Jeremiah 44:7

Easy-to-Read Version

"So this is what the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why are you hurting yourselves by continuing to worship idols? You are separating the men and women, the children and babies from the family of Judah. And so you leave yourselves without anyone left from the family of Judah.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.

Hebrew Names Version
Therefore now thus says the LORD, the God Tzva'ot,, the God of Yisra'el: Why commit you [this] great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Yehudah, to leave you none remaining;

King James Version
Therefore now thus saith the Lord , the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

English Standard Version
And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant?

New American Standard Bible
'Now then, this is what the LORD God of armies, the God of Israel says: "Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, to eliminate from yourselves man and woman, child and infant from among Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant,

New Century Version
"Now the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off the men and women, children and babies from the family of Judah, leaving yourselves without anyone from the family of Judah.

Amplified Bible
'Therefore now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why did you commit this great evil against yourselves [bringing disaster] that will cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant?

World English Bible
Therefore now thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why commit you [this] great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Wherfore commit ye this great euill against your soules, to cut off from you man and woman, childe and suckling out of Iudah, and leaue you none to remaine?

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you doing great evil against yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, infant and nursing baby, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant,

Berean Standard Bible
So now, this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves? You are cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and infant, leaving yourselves without a remnant,

Contemporary English Version
Why do you now insist on heading for another disaster? A disaster that will destroy not only you, but also your children and babies.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Therefore now, Adonai -Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says this: ‘Why are you committing this great sin against yourselves? The result can only be to cut you off from Y'hudah — men, women, children and babies — so that none of you remain.

Darby Translation
And now thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you no remnant;

George Lamsa Translation
And now thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, the young and the little one out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

Good News Translation
"And so I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, now ask why you are doing such an evil thing to yourselves. Do you want to bring destruction on men and women, children and babies, so that none of your people will be left?

Lexham English Bible
So then, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, to cut off for yourselves man and woman, child and suckling, from the midst of Judah, to not leave over for yourselves a remnant,

Literal Translation
And now so says Jehovah, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you work great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, not leaving to yourselves a remnant,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now therfore thus saieth the LORDE of hoostes the God of Israel: How happeneth it, that ye do so greate euell vnto youre owne soules, thus to destroye the men and women, childre and babes of Iuda? so that none of you is left,

American Standard Version
Therefore now thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;

Bible in Basic English
So now, the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel, has said, Why are you doing this great evil against yourselves, causing every man and woman, little child and baby at the breast among you in Judah to be cut off till not one is still living;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;

King James Version (1611)
Therefore now thus saith the Lord the God of hostes, the God of Israel, Wherefore commit ye this great euill against your soules, to cut off from you man and woman, childe and suckling out of Iudah, to leaue you none to remaine.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore thus saith the Lorde of hoastes the God of Israel: Howe happeneth it that ye do so great euyll vnto your owne soules, thus to destroy the men and woman, chyldren and babes of Iuda, so that none of you is left?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thus said the Lord; Thus shalt thou say to the king of Juda who sent to thee, to seek me; Behold, the army of Pharao which is come forth to help you: they shall return to the land of Egypt:

English Revised Version
Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Whi doon ye this greet yuel ayens youre soulis, that a man of you perische and a womman a litil child and soukynge perische, fro the myddis of Juda, nether ony residue thing be left in you,

Update Bible Version
Therefore now thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit [this] great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;

Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Why do ye commit [this] great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;

New English Translation
"So now the Lord , the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

New King James Version
"Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: "Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain,

New Living Translation
"And now the Lord God of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive—not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms.

New Life Bible
Now this is what the Lord God of All, the God of Israel, says: "Why are you hurting yourselves so much? Why are you cutting off from Judah man and woman, child and baby, and leaving yourselves without anyone?

New Revised Standard
And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves, to cut off man and woman, child and infant, from the midst of Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh God of hosts God of Israel - Wherefore, are ye committing a great wickedness against your own lives, that ye should cut off from you man and woman child and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, - so that there should not be left you a remnant:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against your own souls, that there should die of you man and woman, child and suckling out of the midst of Juda, and no remnant should be left you:

Revised Standard Version
And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant?

Young's Literal Translation
`And, now, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Why are ye doing great evil unto your own souls, to cut off to you man and woman, infant and suckling, from the midst of Judah, so as not to leave to you a remnant:

THE MESSAGE
"This is the Message of God, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected? And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you've come to live? You'll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Now then thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant,

Contextual Overview

¹ Jeremiah received a message from the Lord for all the people of Judah living in Egypt. The message was for the people of Judah living in the towns of Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and southern Egypt. This was the message: ² "This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘You people saw the disasters that I brought on the city of Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. The towns are empty piles of stones today. ³ They were destroyed because the people living in them did evil. They gave sacrifices to other gods, and that made me angry! Your people and your ancestors did not worship those gods in the past. ⁴ I sent my servants, the prophets, to those people again and again. They spoke my message and said to the people, "Don't do this terrible thing. I hate for you to worship idols." ⁵ But they didn't listen to the prophets or pay attention to them. They didn't stop doing wicked things. They didn't stop making sacrifices to other gods. ⁶ So I showed my anger against them. I punished the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. My anger made Jerusalem and the towns of Judah the empty piles of stone they are today.' ⁷ "So this is what the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘Why are you hurting yourselves by continuing to worship idols? You are separating the men and women, the children and babies from the family of Judah. And so you leave yourselves without anyone left from the family of Judah. ⁸ Why do you people want to make me angry by making idols? Now you are living in Egypt. And now you are making me angry by offering sacrifices to the false gods of Egypt. You will destroy yourselves, and it will be your own fault. The people of all the other nations on the earth will say bad things about you and make fun of you. ⁹ Have you forgotten about the wicked things your ancestors did? And have you forgotten about the wicked things the kings and queens of Judah did? Have you forgotten about the wicked things you and your wives did in Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ Even to this day the people of Judah have not made themselves humble. They have not shown any respect for me, and they have not followed my teachings. They have not obeyed the laws I gave you and your ancestors.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

against: Jeremiah 7:19, Jeremiah 25:7, Jeremiah 42:20, *marg. Numbers 16:38, Proverbs 1:18, Proverbs 5:22, Proverbs 8:36, Proverbs 15:32, Ezekiel 33:11, Habakkuk 2:10

to cut: Jeremiah 44:8, Jeremiah 44:11, Jeremiah 9:21, Jeremiah 51:22, Joshua 6:21, Judges 21:11

child: Deuteronomy 32:25, 1 Samuel 15:3, 1 Samuel 22:19, Lamentations 2:11

Judah: Heb. the midst of Judah

to leave: Jeremiah 44:12, Jeremiah 44:14, Jeremiah 44:27, Jeremiah 44:28

Reciprocal: Hosea 8:4 - that they

Cross-References

Genesis 35:22
Israel stayed there for a short time. While he was there, Reuben slept with Israel's slave woman Bilhah. Israel heard about this, and he was very angry. These are the names of Jacob's twelve sons:

Genesis 44:16
Judah said, "Sir, there is nothing we can say. There is no way to explain. There is no way to show that we are not guilty. God has judged us guilty for something else we have done. So all of us, even Benjamin, will be your slaves."

Genesis 44:18
Then Judah went to Joseph and said, "Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don't be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself.

Genesis 44:22
And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot come. He cannot leave his father. If his father loses him, his father will be so sad that he will die.'

Genesis 44:25
"Later, our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some more food.'

Genesis 44:29
If you take my other son away from me, and something happens to him, I will be sad enough to die.'

Genesis 44:31
Our father will die if he sees that the boy isn't with us—and it will be our fault. We will send our father to his grave a very sad man.

Genesis 44:32
"I took responsibility for the young boy. I told my father, ‘If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me for the rest of my life.'

2 Samuel 20:20
Joab answered, "I don't want to destroy anything. I don't want to ruin your city.

2 Kings 8:13
Hazael said, "I am not a powerful man! How can I do these great things?" Elisha answered, "The Lord showed me that you will be king over Aram."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel,.... The same epithets as before, Jeremiah 44:2; with an addition, that his words might carry more weight with them:

wherefore commit ye [this] great evil against your souls; the sin of idolatry, which is a great evil; a sin against God; a giving the glory to another, that belongs to him and not only so, but is against the souls of men; pernicious and ruinous to them, which brings destruction, even eternal wrath and damnation, on them; and this is an interesting argument why it should not be committed; nay, it was not only against God, and against themselves, but against their families, and the interest of them:

to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; not that they did this great evil or committed idolatry with this intention, to ruin their families and posterity; but so it was eventually; hereby they provoked the Lord to anger, to cut off the men that offered incense to idols; and the women their wives, whom they allowed so to do; and their children, who were brought up in the same practices; so that they would have none to succeed them, to bear their name, and inherit their land; unless God should be merciful, and not deal according to their deserts; for such was the nature of their crime, as to deserve an utter extirpation of them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Your souls - i. e., your own selves.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 44:7. This great evil against your souls — Will not self-interest weigh with you? See what ruin your conduct has brought upon your country. Your fathers sinned as you are doing; and where are they now? Either destroyed, or in captivity. And you are now taking the same way to your own destruction.