Jeremiah 44:18

 Jeremiah 44:18

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

a. NLT: But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: 'And from the time we have ceased to make perfume to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations, we have lacked all, and by sword and by famine we have been consumed, [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Classic Amplified: But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: For ever since we stopped burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and we have perished by the sword and by the famine. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

g. NIV: But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.” [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

h. Summary: This group of Jews from Judah were attempting to flee from the Babylonians by going into Egypt. They approached Jeremiah and asked him to pray to the Lord for guidance for them (Jeremiah 42:1-6). After ten days Jeremiah calle them and gave them the Lord’s answer. He told them to not go to Egypt but stay in Judah and He would have mercy on them (Jeremiah 42:7-12). He warned them if you refuse the word of the Lord and go to Egypt you will be destroyed (Jeremiah 42:13-22). When they went to Egypt Jeremiah sent them another word of warning to them that the king of Babylon was going to go into Egypt and and take them into captivity (Jeremiah 43:8-13). Then he sent another word of warning to them and reminded them that the reason Judah was destroyed was because of their disobedience and idolatry and he warned them that the people from Judah that fled into Egypt will be destroyed (Jeremiah 44:1-14). In Jeremiah 44:15-19 we have the answer of these refugees from Judah living in Egypt, and in their answer they defend their worship of the queen of heaven. They said when they worshipped the false gods including the queen of heaven they did fine, but since they quit all the worship of these gods, they have suffered. 

1. “But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things…”

a. But since [Strong: 4480 min min or minniy {min-nee'}; or minney (constructive plural) {min-nay'}; (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482; properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses (as follows):--above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.]

b. since [Strong: 227 'az awz a demonstrative adverb; at that time or place; also as a conjunction, therefore:--beginning, for, from, hitherto, now, of old, once, since, then, at which time, yet.]

c. [we] left off [Strong: 2308 chadal khaw-dal' a primitive root; properly, to be flabby, i.e. (by implication) desist; (figuratively) be lacking or idle:--cease, end, fall, forbear, forsake, leave (off), let alone, rest, be unoccupied, want.]

d. [to] burn incense [Strong: 6999 qatar kaw-tar' a primitive root (identical with 7000 through the idea of fumigation in a close place and perhaps thus driving out the occupants); to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship):--burn (incense, sacrifice) (upon), (altar for) incense, kindle, offer (incense, a sacrifice).]

e. [to the] queen [Strong: 4446 mleketh mel-eh'-keth from 4427; a queen:--queen.]

f. [of] heaven [Strong: 8064 shamayim shaw-mah'-yim dual of an unused singular shameh {shaw-meh'}; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):--air, X astrologer, heaven(-s).]

g. [and] to pour out [Strong: 5258 nacak naw-sak' a primitive root; to pour out, especially a libation, or to cast (metal); by analogy, to anoint a king:--cover, melt, offer, (cause to) pour (out), set (up).]

h. drink offerings [unto her] [Strong: 5262 necek neh'-sek or necek {nay'-sek}; from 5258; a libation; also a cast idol:--cover, drink offering, molten image.]

i. [we have] wanted [Strong: 2637 chacer khaw-sare' a primitive root; to lack; by implication, to fail, want, lessen:--be abated, bereave, decrease, (cause to) fail, (have) lack, make lower, want.]

j. all [things] [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

2. “...and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”

a. [and have been] consumed [Strong: 8552 tamam taw-mam' a primitive root; to complete, in a good or a bad sense, literal, or figurative, transitive or intransitive (as follows):--accomplish, cease, be clean (pass-)ed, consume, have done, (come to an, have an, make an) end, fail, come to the full, be all gone, X be all here, be (make) perfect, be spent, sum, be (shew self) upright, be wasted, whole.]

b. [by the] sword [Strong: 2719 chereb kheh'-reb from 2717; drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement:--axe, dagger, knife, mattock, sword, tool.]

c. [and by the] famine [Strong: 7458 ra`ab raw-awb' from 7456; hunger (more or less extensive):--dearth, famine, + famished, hunger.]

1). The Roman Catholic system has a number of anti-Scripture practices that are mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. Placing Mary the mother of Jesus, as the Queen of Heaven is one of the most blasphemous things the Catholic church has made up. It provokes God to anger.

a). Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

b). In an  ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII called AD CAELI REGINAM ON PROCLAIMING THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY, Pope writes in Paragraph 32: Finally, art which is based upon Christian principles and is animated by their spirit as something faithfully interpreting the sincere and freely expressed devotion of the faithful, has since the Council of Ephesus portrayed Mary as Queen and Empress seated upon a royal throne adorned with royal insignia, crowned with the royal diadem and surrounded by the host of angels and saints in heaven, and ruling not only over nature and its powers but also over the machinations of Satan. Iconography, in representing the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has ever been enriched with works of highest artistic value and greatest beauty; it has even taken the form of representing colorfully the divine Redeemer crowning His mother with a resplendent diadem. In Paragraph 34, 35 & 36, he writes s We have already mentioned, Venerable Brothers, according to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood. In Holy Writ, concerning the Son whom Mary will conceive, We read this sentence: "He shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end," and in addition Mary is called "Mother of the Lord"; from this it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: "When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature." Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary's royal office. Paragraph 35:  But the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation. "What more joyful, what sweeter thought can we have" - as Our Predecessor of happy memory, Pius XI wrote - "than that Christ is our King not only by natural right, but also by an acquired right: that which He won by the redemption? Would that all men, now forgetful of how much we cost Our Savior, might recall to mind the words, 'You were redeemed, not with gold or silver which perishes, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb spotless and undefiled.[43] We belong not to ourselves now, since Christ has bought us 'at a great price'." Paragraph 36: w, in the accomplishing of this work of redemption, the Blessed Virgin Mary was most closely associated with Christ; and so it is fitting to sing in the sacred liturgy: "Near the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ there stood, sorrowful, the Blessed Mary, Queen of Heaven and Queen of the World." Hence, as the devout disciple of St. Anselm (Eadmer, ed.) wrote in the Middle Ages: "just as . . . God, by making all through His power, is Father and Lord of all, so the blessed Mary, by repairing all through her merits, is Mother and Queen of all; for God is the Lord of all things, because by His command He establishes each of them in its own nature, and Mary is the Queen of all things, because she restores each to its original dignity through the grace which she merited.

2). Another is their priesthood. Under the Mosaic system the Aaronic priesthood was ordained of God (Exodus 28:1-3). It operated in the Jewish system from the time of the building of the Tabernacle in approximately 1400 B.C. till the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. At the death and resurrection and Ascension of Christ a New Testament priesthood was instituted by God, in that every born again believer in Christ Jesus is a New Testament priest (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Catholicism invented a priesthood that was a hierarchy over the other believers. Included in their priesthood was a bunch of vestments similar to the Aaronic priesthood that was not ordained of God. Its foreshadow if you will is found in Jeroboam’s example, and in Micah’s example.

a). 1 Kings 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

b). Judges 17:10-13 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

3). The celibacy of their priesthood is a doctrine of devils. Their done away with command not to eat meat on Friday was also a doctrine of devils.

a). 1 Timothy 4:1-4Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.