Глава XLIV

Jer. 44:2. This is what the Lord says. Look, what could be clearer than this? They had an example before their eyes; it was not words, but deeds that cried out. They saw the cause of the misfortune. Jer. 44:14. And there will not be a single survivor from those who rose up from Judah, living in the land of Egypt, who will return to the land of Judah, in which they hope with their souls to return there: they will not return unless they have escaped. Again he threatens with death those who went to Egypt, as those who are fighting the will of God, and that they will suffer worse than (those who remained) in Jerusalem; He says that those who will be saved are the ones who, during the coming disasters, strive for Judea, as those who know the invincible power of God; and from those who seem to be safe, he gives over to the power of the enemies, and populates the land that was once a desert, saving everyone who runs into it. That this is so is further shown more clearly by saying: Jer. 44:16. The word that you spoke. Tell me (who) is this queen of heaven? You constantly hear: God created heaven and earth; and this queen you call the moon? And good for us. Where does the hunger come from, tell me? Where does death come from? Oh, shamelessness! So he reminds them. Jer. 44:21. Isn't it censing, kadiste? Isn’t that why he’s captured, he says? Isn't this what all the misfortunes are for? How good was it for you? Is this why God could not tolerate you? What disaster could be worse? What madmen said these words? Jer. 44:26. If anyone ever has my name. Again he threatens with hunger and endless bonds, so that they know that this is true. (And after a few words). Therefore, he left it like that in order to defend himself before You in that he justly burned their city. If these are the ones who escaped, then what can we say about the others? Jer. 44:17, 27–28. And all Judah, living in the land of Egypt, will disappear by sword and famine until they die: and those who survived the sword will return to the land of Judah in a small number. As we create every word that comes out of our mouth, incense to the queen. That is, the heavenly army. Here the eponymy produced a difference in understanding, since melkhod (Μελχέθ) means army, and melkhef (Μελχέθ) means queen. Thus, threatening those who shamelessly indulged in wickedness with complete captivity, he refers to the present to confirm his words, saying: Jer. 44:28. Whose word endures. The expression: whose word will be shows that if you seek Me in troubles, you will not find me, but your sufferings will benefit those who remain. Jer. 44:30. And this is a sign. The sign of your troubles is Pharaoh who is about to perish. By My will, and not by my own force, the Babylonian king also took Zedekiah; This one too will perish because he remains wicked and because he brings us to the realization that it is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes (Ps. 118:9). Having cited this prophecy, connected with history, it is reminiscent of an more ancient prophecy, which in the days of Joachim was ordered to be announced to Baruch. Jer. 44:30. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I deliver Pharaoh Bethrey, king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemy (ἐχθρῶν) and into the hand of those who seek his soul, just as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. When Jerusalem was taken, the Egyptian (king), fearing for everything, at the Euphrates faced the Babylonian (king), when he was taken. When this was not yet clear, when the war was still wavering, threatening Egypt with conquest and the Jews with death, he pointed to the defeat of Pharaoh to confirm his words.