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Jeremiah 7
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. 3 This 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. 4 Do 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!” 5 If you really change(F) your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,(G) 6 if 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, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land(K) I gave your ancestors(L) for ever and ever. 8 But 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, 10 and 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) 11 Has 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. 13 While 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) 14 Therefore, 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. 15 I 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. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The 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. 19 But 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! 22 For 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) 23 but 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. 24 But 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. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again(BM) I sent you my servants(BN) the prophets.(BO) 26 But 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) 28 Therefore 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. 31 They 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) 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,(CH) for they will bury(CI) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then 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) 34 I 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)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods
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Jeremiah 7
International Standard Version

Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon: Judah’s Idolatry

7 The message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s Temple and proclaim this message there. Say, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord.’”

3 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says:

“Change[a] your ways and your deeds, and I’ll let you live in this place. 4 Don’t trust deceptive words like these, and say, ‘The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord,’ 5 but rather, truly change[b] your ways and your deeds. If you truly practice justice between each person and his neighbor, 6 and if you don’t oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and don’t shed an innocent person’s blood in this place, and if you don’t follow other gods to your own harm,[c] 7 then I’ll let you dwell in this land, the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.

8 “Look, you’re trusting in deceptive words that cannot benefit.[d] 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear by false gods, burn incense to Baal, follow other gods that you don’t know, 10 and then come to stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, ‘We’re delivered’ so we can continue to do all these things that are repugnant to God?[e] 11 Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout[f] for bandits in your eyes? Look, I’m watching,” declares the Lord.

12 “Go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. 13 Now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “I spoke to you over and over again,[g] but you didn’t listen. I called to you, but you didn’t answer. 14 Just as I did to Shiloh, I’ll do to the house in which you trust and which is called by my name, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I’ll cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

16 “As for you, don’t pray on behalf of this people, don’t cry or offer a petition for them, and don’t plead with me, for I won’t listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they’re doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven,[h] and they pour out liquid offerings to other gods in order to provoke me. 19 Are they provoking me?” asks the Lord. “Is it not themselves, and to their own shame?” 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I’m about to pour out my anger and my wrath on this place, on people and animals, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn, and it won’t be put out.”

21 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says:

“Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. 22 Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, 23 but I did give them this command:[i] ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’ 24 But they didn’t listen,[j] nor did they pay attention.[k] They pursued their own plans,[l] stubbornly following their own evil desires.[m] They went backward and not forward. 25 From the day your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this present time, I’ve sent all my servants, the prophets, to you, again and again.[n] 26 But they didn’t listen to me, and they didn’t pay attention.[o] They stiffened their necks, and they did more evil than their ancestors.

27 “You will tell them all these things, but they won’t listen to you. You will call out to them, but they won’t answer you. 28 You will say to them, ‘This is the nation that wouldn’t listen to the voice[p] of the Lord its God and wouldn’t accept correction. Truth has perished; it has been eliminated from their discussions.’

29 “Cut off your hair and throw it away;
    let your lamentations rise on the barren heights,
because the Lord has rejected and abandoned
    the generation that is subject to his wrath.[q]

30 “For the people of Judah have done evil in my eyes,” declares the Lord. “They have put their detestable idols[r] in the house that is called by my name in order to defile it. 31 They have built high places at Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I didn’t command this, and it never entered my mind!

32 “Therefore, the time is near,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They’ll bury in Topheth because there is no other[s] place to do it.[t] 33 The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the land, and no one will disturb them. 34 In the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I’ll bring an end to the sound of gladness and rejoicing, to the sounds of the bridegroom and bride, for the land will become a wasteland.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:3 Lit. Make good
  2. Jeremiah 7:5 Lit. make good
  3. Jeremiah 7:6 Or disaster
  4. Jeremiah 7:8 Or profit
  5. Jeremiah 7:10 Lit. all these abominations
  6. Jeremiah 7:11 Lit. cave
  7. Jeremiah 7:13 Lit. getting up early and speaking
  8. Jeremiah 7:18 I.e. the Near Eastern fertility goddess Ishtar
  9. Jeremiah 7:23 Lit. I commanded them this word
  10. Jeremiah 7:24 Or obey
  11. Jeremiah 7:24 Lit. incline their ears
  12. Jeremiah 7:24 Lit. They walked in plans
  13. Jeremiah 7:24 Lit. following the stubbornness of their evil hearts
  14. Jeremiah 7:25 Lit. daily getting up early and sending them
  15. Jeremiah 7:26 Lit. incline their ears
  16. Jeremiah 7:28 I.e. wouldn’t obey
  17. Jeremiah 7:29 Lit. generation of his wrath
  18. Jeremiah 7:30 Lit. their detestable things
  19. Jeremiah 7:32 The Heb. lacks other
  20. Jeremiah 7:32 The Heb. lacks to do it
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