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The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, “Stand in the gate of Yahweh’s house, and proclaim this word there, and say, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship Yahweh.’”

Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Don’t trust in lying words, saying, ‘Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s temple, are these.’ For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor; if you don’t oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent blood in this place, and don’t walk after other gods to your own hurt; then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forever more. Behold, you trust in lying words that can’t profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered,’ that you may do all these abominations? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,” says Yahweh.

12 “But go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 Now, because you have done all these works,” says Yahweh, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer; 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, even the whole offspring[a] of Ephraim.

16 “Therefore don’t pray for this people. Don’t lift up a cry or prayer for them or make intercession to me; for I will not hear you. 17 Don’t you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 Do they provoke me to anger?” says Yahweh. “Don’t they provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?”

20 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man, on animal, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and will not be quenched.”

21 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 For I didn’t speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices; 23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. Walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they didn’t listen or turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they didn’t listen to me or incline their ear, but made their neck stiff. They did worse than their fathers.

27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 You shall tell them, ‘This is the nation that has not listened to Yahweh their God’s voice, nor received instruction. Truth has perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’ 29 Cut off your hair, and throw it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

30 “For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight,” says Yahweh. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I didn’t command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 Therefore behold, the days come”, says Yahweh, “that 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 place to bury. 33 The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. No one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a waste.”

Footnotes

  1. 7:15 or, seed

Jeremiah’s Proclamation at the Gate of the House of Yahweh

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[a] “Stand in the gate of the house of Yahweh and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah, those who enter through these gates to bow in worship to Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in the deceitful words,[b] saying,[c] ‘The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, they are the temple of Yahweh.’ For if you truly make your ways and your deeds good, if you truly do justice between a man and his neighbor, you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods to your harm,[d] then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors[e] forever and ever.[f]

Look, you are relying for yourselves on deceitful words[g] without benefiting. Will you steal? Will you murder? And will you commit adultery? And will you swear falsely?[h] And will you make a smoke offering to the Baal? And will you go after other gods whom you have not known? 10 And then you come and you stand before[i] me in this house, which is called by my name,[j] and you say, ‘we are safe to go on doing[k] all of these detestable things.’ 11 Has this house, which is called by my name,[l] become a cave of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I, have seen it,” [m] declares[n] Yahweh.

12 “For go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell in the beginning, and see what I did to it because of[o] the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because of your doing all these things,” declares[p] Yahweh, “and I have spoken to you over and over again,[q] and you have not listened, and I called you, and you have not answered, 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name,[r] in which you are trusting, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors[s] what[t] I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight[u] just as I cast out all of your blood relatives,[v] all of the offspring of Ephraim.”’

16 “And you, you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty or a prayer, and you must not plead with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children are gathering wood, and the fathers are kindling the fire, and the women are kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger. 19 Are they provoking me to anger? ” declares[w] Yahweh, “Is it not themselves they hurt, for the sake of the shame of their faces?” 20 Therefore[x] thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Look, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on the humankind, and on the animal, and on the tree of the field, and on the fruit of the ground, and it will not be extinguished.”

21 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For I did not speak with your ancestors,[y] nor did I command them in the day of bringing them out from the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 But I only commanded them this word, saying,[z] ‘Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and they became worse instead of better.[aa] 25 From the day that your ancestors[ab] came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, sending again and again.[ac] 26 Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.[ad] 27 So you shall speak to them all these words, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.

The Valley of the Slaughter

28 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and they have not accepted discipline. The truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouths.[ae] 29 Shear your hair and throw it[af] away, and lift up a lament on the barren heights, for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ 30 For the people [ag] of Judah have done evil in my eyes,” declares[ah] Yahweh, “They have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name,[ai] to defile it. 31 And they built the high place of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I have not commanded, and it did not come into my mind.[aj] 32 Therefore look, days are about to come,” declares[ak] Yahweh, “and it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter, and they will bury in Topheth until there is no more place.[al] 33 And the dead bodies[am] of this people will be as food for the birds[an] of the heavens,[ao] and for the animals[ap] of the earth, without anyone to scare them[aq] away. 34 And I will cause to disappear from the towns of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, for the land will become a site of ruins.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:1 Literally “to say”
  2. Jeremiah 7:4 Literally “the words of the deception”
  3. Jeremiah 7:4 Literally “to say”
  4. Jeremiah 7:6 Literally “to harm to you”
  5. Jeremiah 7:7 Or “fathers”
  6. Jeremiah 7:7 Literally “from eternity and until eternity”
  7. Jeremiah 7:8 Literally “the words of the deception”
  8. Jeremiah 7:9 Literally “to the lie”
  9. Jeremiah 7:10 Literally “to the face of”
  10. Jeremiah 7:10 Literally “my name over it”
  11. Jeremiah 7:10 Literally “for the sake of the doing of”
  12. Jeremiah 7:11 Literally “my name over it”
  13. Jeremiah 7:11 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  14. Jeremiah 7:11 Literally “a declaration of”
  15. Jeremiah 7:12 Literally “from face”
  16. Jeremiah 7:13 Literally “a declaration of”
  17. Jeremiah 7:13 Literally “I spoke to you doing early and speaking”
  18. Jeremiah 7:14 Literally “my name over it”
  19. Jeremiah 7:14 Or “fathers”
  20. Jeremiah 7:14 Literally “as that”
  21. Jeremiah 7:15 Literally “from at my face”
  22. Jeremiah 7:15 Or “brothers”
  23. Jeremiah 7:19 Literally “a declaration of”
  24. Jeremiah 7:20 Literally “To thus”
  25. Jeremiah 7:22 Or “fathers”
  26. Jeremiah 7:23 Literally “to say”
  27. Jeremiah 7:24 Literally “they were to backward and not to face”
  28. Jeremiah 7:25 Or “fathers”
  29. Jeremiah 7:25 Literally “doing early and sending”
  30. Jeremiah 7:26 Or “fathers”
  31. Jeremiah 7:28 Hebrew “mouth”
  32. Jeremiah 7:29 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  33. Jeremiah 7:30 Or “children”
  34. Jeremiah 7:30 Literally “a declaration of”
  35. Jeremiah 7:30 Literally “my name over it”
  36. Jeremiah 7:31 Or “heart”
  37. Jeremiah 7:32 Literally “a declaration of”
  38. Jeremiah 7:32 Literally “from there is no place”
  39. Jeremiah 7:33 Hebrew “body”
  40. Jeremiah 7:33 Hebrew “bird”
  41. Jeremiah 7:33 Or “sky”
  42. Jeremiah 7:33 Hebrew “animal”
  43. Jeremiah 7:33 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation