Jer 44:2-5 | NET2full | STEP | “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies , the God of Israel , says , ‘ You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah . Indeed , they now lie in ruins and are deserted .

‏ Jeremiah 44:2-5

2 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, ^{▼▼tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” Cf. 7:3 and see the study note on 2:19 for explanation and translation of this title.} says, ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. ^{▼▼tn Heb “Behold, they are in ruins this day, and there is no one living in them.”} 3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. ^{▼▼tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).} They made me angry ^{▼▼tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.} by worshiping and offering sacrifices to ^{▼▼tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second ל (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).} other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors ^{▼▼tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 44:9, 10, 17, 21).} previously knew. ^{▼▼sn Cf. Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.} 4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again ^{▼▼tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.} warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. ^{▼▼tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.} ^{▼▼sn This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.} 5 But the people of Jerusalem and Judah ^{▼▼tn There appears to be a deliberate shift in the pronouns used in vv. 2-5. “You” refers to the people living in Egypt who are being addressed (v. 2) and to the people of present and past generations to whom the Lord persistently sent the prophets (v. 4). “They” refers to the people of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah who have suffered disaster (v. 2) because of the wickedness of sacrificing to other gods (vv. 3, 5). The referents have been explicitly identified in the translation for the sake of clarity.} would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. ^{▼▼tn Heb “They did not listen or incline their ear [= pay attention] by turning from their wickedness by not sacrificing to other gods.” The ל (lamed) + the negative + the infinitive is again epexegetical. The sentence has been restructured, and more idiomatic English expressions have been used, to better conform with contemporary English style, but an attempt has been made to retain the basic relationships of subordination.}