23. This disaster happened because you worshipped other gods and rebelled against the Lord by refusing to obey him or follow his laws and teachings.
24-25. Then I told the men and their wives, that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:Here in Egypt you still keep your promises to burn incense and offer sacrifices of wine to the so called Queen of Heaven.
26. Keep these promises! But let me tell you what will happen. As surely as I am the Lord God, I swear that I will never again accept any promises you make in my name.
27. Instead of watching over you, I will watch for chances to harm you. Some of you will die in war, and others will starve to death.
28. Only a few will escape and return to Judah. Then everyone who went to live in Egypt will know that when I say something will happen, it will—no matter what you say.
29. And here is how you will know that I will keep my threats to punish you in Egypt.
30. I will hand over King Hophra of Egypt to those who want to kill him, just as I handed Zedekiah over to Nebuchadnezzar, who wanted to kill him.