Reference: Queen Of Heaven
Hastings
An object of worship to the people of Jerusalem (Jer 7:16-20) and the Jewish exiles in Egypt (Jer 44:15-30). The Massoretes evidently took the first word as mle'kheth ('work,' 'creation')
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or lest thou shouldest lift up thine eyes towards the heavens and see the sun and the moon, and the stars - all the host of the heavens, and shouldest be seduced, and shouldest bow thyself down to them and he led to serve them, - the which Yahweh thy God hath assigned unto all the peoples under all the heavens;
yea hath gone, and served other gods, and bowed down unto them, - whether unto the sun or unto the moon or unto any of the host of the heavens which I have not commanded;
Thou, therefore - Do not pray for this people Neither lift up for them cry or prayer Neither intercede with me, - For I am not going to heat thee. Dost thou not see what, they, are doing In the cities of Judah, - and In the streets of Jerusalem? read more. The children, gather wood, and The fathers, kindle the fire, and The women, knead dough, - To make sacrificial cakes to the queen of the heavens, And to pour out drink-offerings to other gods, Provoking me to anger! Is it me, they are provoking? Enquireth Yahweh, - Is it not themselves, - unto the shame of their own faces? Wherefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh - Lo! mine anger and mine indignation, are about to be poured out upon this place, On man and on beast, and On the tree of the field and On the fruit of the ground, - And it shall burn and shall not be quenched.
And shall spread them out - To the sun, and To the moon, and To all the host of the heavens, Whom they have loved, And whom they have served, And after whom they have walked, And whom they have sought, And to whom they have bowed themselves down, - They shall not be gathered, Neither shall they be buried, As heaps of dung on the face of the ground, shall they be.
Yea, the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall like the place of Topheth, be places defiled, - even all the houses upon whose roofs they burned incense to all the host of the heavens, and poured out drink-offerings to other gods.
Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by, a great convocation, - with all the people who were dwelling in the land of Egypt in Pathros, made answer unto Jeremiah, saying: As touching the word which thou hast spoken unto us, in the name of Yahweh we are not going to hearken unto thee; read more. but, we will certainly do, the whole thing that hath gone forth out of our own mouth, by burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out to her drink-offerings, just as we and our fathers, and our kings and our princes, did, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, then were we filled with bread and became prosperous, and calamity, saw we none; whereas, from the very time we ceased burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out to her drink-offerings, we have lacked everything, - and by sword and by famine, have we been consumed. And, though we are burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out to her drink-offerings, is it, without our men that we have made to her sacrificial cakes as images of her and poured out to her, drink-offerings? Then spake Jeremiah unto all the people, - against the men and against the women, and against all the people who had been making any answer unto him, saying: Was it not, the very incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers your kings and your princes and the people of the land, was it not those very things, that Yahweh did remember, and that came up on his heart; so that Yahweh could no longer forbear because of the wickedness of your doings, because of the abominations which ye committed, - and your land became a desolation, and an astonishment, and a contempt without inhabitant - as at this day? Because that ye burned incense, and that ye sinned against Yahweh and hearkened not unto the voice of Yahweh, and, in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies, did not walk, for this cause, did this calamity befall you - as at this day. And Jeremiah said unto all the people, and unto all the women, - Hear ye the word of Yahweh, all Judah, who are in the land of Egypt, - Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives, have both spoken with your mouth and with your hands, have ye fulfilled saying, We will, certainly perform, our vows which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her drink-offerings: the women will certainly confirm, your vows, and, certainly perform, your vows. Therefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, all Judah, who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, - Behold me! I have sworn by my great Name, Saith Yahweh, That my Name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah saying - By the life of My Lord, Yahweh in all the land of Egypt. Behold me! watching over them for calamity, and not for blessing, - so shall all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, be consumed, by sword and by famine until there be an end of them. Yet, the fugitives of the sword, shall certainly return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah men easily counted, - that all the remnant of Judah who are entering Egypt to sojourn there, may know, whose word, shall stand, mine or theirs! And, this, to you, shall be the sign, Declareth Yahweh, that I am about to bring punishment upon you in this place, - that ye may know that my words shall, certainly stand against you, for calamity: Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! delivering up Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, yea into the hand of them who are seeking his life, - just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon his enemy, and one seeking his life.
And them who bow down upon the housetops to the host of the heavens, - and them who bow down - who swear to Yahweh, and swear by Milcom;