Jeremiah 44:15-19 · Bible study
Jeremiah 44:15-19 Commentary: Defiant Worship and Collective Rebellion
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does the text highlight the men's knowledge and the large assembly in Jeremiah 44:15-19? Explore the community's collective guilt and hardness of heart.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The community of Judean exiles in Egypt openly rejects Jeremiah's message and commits to idolatry, reinterpreting their history to justify their rebellion.
- Key words: “knew” (יֹדְעִים, yodea'im), implies aware complicity; “great assembly” (קָהָל גָּדוֹל), emphasizes corporate solidarity in sin; “queen of heaven” (מְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם), a title for a Mesopotamian goddess, likely Astarte.
- Main debate: Whether the worship of the queen of heaven was a syncretistic mix with Yahweh worship or a complete apostasy. Commentators such as Calvin stress that the people imagined they were still worshipping God in their own way.
- Theological theme: Human willfulness and the tendency to reinterpret providence to justify disobedience; the danger of trusting experience over revelation.
- Best use: A warning against collective rebellion and the rationalization of sin, and an invitation to humble submission to God's word even when it conflicts with our perceived well-being.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
15Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
16“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
17Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
18But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
19“Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
WEB World English Bible 2000
15Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16“As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.
17But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.
18But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”
19The women said, “When we burned incense to the queen of the sky and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?”
KJV King James Version 1769
15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18But 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.
19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
15Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee.
17But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18But 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.
19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without our husbands?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
15And they answer Jeremiah--all the men who are knowing that their wives are making perfume to other gods, and all the women who are remaining, a great assembly, even all the people who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, in Pathros--saying:
16`The word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah--we are not hearkening unto thee;
17for we certainly do everything that hath gone out of our mouth, to make perfume to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our heads, in cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, and--we are satisfied with bread, and we are well, and evil we have not seen.
18`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,
19and when we are making perfume to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out to her libations--without our husbands have we made for her cakes to idolize her, and to pour out to her libations?'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
15Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to othergods, and all the women who stood by, a great assemblage, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
16[As for] the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee,
17but we will certainly do every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and we had plenty of bread, and were well, and saw no evil.
18But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have wanted everything, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19And when we burned incense to the queen of the heavens and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we make for her cakes to portray her, and pour out drink-offerings to her, without our husbands?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
15Then all the men that knew that their wives sacrificed to other gods: and all the women of whom there stood by a great multitude, and all the people of them that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Phatures, answered Jeremiah, saying:
16As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee:
17But we will certainly do every word that shall proceed out of our own mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, our kings, and our princes in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and we were filled with bread, and it was well with us, and we saw no evil.
18But since we left off to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out frank offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, and by famine.
19And if we offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings to her: did we make cakes to worship her, to pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 44:15
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this passage records open, defiant rebellion against Yahweh. The text emphasizes that the men knew their wives burned incense to other gods (v. 15), which, as Adam Clarke notes, shows the men were complicit rather than restraining them. The assembly is described as a great multitude, underscoring that the rebellion was communal, not individual. Calvin calls this the fountain of all superstitions: human willfulness refusing God's word. Matthew Henry describes it as an unprecedented instance of “downright daring contradiction to God himself.” The people reinterpret their history, prosperity under idolatry, disaster under Yahweh worship, a logical error Keil and Delitzsch identify as post hoc, ergo propter hoc. The women further argue that their husbands approved, shifting responsibility. The consensus is clear: the community as a whole, from kings to commoners, knowingly and collectively rejects Jeremiah's prophetic word, hardening their hearts against divine judgment.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Focus on collective guilt: The text emphasizes the size of the assembly and the men's knowledge, suggesting that the entire community is held accountable, not just the active idolaters.
- The women as catalysts: Jamieson-Fausset-Brown and others note that idolatry began with the women (1 Timothy 2:14), and their husbands' connivance spread the guilt. This view highlights gender roles in the sin.
What is clear: The people's outright refusal to listen to Jeremiah and their reinterpretation of their history to justify idolatry are clear acts of rebellion against Yahweh.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The guilt of the men | Commentators agree that the men's knowledge of their wives' idolatry makes them complicit, not innocent observers. | Some (like Matthew Henry) suggest that not all husbands knew, so only the guilty men are included; others (most) see the phrase as deliberately exposing the men who did know as fully responsible. |
| Identity of the queen of heaven | All identify her as a goddess of Canaanite/Mesopotamian origin, worshipped with incense, cakes, and libations. | Whether the title refers specifically to Ishtar (Astarte), the moon goddess, or to a syncretized version of Yahweh's female consort is debated, though the majority holds to Astarte. |
| The logic of the people's argument | Everyone recognizes that the Hebrews misread cause and effect: they attributed prosperity to idolatry and disaster to the cessation of idolatry. | Some traditions (Calvin, Gill) emphasize this as a case study in the folly of natural reason; others (Keil & Delitzsch) focus on the historical circumstances that misled them. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah prophesied during Judah's final decades, warning of judgment. After Jerusalem fell in 587 BC, a remnant fled to Egypt against God's command, taking Jeremiah with them (Jeremiah 43). This passage is set in Pathros, Upper Egypt (likely around Thebes), where the exiles held a festival for the “queen of heaven”, a title for Astarte (or Ishtar), a Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, often associated with the moon. Worship included burning incense, pouring drink offerings, and making crescent-shaped cakes (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:19). Public festivals like this were part of Canaanite religion, which had infiltrated Judah for centuries.
King Josiah had suppressed such worship (2 Kings 23), but after his death it revived. The people blamed Josiah's reforms for subsequent calamities, his defeat at Megiddo, the Babylonian invasions, and reasoned that the goddess had punished them for neglect. This reasoning exposed a deep misunderstanding of covenant theology: they measured divine favor by material prosperity rather than obedience. Jeremiah's call to return to Yahweh fell on deaf ears, as the exiles were convinced their own experience trumped prophetic revelation.
The setting is also significant: the men's passive knowledge of their wives' idolatry (v. 15) violates Israel's headship roles (Numbers 30). The entire community, from the highest officials to the general populace, stands in solidarity against God. This passage thus captures a tragic climax, a people so entrenched in their ways that they refuse the only message that could save them.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant variant in the Hebrew text of these verses. The Cambridge Bible mentions a suggested gloss on “even … Pathros,” but the text is stable across manuscripts. The reading “without our husbands” (v. 19) appears consistent; the KJV translates “without our men” with a marginal note. Overall, the passage presents no textual difficulties that affect interpretation.
Reception History
This passage has been used throughout church history to illustrate the depths of human stubbornness against God. John Calvin (16th century) interpreted it as a “mirror of all superstitions”, showing how humans invent their own religion and then defend it by rewriting history. Matthew Henry (18th century) highlighted the people's brazen defiance as one of the most shocking examples of rebellion in Scripture. In the Methodist tradition, Adam Clarke drew parallels to Hindu worship practices of his day, seeing the same principle of syncretism. The passage has served as a pastoral warning: the heart can become so hardened that it mistakes divine judgment for blessing and calls darkness light. It remains a sobering call to submit to God's word even when it contradicts our perceptions.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Can you interpret your own history? vv. 17-18: The people read their past through the lens of their idolatry. They saw prosperity under the queen of heaven, disaster under Yahweh. But they misread both cause and effect.
- Can you shrug off God's word because of numbers? v. 15: The assembly was large, men, women, all classes. Numbers do not make a wrong position right.
- Can you share blame to avoid responsibility? v. 19: The women appeal to their husbands' involvement. But collective guilt does not erase personal accountability before God.
Five-point outline
- The accused become the accusers, The people turn Jeremiah's warning back on him, claiming their experience proves him wrong.
- The will to disobey, “We will not listen to you” (v. 16) is not ignorance but choice. They deliberately shut their ears to God's messenger.
- The idol of comfort, Their worship was driven by desire for plenty and safety, not truth. They served a god who gave them what they wanted.
- The fallacy of correlation, The people assume that because they prospered while idolatrous, idolatry caused prosperity. But correlation is not causation.
- The cover of community, “All of us did it, with our fathers, kings, and husbands.” A crowd does not make sin safe.
Illustration hooks
- A business owner who cut ethical corners and saw profits rise, then when he started operating honestly the economy turned down. He is tempted to go back to the shortcuts.
- A church splits over worship style; one group insists the old way brought growth, the newer way caused decline. Each side reads providence to support their preference.
- A teen argues that because “everyone is doing it,” the behavior must be acceptable, the peer pressure of numbers.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I discern whether my circumstances are God's blessing or simply coincidence?
- When my community or family pressures me to go along with something I know is wrong, how do I stand firm?
- What do I do when God's word seems to contradict my own experience?
Leading a Discussion
This passage challenges us to examine how we interpret our own lives. The people in Jeremiah 44 had evidence, or thought they did, that their worship practices brought good results. They rejected the prophet's word because it didn't match their experience. As you discuss, consider where your own interpretation of events might be shaped by preferences rather than by Scripture.
Discussion questions
- What stands out to you about the people's response in verses 16-17? How do they elevate their own words above God's?
- Why does the text note that the men knew what their wives were doing (v. 15)? What does this add to the picture of collective guilt?
- Look at verses 17-18. What error in reasoning are the people making? Have you ever fallen into a similar trap, assuming that because something seemed to work, it was right?
- The women ask in verse 19, “Did we worship her without our husbands?” Why do you think they bring this up? Are they deflecting responsibility, or making a legitimate point about participation?
- If you had been living among these exiles, what would have helped you resist the pressure to join the crowd? What makes it so hard to stand alone for what is right?
- How does this passage challenge the way we think about “God's blessing”? What alternative measure of blessing does Scripture offer?
- In what practical ways can we guard against letting our desires shape how we read our circumstances?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 19:4 | But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. |
| Nehemiah 13:26 | Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin. |
| Proverbs 11:21 | Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. |
| Isaiah 1:5 | Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. |
| Jeremiah 5:1 | “Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its wide places, if you can find a man, if there is anyone who does justly, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her. |
| Jeremiah 5:5 | I will go to the great men and will speak to them, for they know the way of Yahweh, and the law of their God.” But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. |
| Matthew 7:13 | “Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. |
| II Peter 2:1 | But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights that the women’s rebellion here is a new development: they now openly join their husbands in idolatry. He identifies the queen of heaven as the moon and notes how their worship—incense, libations, and cakes—deliberately mirrored true worship of God. The women defended themselves by insisting their husbands had approved it.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes pictures the scene as a formal religious procession: the Jewish women in Egypt, moving in a vow-kept march to honor the moon-goddess, halt mid-route to hear Jeremiah, then refuse to stop because breaking their vow would enrage her. He ties their stubbornness to a long history of royal back-and-forth over this idol, from Josiah’s suppression to Zedekiah’s ban, which the people blamed for Jerusalem’s fall.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin pinpoints the root of all superstition: people make their own will the rule for worship instead of submitting to God's word. The Jews hardened themselves against Jeremiah even after calamity proved he was a true prophet, showing how obstinate human pride becomes when it refuses to let God prescribe how He is to be honored.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible Schools notes that these Jewish women saw their nation's misfortunes not as punishment from Jehovah but as proof of his impotence. The women also insist their queen-of-heaven worship had their husbands' full consent, revealing the superficiality of Josiah's reform and the popular opposition to it.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The people openly reject God's word, vowing to follow only what they themselves decide. They insist their past prosperity came from worshipping the Queen of Heaven, and their present suffering began when they stopped, dismissing Jeremiah's warning entirely.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes the people's defiant rationalization: they insist they prospered while worshiping the queen of heaven and suffered only after ceasing. He calls their response an unparalleled instance of the carnal mind's pride and rebellion, as they reject God's word outright and vow to continue their idolatrous practices.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB observes that these idolaters reverse cause and effect: they credit their prosperity to false worship and blame their troubles on serving God. Their guilt multiplies because they drag others, even husbands, into their sin and use the crowd's approval as a shield against Jeremiah's solitary rebuke.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
The people defend their idolatry by appealing to experience: when they worshipped the queen of heaven, they had plenty and saw no evil; when Josiah suppressed it, disaster came. Keil-Delitzsch points out that this is the classic fallacy of mistaking sequence for cause. In their spiritual blindness, they overlooked the temporary mercy God showed before the real judgment, and they mistook Josiah's reforms for the source of their troubles rather than their own sin.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights that the women, who lead this rebellion, defend themselves
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the sheer audacity of this moment: the people openly declare they will not listen to God's word and insist their idolatry brought prosperity, not punishment. He sees this as a rare instance of collective, unashamed rebellion, where those guilty of the sin they were confronted with brazenly defend it.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the actual work was done mostly by women, and they carried it out with a degree of privacy. As a result, not all of their husbands were aware of what was happening.