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.
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven - not merely isolated individuals practiced idolatry: young and old, men and women, and whole families, contributed their joint efforts to promote it. O that there were the same zeal for the worship of God as there is for error (Jeremiah 44:17; Jeremiah 44:19; Jeremiah 19:13).
Cakes to the queen of heaven. Cakes were made of honey, fine flour, etc., in a round flat shape, to resemble the disc of the moon, to which they were offered. Others read [limle'ket, for limleket] as margin, 'the frame (or workmanship; or else to the worship) of heaven' - i:e., the planets generally; so Septuagint reads [hee stratia] the host; but elsewhere Septuagint translates it "queen of heaven." The Phoenicians called the moon Ahstoreth or Astarte: the wife of Baal or Moloch, the king of heaven. The male and female pair of deities symbolized the generative powers of nature: hence, arose the introduction of prostitution in the worship. The Babylonians worshipped her as Mylitta, i:e., generative. Our Monday, or Moon-day, indicates the former prevalence of moon worship (note, Isaiah 65:11).
That they may provoke me - implying design: in worshipping strange gods they seemed as if purposely to provoke Yahweh.