.

  • The Queen of Heaven had many names across the ancient Near East. In Assyria and Babylon, she was "Ishtar," and the Canaanites called her "Astarte." In the Old Testament, she is often "Ashtoreth" and linked with Baal. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth and built shrines for her, but Josiah later destroyed them (2 Kings 23:13; see 1 Kings 11:5). Ashtoreth was connected to the planet Venus and all types of reproduction in plants and animals, making her a popular idol for farmers and herdsmen. People believed offerings of incense, food, and liquids would magically trigger reproduction and prosperity.

Jeremiah 44:15–19

The people rejected Jeremiah's warning of judgment. They had stopped even pretending to serve the Lord (Jeremiah 42:1–3) and were fully devoted to idol worship.

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah

Events

People

Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province

Places

Jerusalem: The capital of Israel, a holy city for three religions

Glossary

Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (Old Testament) Book of Jeremiah Dispersion of the Jews, Diaspora Gods and Goddesses Heaven Jeremiah (Person) Queen of Heaven

Topics

Drink offering: Idolatrous Jews: Offered to the Queen of Heaven Egypt: Prophecies Respecting: The Jews Who Practised Its Idolatry to Share Its Idolatry: Idols Mentioned in Scripture: Queen of Heaven Idolatry: Other Customs of Libations Idolatry: Other Customs of Meat offerings Impenitence: General Scriptures Concerning Moon: Worshiped Queen: The Moon Was Called |The Queen of Heaven| Self-Delusion: Exhibited in Thinking that we should Adhere to Established Wicked Practices Superstition: Jews, Attributing Their Calamities to Having Ceased offering Sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven The Jews: National Character of Fondness for Traditionary Customs The Moon: Worshipped As the Queen of Heaven Women: Wicked