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Jeremiah 44:15

in Jeremiah 44

Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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,

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This verse in Jeremiah 44

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Had burned incence - Omit “had;” burned incense. This appeal of the prophet was made at a public festival held somewhere in Pathros, i. e., Upper Egypt: for the women are assembled in a great congregation (compare Jer 26:9), here formed for religious purposes. As they advance in regular procession to worship the moon-goddess, in accordance as it seems with a vow Jer 44:17, Jeremiah meets them, makes the procession halt upon its way, and pronounces in Yahweh’s name words of solemn warning.

This site's exposition

Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods

on Jeremiah 44:15-19

The men and women answer together: “we will not listen to you!” They argue: while they burned incense “to the Queen of Heaven” they “had plenty of food.” The worship Jeremiah condemned in 7:18 is defended, and the women add their husbands knew of the “sacrificial cakes in her image.”

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They declare their resolution not to do as God commanded them, but what they themselves had a mind to do; that is, they would go on to worship the moon, here called the queen of heaven; yet some understand it of the sun, which was much worshipped in Egypt ( ch. xliii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

Then all the men which knew that their wires had burnt incense unto other gods,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

It was not done in a corner, in dark and shady groves only, but in the streets, openly and publicly. [6.] They plead that it was the practice of the mother-church, the holy see; it was not now learned first in Egypt, but it had been done in Jerusalem. [7.] They plead prosperity: They had we plenty of bread, and of all good things; we were well and saw no evil.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Prophets may be run down, but God cannot; nay, here the prophet would not. Jeremiah has something to say to them from himself, which he could say without a spirit of prophecy, and that was to rectify their mistake (a wilful mistake it was) concerning the calamities they had been under and the true intent and meaning of them.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Then all the men - and all the women - We have not seen the women in determined rebellion before. Here they make a common cause with their idolatrous husbands.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

only fugitives Jeremiah and Baruch returned from there, for Nebuchadnezzar exiled them when the land of Egypt was delivered into his hand in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (Ezek.:17). So we learned in Seder Olam (ch. 26).
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Jeremiah 44:14:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיַּעֲנ֣וּand they answered

    vaiyaanuH6030 →331 times

  • אֶֽת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יִרְמְיָ֗הוּJeremiah

    yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָאֲנָשִׁ֤יםthe men

    haanashimH582 →566 times

  • הַיֹּֽדְעִים֙who knew

    haiyodeimH3045 →945 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • מְקַטְּר֤וֹת[were] making smoke

    mekaterotH6999 →116 times

  • נְשֵׁיהֶם֙wives their

    nesheihemH802 →781 times

  • לֵאלֹהִ֣יםto gods

    lelohimH430 →2601 times

  • אֲחֵרִ֔יםother

    ʾacherimH312 →166 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הַנָּשִׁ֥יםthe women

    hanashimH802 →781 times

  • הָעֹמְד֖וֹתwho were standing by

    haomedotH5975 →521 times

  • קָהָ֣לa company

    kahalH6951 →123 times

  • גָּד֑וֹלgreat

    gadolH1419 →526 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֛םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥יםwho were dwelling

    haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times

  • בְּאֶֽרֶץ־in [the] land of

    beeretz-H776 →2504 times

  • מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

  • בְּפַתְר֥וֹסin Pathros

    befatrosH6624 →

  • לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 5:1–5“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.4 worksProverbs 11:21Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.4 worksJeremiah 44:19“Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”4 worksMatthew 7:13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.3 works2 Peter 2:1–2Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.3 worksGenesis 19:4Before they had gone to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house.3 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Nehemiah 13:26Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.3 worksIsaiah 1:5Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.2 worksLeviticus 10:1Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 7:13

    Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

    it leads to

    • Luke 13:24–25

      “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

    • Proverbs 16:25

      There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

    • John 14:6

      Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

    • John 10:9

      I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.

    • Isaiah 55:7

      Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…

  • Through

    Proverbs 11:21

    Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 112:1–2

      Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.

    • Acts 2:39

      This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

    • Jeremiah 32:39

      I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 44 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 44 →