Jeremiah 44:11-12

44:11 “Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, ¹  even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. ²  44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go ³  and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle ⁴  or perish from starvation. People of every class ⁵  will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. ⁶ 

[44:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Behold I am setting my face against you for evil/disaster.” For the meaning of the idiom “to set the face to/against” see the translator’s note on 42:15 and compare the references listed there.

[44:11]  ² tn Heb “and to destroy all Judah.” However, this statement must be understood within the rhetoric of the passage (see vv. 7-8 and the study note on v. 8) and within the broader context of the Lord’s promises to restore the remnant who are in Babylon and those scattered in other lands (23:3; 24:5-6; 29:14; 30:3; 32:27). In this context “all Judah” must refer to all the Judeans living in Egypt whom Jeremiah is now addressing. This involves the figure of synecdoche where all does not extend to all individuals but to all that are further specified or implied (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 616-18, and the comments in H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 285). The “and” in front of “to destroy” is to be understood as an example of the epexegetical use of the conjunction ו (vav; see BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.b and compare the translation of J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 260).

[44:12]  ³ tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.

[44:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “fall by the sword.”

[44:12]  ⁵ tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.

[44:12]  ⁶ tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.