Jeremiah 7:1-11

Good News Translation

Jeremiah Preaches in the Temple

7 ^1-3 The Lord sent me to the gate of the Temple where the people of Judah went in to worship. He told me to stand there and announce what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had to say to them: “Change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and I will let you go on living here. ⁴ Stop believing those deceitful words, ‘We are safe! This is the Lord's Temple, this is the Lord's Temple, this is the Lord's Temple!’

⁵ “Change the way you are living and stop doing the things you are doing. Be fair in your treatment of one another. ⁶ Stop taking advantage of aliens, orphans, and widows. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop worshiping other gods, for that will destroy you. ⁷ If you change, I will let you go on living here in the land which I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.

⁸ “Look, you put your trust in deceitful words. ⁹ You steal, murder, commit adultery, tell lies under oath, offer sacrifices to Baal, and worship gods that you had not known before. ¹⁰ You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, ‘We are safe!’ ^11 (A)Do you think that my Temple is a hiding place for robbers? I have seen what you are doing.