Jeremiah 7:30-9:16

New International Version

The Valley of Slaughter

³⁰“‘The people of Judah have done evil^(A) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols^(B) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled^(C) it. ³¹They have built the high places of Topheth^(D) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(E) to burn their sons and daughters^(F) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.^(G) ³²So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter,^(H) for they will bury^(I) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ³³Then the carcasses^(J) of this people will become food^(K) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^(L) ³⁴I will bring an end to the sounds^(M) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom^(N) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,^(O) for the land will become desolate.^(P)

8 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones^(Q) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed^(R) from their graves. ²They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served^(S) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.^(T) They will not be gathered up or buried,^(U) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(V) ³Wherever I banish them,^(W) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,^(X) declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?^(Y)
    When someone turns away,^(Z) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(AA)
    they refuse to return.^(AB)
⁶I have listened^(AC) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(AD) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(AE)
    like a horse charging into battle.
⁷Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know^(AF)
    the requirements of the Lord.

⁸“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law^(AG) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
⁹The wise^(AH) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed^(AI) and trapped.^(AJ)
Since they have rejected the word^(AK) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom^(AL) do they have?
¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.^(AM)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;^(AN)
prophets^(AO) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(AP)
¹¹They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.^(AQ)
¹²Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame^(AR) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,^(AS)
says the Lord.^(AT)

¹³“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.^(AU)
There will be no figs^(AV) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.^(AW)
What I have given them
    will be taken^(AX) from them.^[a]’”

¹⁴Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities^(AY)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water^(AZ) to drink,
    because we have sinned^(BA) against him.
¹⁵We hoped for peace^(BB)
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(BC)
¹⁶The snorting of the enemy’s horses^(BD)
    is heard from Dan;^(BE)
at the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land trembles.^(BF)
They have come to devour^(BG)
    the land and everything in it,
    the city and all who live there.

¹⁷“See, I will send venomous snakes^(BH) among you,
vipers that cannot be charmed,^(BI)
and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁸You who are my Comforter^[b] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint^(BJ) within me.
¹⁹Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:^(BK)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King^(BL) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused^(BM) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(BN) foreign idols?”^(BO)

²⁰“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(BP) I am crushed;
    I mourn,^(BQ) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(BR)
    Is there no physician^(BS) there?
Why then is there no healing^(BT)
    for the wound of my people?

9 ^[c]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(BU)
I would weep^(BV) day and night
    for the slain of my people.^(BW)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(BX)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(BY)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(BZ) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(CA)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[d] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(CB) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(CC)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(CD)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[e]^(CE)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(CF)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(CG)
    and no one speaks the truth.^(CH)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(CI)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[f] live in the midst of deception;^(CJ)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^(CK) and test^(CL) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
⁸Their tongue^(CM) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^(CN)
    but in their hearts they set traps^(CO) for them.^(CP)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(CQ) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^(CR)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds^(CS) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(CT) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(CU)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(CV)
so no one can live there.”^(CW)

¹²Who is wise^(CX) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

¹³The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^(CY) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(CZ) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(DA) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^(DB) and drink poisoned water.^(DC) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(DD) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(DE) and I will pursue them with the sword^(DF) until I have made an end of them.”^(DG)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)