Jeremiah 7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah Proclaims God’s Judgment on the Nation
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you[a] in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is[b] the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.”
5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another,(A) 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt,(B) 7 then I will dwell with you[c] in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.
8 Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail.(C) 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known(D) 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations?(E) 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? I, too, am watching, says the Lord.(F) 12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.(G) 13 And now, because you have done all these things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently, you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer,(H) 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors just what I did to Shiloh.(I) 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out all your kinsfolk, all the offspring of Ephraim.(J)
The People’s Disobedience
16 As for you, do not pray for this people, do not raise a cry or prayer on their behalf, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.(K) 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 kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.(L) 19 Is it I whom they provoke? says the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own hurt?(M) 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: My anger and my wrath shall be poured out on this place, on humans and animals, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.(N) 22 For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.(O) 23 But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.”(P) 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels and looked backward rather than forward.(Q) 25 From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day,(R) 26 yet they did not listen to me or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did.(S)
27 So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you.(T) 28 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; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.(U)
29 Cut off your hair and throw it away;
raise a lamentation on the bare heights,[d]
for the Lord has rejected and forsaken
the generation that provoked his wrath.(V)
30 For the people of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord; they have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name, defiling it.(W) 31 And they go on building the high place[e] of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire—which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.(X) 32 Therefore the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of Slaughter, for they will bury in Topheth until there is no more room.(Y) 33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the animals of the earth, and no one will frighten them away. 34 And I will bring to an end the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of the bride and bridegroom in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the land shall become a waste.(Z)
Jeremiah 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
False Trust in the Temple
7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord(A) and there call out this word: Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.
3 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds,(B) and I will allow you to live in this place. 4 Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. 5 Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,[a](C) 6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow(D) and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, 7 I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors(E) long ago and forever. 8 But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.
9 “Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?(F) 10 Then do you come and stand before Me in this house(G) called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers(H) in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.”(I)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Shiloh As a Warning
12 “But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first.(J) See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. 13 Now, because you have done all these things”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and because I have spoken to you time and time again[b] but you wouldn’t listen,(K) and I have called to you, but you wouldn’t answer,(L) 14 what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name(M)—the house in which you trust—the place that I gave you and your ancestors. 15 I will drive you from My presence, just as I drove out all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.(N)
Do Not Pray for Judah
16 “As for you, do not pray for these people.(O) Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,(P) for I will not listen to you.(Q) 17 Don’t you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,[c](R) and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger. 19 But are they really provoking Me?”(S) This is the Lord’s declaration. “Isn’t it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?”
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Look, My anger—My burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place,(T) on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”(U)
Obedience Over Sacrifice
21 This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,(V) 22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them(W) or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.(X) 24 Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention(Y) but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.(Z) 25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophets(AA) to you time and time again.[d](AB) 26 However, they wouldn’t listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;[e](AC) they did more evil than their ancestors.(AD)
A Lament for Disobedient Judah
27 “When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you. 28 You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and would not accept discipline. Truth[f] has perished—it has disappeared from their mouths. 29 Cut off the hair of your sacred vow[g](AE) and throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights,(AF) for the Lord has rejected and abandoned the generation under His wrath.(AG)
30 “For the Judeans have done what is evil in My sight.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “They have set up their detestable things(AH) in the house that is called by My name and defiled it.(AI) 31 They have built the high places of Topheth[h](AJ) in the Valley of Hinnom[i](AK) in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire,(AL) a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.[j]
32 “Therefore, take note! Days are coming”(AM)—the Lord’s declaration—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(AN) Topheth will become a cemetery,[k] because there will be no other burial place. 33 The corpses of these people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.(AO) 34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride,(AP) for the land will become a desolate waste.(AQ)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 7:5 Lit justly between a man and his neighbor
- Jeremiah 7:13 Lit you rising early and speaking
- Jeremiah 7:18 = a pagan goddess
- Jeremiah 7:25 Lit you, each day rising early and sending
- Jeremiah 7:26 Lit but stiffened their neck
- Jeremiah 7:28 Or Faithfulness
- Jeremiah 7:29 Lit off your consecration
- Jeremiah 7:31 Lit of the fireplace
- Jeremiah 7:31 A valley south of Jerusalem
- Jeremiah 7:31 Lit command, and it did not arise on My heart
- Jeremiah 7:32 Lit They will bury in Topheth
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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