13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem with war, famine, and disease.
14 From the few remaining in Judah, no fugitive or survivor who came to live here in the land of Egypt will be able to return to the land of Judah. Even though they want to return and live there, they won’t be able to return, except for some fugitives.
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, along with the great crowd of women who were present, as well as the people living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, all answered Jeremiah:
16 "We’re not going to listen to a word you have said to us in the Lord’s name!
17 No, we’re going to do exactly what we want: We’re going to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, have done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty to eat and we were thriving; we didn’t have any troubles.
18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring drink offerings to her, we have been destroyed by the sword and by famine."
19 And the women added, "Do you think that we burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour drink offerings to her without our husbands’ support when we make cakes in her image and pour drink offerings to her?"