Jeremiah 44:17 (WEB)
But 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.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Jeremiah 44:17–18 (KJV)
17 But 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. 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.
Jeremiah 51:18 in the Septuagint = 44:18 in the Hebrew numbering (literal rendering of the Greek)
…but since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven (τῇ βασιλίσσῃ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ) and pouring out drink-offerings to her, we have all been diminished and have been consumed by sword and by famine.
Key words
- מְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִםmeleket hashamayim · Hebrew
- 'the queen of heaven' — the goddess, as in 7:18.
- קִטֵּרqitter · Hebrew
- 'burn incense' — a sacrificial act of worship.
- נְסָכִיםnesakhim · Hebrew
- 'drink offerings' — libations poured out to the goddess.
- βασίλισσα τοῦ οὐρανοῦbasilissa tou ouranou · Greek (LXX)
- 'queen of heaven' (LXX 51:18). Epiphanius quotes this verse against the Collyridians, who offered bread to Mary (p 88) — the same text the Baptist pastor used on Pitre.
Why it matters
The Judean refugees in Egypt insist on continuing to burn incense and pour libations to the queen of heaven, crediting her with their past prosperity. Pitre uses the passage to define the sin precisely: it is sacrificial worship offered to a goddess as the source of blessing. That is the opposite of honouring the queen mother of the Davidic king, who is a creature, never worshiped, and whose role is to petition the King.