22 Then he could not be patient with you any longer. He hated the terrible things you did. So he made your country an empty desert. No one lives there now. Other people curse that country.
23 All this happened because you burned incense to other gods. You sinned against the Lord. You did not obey him. You did not follow his teachings or the laws he gave you. You did not keep your part of the agreement. This disaster has happened. It is there for you to see.”
24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all those men and also to the women. He said, “People of Judah who are now in Egypt, hear the word of the Lord:
25 The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: You women did what you said you would do. You said, ‘We will keep the promises we made. We promised to make sacrifices to the Queen Goddess. And we promised to pour out drink offerings to her.’ So, go ahead. Do the things you promised you would do. Keep your promises.
26 But hear the word of the Lord. Listen, all you Jews living in Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I use my great name and make this promise: The people of Judah now living in Egypt will never again use my name to make promises. They will never again say, “As surely as the Lord God lives . . .”
27 I am watching over them. I am not watching over them to take care of them, but to hurt them. The Jews who live in Egypt will die from swords or hunger until they are all destroyed.
28 Some people will escape being killed by the sword. They will come back to Judah from Egypt. But there will only be a very few who escape. Then, of the people of Judah who came to live in Egypt, those who are left alive will know. They will know whether my word or their word came true.