Section 184 of 22244:20–28Jeremiah

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King James VersionJeremiah 44:20–28

Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,

The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?

So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.

Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.

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 44:20–28

Jeremiah Reverses Their Reading of Prosperity

The prophet reverses the prosperity story and withdraws the Name from their oaths

Jeremiah tells the men and the women that the LORD remembered the incense in Judah's towns and Jerusalem's streets. The land became a waste because of it, not because they stopped. He then says the LORD will no longer let them invoke his name in an oath. They will know whose word stands when they are few, and a small number will return from Egypt to Judah.

The dispute is about how to read ruin and plenty. It does not support religious violence, silencing women, or a cheap rule that wealth proves true worship and disaster proves false. A remnant still goes home in this sentence. The Name is not a mascot for their vows. Jewish life is not being cancelled; this group's claim on the Name is being contested.

How this should shape us

Do not let a good year become your god, and do not let a bad year become a license to hurt people who disagree. Keep women in the argument as speakers. Refuse any sequel that 'settles' worship with force.

Teach it back

Explain Jeremiah 44:20–28 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 dispute does not support religious violence, silencing women, or simplistic claims that prosperity or disaster proves which worship is true.

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 44:20–28, 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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28, 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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

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 44:20–28

Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗