Jeremiah 7-9 New International Version

False Religion Worthless

7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Stand^(A) at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. ³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways^(B) and your actions, and I will let you live^(C) in this place. ⁴Do not trust^(D) in deceptive^(E) words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” ⁵If you really change^(F) your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,^(G) ⁶if you do not oppress^(H) the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood^(I) in this place, and if you do not follow other gods^(J) to your own harm, ⁷then I will let you live in this place, in the land^(K) I gave your ancestors^(L) for ever and ever. ⁸But look, you are trusting^(M) in deceptive^(N) words that are worthless.

⁹“‘Will you steal^(O) and murder,^(P) commit adultery^(Q) and perjury,^[a]^(R) burn incense to Baal^(S) and follow other gods^(T) you have not known, ¹⁰and then come and stand^(U) before me in this house,^(V) which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?^(W) ¹¹Has this house,^(X) which bears my Name, become a den of robbers^(Y) to you? But I have been watching!^(Z) declares the Lord.

¹²“‘Go now to the place in Shiloh^(AA) where I first made a dwelling^(AB) for my Name,^(AC) and see what I did^(AD) to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke^(AE) to you again and again,^(AF) but you did not listen;^(AG) I called^(AH) you, but you did not answer.^(AI) ¹⁴Therefore, what I did to Shiloh^(AJ) I will now do to the house that bears my Name,^(AK) the temple^(AL) you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. ¹⁵I will thrust you from my presence,^(AM) just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’^(AN)

¹⁶“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea^(AO) or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen^(AP) to you. ¹⁷Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven.^(AQ) They pour out drink offerings^(AR) to other gods to arouse^(AS) my anger. ¹⁹But am I the one they are provoking?^(AT) declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?^(AU)

²⁰“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign^(AV) Lord says: My anger^(AW) and my wrath will be poured^(AX) out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.^(AY)

²¹“‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices^(AZ) and eat^(BA) the meat yourselves! ²²For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands^(BB) about burnt offerings and sacrifices,^(BC) ²³but I gave them this command:^(BD) Obey^(BE) me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.^(BF) Walk in obedience to all^(BG) I command you, that it may go well^(BH) with you. ²⁴But they did not listen^(BI) or pay attention;^(BJ) instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.^(BK) They went backward^(BL) and not forward. ²⁵From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again^(BM) I sent you my servants^(BN) the prophets.^(BO) ²⁶But they did not listen to me or pay attention.^(BP) They were stiff-necked^(BQ) and did more evil than their ancestors.’^(BR)

²⁷“When you tell^(BS) them all this, they will not listen^(BT) to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.^(BU) ²⁸Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.^(BV) Truth^(BW) has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

²⁹“‘Cut off^(BX) your hair and throw it away; take up a lament^(BY) on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned^(BZ) this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

³⁰“‘The people of Judah have done evil^(CA) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols^(CB) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled^(CC) it. ³¹They have built the high places of Topheth^(CD) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(CE) to burn their sons and daughters^(CF) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.^(CG) 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,^(CH) for they will bury^(CI) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ³³Then the carcasses^(CJ) of this people will become food^(CK) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^(CL) ³⁴I will bring an end to the sounds^(CM) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom^(CN) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,^(CO) for the land will become desolate.^(CP)

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^(CQ) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed^(CR) 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^(CS) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.^(CT) They will not be gathered up or buried,^(CU) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(CV) ³Wherever I banish them,^(CW) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,^(CX) 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?^(CY)
    When someone turns away,^(CZ) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(DA)
    they refuse to return.^(DB)
⁶I have listened^(DC) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(DD) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(DE)
    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^(DF)
    the requirements of the Lord.

⁸“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law^(DG) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
⁹The wise^(DH) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed^(DI) and trapped.^(DJ)
Since they have rejected the word^(DK) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom^(DL) do they have?
¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.^(DM)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;^(DN)
prophets^(DO) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(DP)
¹¹They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.^(DQ)
¹²Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame^(DR) 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,^(DS)
says the Lord.^(DT)

¹³“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.^(DU)
There will be no figs^(DV) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.^(DW)
What I have given them
    will be taken^(DX) from them.^[b]’”

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

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

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

“Why have they aroused^(EM) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(EN) foreign idols?”^(EO)

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

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(EP) I am crushed;
    I mourn,^(EQ) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(ER)
    Is there no physician^(ES) there?
Why then is there no healing^(ET)
    for the wound of my people?

9 ^[d]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(EU)
I would weep^(EV) day and night
    for the slain of my people.^(EW)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(EX)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(EY)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(EZ) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(FA)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[e] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(FB) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(FC)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(FD)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[f]^(FE)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(FF)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(FG)
    and no one speaks the truth.^(FH)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(FI)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[g] live in the midst of deception;^(FJ)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

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

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

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(FT) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(FU)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(FV)
so no one can live there.”^(FW)

¹²Who is wise^(FX) 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.^(FY) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(FZ) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(GA) 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^(GB) and drink poisoned water.^(GC) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(GD) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(GE) and I will pursue them with the sword^(GF) until I have made an end of them.”^(GG)

¹⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women^(GH) to come;
    send for the most skillful of them.
¹⁸Let them come quickly
    and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
    and water streams from our eyelids.^(GI)
¹⁹The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
    ‘How ruined^(GJ) we are!
    How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
    because our houses are in ruins.’”

²⁰Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
    open your ears to the words of his mouth.^(GK)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
    teach one another a lament.^(GL)
²¹Death has climbed in through our windows^(GM)
    and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
    and the young men^(GN) from the public squares.

²²Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung^(GO) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”

²³This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom^(GP)
    or the strong boast of their strength^(GQ)
    or the rich boast of their riches,^(GR)
²⁴but let the one who boasts boast^(GS) about this:
    that they have the understanding to know^(GT) me,
that I am the Lord,^(GU) who exercises kindness,^(GV)
    justice and righteousness^(GW) on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

²⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh^(GX)— ²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.^[h]^(GY) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,^(GZ) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.^(HA)”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods
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)
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads

Cross references

John 13 New International Version

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Festival.^(A) Jesus knew that the hour had come^(B) for him to leave this world and go to the Father.^(C) Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

²The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.^(D) ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power,^(E) and that he had come from God^(F) and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.^(G) ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,^(H) drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”^(I)

⁸“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,^(J) though not every one of you.”^(K) ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him,^(L) and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’^(M) and ‘Lord,’^(N) and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.^(O) ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.^(P) ¹⁶Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,^(Q) nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.^(R)

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

¹⁸“I am not referring to all of you;^(S) I know those I have chosen.^(T) But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture:^(U) ‘He who shared my bread^(V) has turned^[a]^(W) against me.’^[b]^(X)

¹⁹“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe^(Y) that I am who I am.^(Z) ²⁰Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”^(AA)

²¹After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit^(AB) and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”^(AC)

²²His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,^(AD) was reclining next to him. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”^(AE)

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas,^(AF) the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.^(AG)

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Since Judas had charge of the money,^(AH) some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival,^(AI) or to give something to the poor.^(AJ) ³⁰As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.^(AK)

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(AL)

³¹When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man^(AM) is glorified^(AN) and God is glorified in him.^(AO) ³²If God is glorified in him,^[c] God will glorify the Son in himself,^(AP) and will glorify him at once.

³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.^(AQ)

³⁴“A new command^(AR) I give you: Love one another.^(AS) As I have loved you, so you must love one another.^(AT) ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”^(AU)

³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”^(AV)

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now,^(AW) but you will follow later.”^(AX)

³⁷Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!^(AY)