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Jeremiah 7:28-8:17
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 7:28-8:17
English Standard Version
28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; (A)truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
29 (B)“‘Cut off your hair and cast it away;
raise a lamentation on (C)the bare heights,
for the Lord has rejected and forsaken
the generation of his wrath.’
The Valley of Slaughter
30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set (D)their detestable things in the house (E)that is called by my name, to (F)defile it. 31 And they have built the high places of (G)Topheth, which is in (H)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, (I)to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, (J)which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 (K)Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called (L)Topheth, or (M)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; (N)for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. 33 (O)And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, (P)and none will frighten them away. 34 (Q)And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, (R)for the land shall become a waste.
8 “At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. 2 And they shall be spread (S)before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. (T)And they shall not be gathered or buried. (U)They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3 (V)Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family (W)in all the places where I have driven them, declares the Lord of hosts.
Sin and Treachery
4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
(X)When men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people (Y)turned away
in perpetual (Z)backsliding?
(AA)They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 (AB)I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
(AC)like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times,
and (AD)the turtledove, (AE)swallow, and crane[a]
keep the time of their coming,
(AF)but my people know not
the rules[b] of the Lord.
8 (AG)“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9 (AH)The wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed (AI)and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom is in them?
10 (AJ)Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone (AK)is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
11 They have healed (AL)the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, (AM)they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
(AN)Therefore they shall fall among the fallen;
when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
13 When I would gather them, declares the Lord,
there are (AO)no grapes on the vine,
(AP)nor figs on the fig tree;
(AQ)even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”[c]
14 Why do we sit still?
(AR)Gather together; (AS)let us go into the fortified cities
and perish there,
for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and has (AT)given us (AU)poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 (AV)We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
16 (AW)“The snorting of their horses is heard (AX)from Dan;
at the sound of the neighing (AY)of their stallions
(AZ)the whole land quakes.
They come (BA)and devour the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
17 For behold, I am sending among you (BB)serpents,
adders (BC)that cannot be charmed,
(BD)and they shall bite you,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Jeremiah 8:7 Or just decrees
- Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Jeremiah 7:28-8:17
New International Version
Jeremiah 7:28-8:17
New International Version
28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.(A) Truth(B) has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
29 “‘Cut off(C) your hair and throw it away; take up a lament(D) on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned(E) this generation that is under his wrath.
The Valley of Slaughter
30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil(F) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols(G) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled(H) it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth(I) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(J) to burn their sons and daughters(K) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.(L) 32 So 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,(M) for they will bury(N) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses(O) of this people will become food(P) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(Q) 34 I will bring an end to the sounds(R) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom(S) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,(T) for the land will become desolate.(U)
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(V) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed(W) from their graves. 2 They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served(X) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.(Y) They will not be gathered up or buried,(Z) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(AA) 3 Wherever I banish them,(AB) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,(AC) 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?(AD)
When someone turns away,(AE) do they not return?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(AF)
they refuse to return.(AG)
6 I have listened(AH) attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(AI) of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(AJ)
like a horse charging into battle.
7 Even 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(AK)
the requirements of the Lord.
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise,
for we have the law(AL) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
has handled it falsely?
9 The wise(AM) will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed(AN) and trapped.(AO)
Since they have rejected the word(AP) of the Lord,
what kind of wisdom(AQ) do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.(AR)
From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;(AS)
prophets(AT) and priests alike,
all practice deceit.(AU)
11 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.(AV)
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame(AW) 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,(AX)
says the Lord.(AY)
13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.(AZ)
There will be no figs(BA) on the tree,
and their leaves will wither.(BB)
What I have given them
will be taken(BC) from them.[a]’”
14 Why are we sitting here?
Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities(BD)
and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and given us poisoned water(BE) to drink,
because we have sinned(BF) against him.
15 We hoped for peace(BG)
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(BH)
16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses(BI)
is heard from Dan;(BJ)
at the neighing of their stallions
the whole land trembles.(BK)
They have come to devour(BL)
the land and everything in it,
the city and all who live there.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.