“Now thus says Yahweh!
The God of hosts!
The God of Israel!
‘Why are you doing
Such great harm
To yourselves?
Why are you cutting
Yourself off from
Men,
Women,
Infants,
As well as children
From the midst of Judah?
Why are you
Leaving yourself no remnant?
Why do you provoke me
To anger
With the works of your hands?
Why are you making offerings
To other gods
In the land of Egypt
Where you have come to settle?
Will you be cut off?
Will you become
An object of cursing?
Will you become a ridicule
Among all the nations
Of the earth?’”
Yahweh, via Jeremiah, has a series of questions for these immigrant Judeans. Why were they harming themselves? Why were they cutting themselves off from the other Judeans, the men, women, children, and infants? If they continued in this way, there would be no remnant left. Why were they provoking Yahweh to anger with their own hands? Why were they already making offerings to other gods in Egypt, where they wanted to settle? Are they going to become an object of cursing and ridicule among all the other countries of the world? These are good questions for the new Judean immigrants to Egypt.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 