Section 183 of 22244:15–19Jeremiah

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King James VersionJeremiah 44:15–19

Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

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.

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

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?

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Jeremiah 44:15–19

Men and Women Defend Worship of the Queen of Heaven

Men and women answer with the Queen of Heaven

All the men who know their wives have burned incense to other gods, and all the women standing by, a great assembly from Pathros, answer Jeremiah. They will not listen. They will keep the vows they have made to the Queen of Heaven: incense, drink offerings, cakes marked for her. They remember a time in Judah and Jerusalem when they did this and had bread enough and saw no disaster.

The women add that they did not make cakes and pour offerings without their husbands. Agency and household power are both on the table. The exchange does not justify misogyny, and it does not erase the women's own insistence. Economic memory is doing theological work: prosperity is being read as proof of the cult. Jeremiah will contest the reading. He does not get to turn the women into a joke.

How this should shape us

Listen to what a community thinks kept them fed. Do not sneer at women's ritual knowledge or hide behind husbands to dodge responsibility. Argue the memory; do not punish the speakers.

Teach it back

Explain Jeremiah 44:15–19 in your own words. Name its place in Jeremiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible readings differ?

Best judgment: The exchange does not justify misogyny or erase women's agency; economic memory and household power must both be examined.

How certain? strong

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Jeremiah 44:15–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 44:15–19

NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.

Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.

Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and Bible in the World: post-fall community, Egypt migration, trauma, and Baruch; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.

Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 3 study guide, pp. 1-6: Jeremiah 36, Baruch, scroll rewriting, composition, and final form; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Whose Gendered Language of God? Contemporary Gender Theory and Divine Gender in the Prophets

Supports: Controls gendered and sexualized rhetoric, Jeremiah's body and confessions, women mourners, celibacy, and ethical reading of violent imagery.

Carvalho, 'Whose Gendered Language of God?,' Currents 43.3 (2016), pp. 13-15; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Exact location: Jeremiah 44:15–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 44:15–19

Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.

Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗

modern scholarly book course

Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World

Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and Bible in the World: post-fall community, Egypt migration, trauma, and Baruch; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗

open university study guide series

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub

Yale Bible Study, 2024

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 3 study guide, pp. 1-6: Jeremiah 36, Baruch, scroll rewriting, composition, and final form; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗

peer reviewed open access gender critical article

Whose Gendered Language of God? Contemporary Gender Theory and Divine Gender in the Prophets

Corrine L. Carvalho

Currents in Theology and Mission 43.3, 2016

Supports: Controls gendered and sexualized rhetoric, Jeremiah's body and confessions, women mourners, celibacy, and ethical reading of violent imagery.

Exact location: Carvalho, 'Whose Gendered Language of God?,' Currents 43.3 (2016), pp. 13-15; applied to Jeremiah 44:15–19

Open Carvalho on prophetic gender language ↗