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Jeremiah 49-51 LXX - Egypt refusal idolatry and the word to Baruch

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Source shape: Brenton LXX Jeremiah 49–51 corresponds to familiar MT Jeremiah 42–45. All verse numbers, order, and wording follow the LXX text exactly. Familiar MT chapter numbers are noted only for cross-reference. The passage in which the remnant goes down to Egypt (familiar MT 43:5-11) is located in LXX chapters 49–50.

Jeremiah 49:1-9 LXX — The remnant asks Jeremiah to seek the word and promises full obedience (familiar MT 42:1-6)

1. Then came all the leaders of the host, and Joanan, and Azarias the son of Maasæas, and all the people great and small, 2. to Jeremias the prophet, and said to him, Let now our supplication come before thy face, and pray thou to the Lord thy God for this remnant; for we are left few out of many, as thine eyes see. 3. And let the Lord thy God declare to us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing which we should do. 4. And Jeremias said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray for you to the Lord our God, according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever word the Lord God shall answer, I will declare it to you; I will not hide anything from you. 5. And they said to Jeremias, Let the Lord be between us for a just and faithful witness, if we do not according to every word which the Lord shall send to us. 6. And whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, because we shall hearken to the voice of the Lord our God.

The surviving leaders and all the people, great and small, come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray for direction for the tiny remnant. They promise that whatever the Lord answers—good or evil—they will obey. Jeremiah agrees to pray and to report the word without omission. They invoke the Lord as witness to their commitment.

Jeremiah 49:10-25 LXX — The word: remain in the land and be built, or go to Egypt and perish (familiar MT 42:7-22)

7. And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came to Jeremias. 8. And he called Joanan, and the leaders of the host, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9. and he said to them, Thus saith the Lord; 10. If ye will indeed dwell in this land, I will build you, and will not pull you down, but will plant you, and in no wise pluck you up: for I have ceased from the calamities which I brought upon you. 11. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you, to deliver you, and save you out of their hand. 12. And I will grant you mercy, and pity you, and will restore you to your land. 13. But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, that we may not hearken to the voice of the Lord; 14. for we will go into the land of Egypt, and we shall see no war, and shall not hear the sound of a trumpet, and we shall not hunger for bread; and there we will dwell: 15. then hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord; 16. If ye set your face toward Egypt, and go in there to dwell; then it shall be, that the sword which ye fear shall find you in the land of Egypt, and the famine to which ye have regard, shall overtake you, coming after you in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17. And all the men, and all the strangers who have set their face toward the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall be consumed by the sword, and by the famine: and there shall not one of them escape from the evils which I bring upon them. 18. For thus saith the Lord; As my wrath has dropped upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath drop upon you, when ye have entered into Egypt: and ye shall be a desolation, and under the power of others, and a curse and a reproach: and ye shall no more see this place. 19. These are the words which the Lord has spoken concerning you the remnant of Juda; Enter ye not into Egypt: and now know ye for a certainty, 20. that ye have wrought wickedness in your hearts, when ye sent me, saying, Pray thou for us to the Lord; and according to all that the Lord shall speak to thee we will do. 21. And ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, with which he sent me to you. 22. Now therefore ye shall perish by sword and by famine, in the place which ye desire to go into to dwell there. 23. And it came to pass, when Jeremias ceased speaking to the people all the words of the Lord, for which the Lord had sent him to them, even all these words, 24. that Azarias son of Maasæas spoke, and Joanan, the son of Careë, and all the men who had spoken to Jeremias, saying, It is false: the Lord has not sent thee to us, saying, Enter not into Egypt to dwell there: 25. but Baruch the son of Nerias sets thee against us, that thou mayest deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and that we should be carried away captives to Babylon.

After ten days the word comes: if the remnant remains in the land, the Lord will build them up, grant mercy, and deliver them from the king of Babylon. If they go to Egypt to escape war and hunger, the very sword and famine they fear will overtake them there, and they will become a curse. The Lord explicitly commands them not to enter Egypt. They accuse Jeremiah of lying and claim that Baruch has turned him against them so that they will be killed or taken to Babylon.

Jeremiah 50:1-8 LXX — The remnant rejects the word and goes down to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch (familiar MT 43:1-7)

1. So Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, and all the people, refused to hearken to the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Juda. 2. And Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, took all the remnant of Juda, who had returned to dwell in the land; 3. the mighty men, and the women, and the children that were left, and the daughters of the king, and the souls which Nabuzardan had left with Godolias the son of Achicam, and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerias. 4. And they came into Egypt: for they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord: and they entered into Taphnas. 5. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in Taphnas, saying, 6. Take thee great stones, and hide them in the entrance, at the gate of the house of Pharao in Taphnas, in the sight of the men of Juda: 7. and thou shalt say, Thus has the Lord said; Behold, I will send, and will bring Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and he shall place his throne upon these stones which thou hast hidden, and he shall lift up weapons against them. 8. And he shall enter in, and smite the land of Egypt, delivering some for death to death; and some for captivity to captivity; and some for the sword to the sword.

The leaders and people refuse the word and forcibly take the entire remnant—including Jeremiah and Baruch—down to Egypt. They settle in Tahpanhes. There the Lord tells Jeremiah to take large stones and hide them in the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in the sight of the Judeans, as a sign that Nebuchadnezzar will come, set his throne on those stones, and strike the land of Egypt.

Jeremiah 50:9-16 LXX — The sign of Nebuchadnezzar’s coming against Egypt (familiar MT 43:8-13)

9. And he shall kindle a fire in the houses of their gods, and shall burn them, and shall carry them away captives: and shall search the land of Egypt, as a shepherd searches his garment; and he shall go forth in peace. 10. And he shall break to pieces the pillars of Heliopolis that are in On, and shall burn their houses with fire. 11. And it came to pass, when Jeremias ceased speaking to the people all the words of the Lord, for which the Lord had sent him to them, even all these words, 12. that Azarias son of Maasæas spoke, and Joanan, the son of Careë, and all the men who had spoken to Jeremias, saying, It is false: the Lord has not sent thee to us, saying, Enter not into Egypt to dwell there: 13. but Baruch the son of Nerias sets thee against us, that thou mayest deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and that we should be carried away captives to Babylon. 14. So Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, and all the people, refused to hearken to the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Juda. 15. And Joanan, and all the leaders of the host, took all the remnant of Juda, who had returned to dwell in the land; 16. the mighty men, and the women, and the children that were left, and the daughters of the king, and the souls which Nabuzardan had left with Godolias the son of Achicam, and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerias.

The sign is completed: Nebuchadnezzar will burn the temples of Egypt’s gods, carry away captives, and break the sacred pillars. The people who fled to Egypt to avoid the Chaldean threat will now see the Chaldean king established in the very house of Pharaoh.

Jeremiah 51:1-16 LXX — The word against the Jews settled in Egypt for burning incense to other gods (familiar MT 44:1-14)

1. The Word that came to Jeremias for all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt, and for those settled in Magdolo and in Taphnas, and in the land of Pathura, saying, 2. Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye have seen all the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon the cities of Juda; and, behold, they are desolate without inhabitants, 3. because of their wickedness, which they have wrought to provoke me, by going to burn incense to other gods, whom ye knew not. 4. Yet I sent to you my servants the prophets early in the morning, and I sent, saying, Do not ye this abominable thing which I hate. 5. But they hearkened not to me, and inclined not their ear to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense to strange gods. 6. So mine anger and my wrath dropped upon them, and was kindled in the gates of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a desolation and a waste, as at this day. 7. And now thus has the Lord Almighty said, Wherefore do ye commit these great evils against your souls? to cut off man and woman of you, infant and suckling from the midst of Juda, to the end that not one of you should be left; 8. by provoking me with the works of your hands, to burn incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which ye entered to dwell there, that ye might be cut off, and that ye might become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9. Have ye forgotten the sins of your fathers, and the sins of the kings of Juda, and the sins of your princes, and the sins of your wives, which they wrought in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10. And have not ceased even to this day, and they have not kept to my ordinances, which I set before their fathers. 11. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I do set my face against you 12. to destroy all the remnant that are in Egypt; and they shall fall by the sword, and by famine, and shall be consumed small and great: and they shall be for reproach, and for destruction, and for a curse. 13. And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, with sword and with famine: 14. and there shall not one be preserved of the remnant of Juda that sojourn in the land of Egypt, to return to the land of Juda, to which they hope in their hearts to return: they shall not return, but only they that escape. 15. Then all the men that knew that their wives burned incense, and all the women, a great multitude, and all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathura, answered Jeremias, saying, 16. As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee.

In Egypt the word comes against the Jews who have settled in various places. They have continued the very practice—burning incense to other gods—that brought desolation on Jerusalem. The Lord asks why they persist in what destroys their own souls. He sets his face against the remnant in Egypt: sword, famine, and consumption until none remain except a few fugitives. The people, men and women together, refuse to listen.

Jeremiah 51:17-30 LXX — The people defend their idolatry to the queen of heaven (familiar MT 44:15-28)

17. For we will surely perform every word that shall proceed out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, and our kings and princes, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and so we were filled with bread, and were well, and saw no evils. 18. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, we have all been brought low, and have been consumed by sword and by famine. 19. And whereas we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured drink-offerings to her, did we make cakes to her, and pour drink-offerings to her, without our husbands? 20. Then Jeremias answered all the people, the mighty men, and the women, and all the people that returned him these words for answer, saying, 21. Did not the Lord remember the incense which ye burned in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, and your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land? and came it not into his heart? 22. And the Lord could no longer bear you, because of the wickedness of your doings, and because of your abominations which ye wrought; and so your land became a desolation and a waste, and a curse, as at this day; 23. because of your burning incense, and because of the things wherein ye sinned against the Lord: and ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his ordinances, and in his law, and in his testimonies; and so these evils have come upon you. 24. And Jeremias said to the people, and to the women, Hear ye the word of the Lord. 25. Thus has the Lord God of Israel said; Ye women have spoken with your mouth, and ye fulfilled it with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour drink-offerings to her: full well did ye keep to your vows, and ye have indeed performed them. 26. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, my name shall no longer be in the mouth of every Jew to say, The Lord lives, in all the land of Egypt. 27. For I have watched over them, to hurt them, and not to do them good: and all the Jews dwelling in the land of Egypt shall perish by sword and by famine, until they are utterly consumed. 28. And they that escape the sword shall return to the land of Juda few in number, and the remnant of Juda, who have continued in the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand. 29. And this shall be a sign to you, that I will visit you for evil. 30. Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will give Uaphres king of Egypt into the hands of his enemy, and into the hands of one that seeks his life; as I gave Sedekias king of Juda into the hands of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, his enemy, and who sought his life.

The people defend their practice: when they burned incense to the queen of heaven they had plenty; when they stopped, they suffered. They insist that the whole household, including husbands, participated. Jeremiah answers that the Lord has remembered every offering and that the land became desolate precisely because of this abomination. The women have kept their vows; now the Lord swears by his great name that his name will no longer be invoked in Egypt by any Jew. All who remain in Egypt will be consumed; only a few fugitives will return to Judah. They will know whose word stands.

Jeremiah 51:31-37 LXX — The word to Baruch: do not seek great things for yourself (familiar MT 45:1-5)

31. The Word which Jeremias the Prophet spoke to Baruch son of Nerias, when he wrote these words in the book from the mouth of Jeremias, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda. 32. Thus has the Lord said to thee, O Baruch. 33. Whereas thou hast said, Alas! alas! for the Lord has laid a grievous trouble upon me; I lay down in groaning, I found no rest; 34. say thou to him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I pull down those whom I have built up, and I pluck up those whom I have planted. 35. And wilt thou seek great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but I will give to thee thy life for a spoil in every place whither thou shalt go.

In the fourth year of Joakim, when Baruch had written the first roll, the word came to him through Jeremiah. Baruch had groaned under the burden the Lord had laid upon him. The Lord answers: he is pulling down what he built and plucking up what he planted. Baruch is not to seek great things for himself. In the day when evil comes upon all flesh, his life will be given him as a spoil wherever he goes.

Spiritual Fruit 🍇

The remnant asks Jeremiah to pray and promises to obey whatever the Lord says, whether it seems good or evil. Ten days later, the answer crosses the plan they had already chosen, so they call the prophet a liar. Prayer becomes a demand for divine endorsement rather than surrender. This is a searching test for every decision: have I asked God to lead me, or have I asked Him to bless the refuge I already intend to take?

Egypt itself is not treated as an ethnic symbol of evil. The sin is the choice of a false refuge against a clear word and the continuation of the same idolatry that ruined Jerusalem. Men and women together defend the queen-of-heaven cult because they associate it with former prosperity. The passage attacks settled idolatry, not women. It warns that material success can become a counterfeit proof of spiritual truth when the heart prefers a manageable god to the living Lord.

Baruch closes the sequence with a quieter word. He is told not to seek great things for himself while God is pulling down what He planted, yet his faithful service is not despised. His life will be given as spoil. Lord, make my prayer an act of surrender rather than negotiation. Expose every refuge I have chosen before hearing You, purify my measure of success, and teach me to receive the modest, precious gift of faithful life in Your service. Amen.

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