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Jeremiah 7-8
Modern English Version
Jeremiah 7-8
Modern English Version
False Trust in the Temple
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord and proclaim there this word:
Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter at these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in lying words, saying, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” 5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your deeds, if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your harm, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever. 8 Indeed, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.
9 Shall you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, “We are delivered,” so 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? Certainly, even I have seen it, says the Lord.
12 But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to this 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 have done to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of My sight as I have cast out all your brothers, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
16 As for you, do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry nor prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not 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 their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger? says the Lord. Do they not provoke themselves to the shame of their own faces?
20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: My anger and My fury will be poured out upon this place, upon man and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
21 Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. 22 For I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded 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, “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.” 24 But they did not listen, nor incline their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination 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 even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not listen to Me, nor incline their ear, but hardened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
27 Therefore you will speak all these words to them. But they will not listen to you. You will also call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 You shall say to them: This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God, nor receive correction. Truth has perished, and has been cut off from their mouth.
29 Cut off your hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.
30 For the sons of Judah have done evil in My sight, says the Lord. They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My heart. 32 Therefore, truly the days are coming, says the Lord, that it will no more be called Topheth, nor the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. 33 The corpses of this people shall be food for the fowl of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth; and 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 laughter and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become desolate.
8 At that time, says the Lord, they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his officials, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their graves. 2 And they will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped. They will not be gathered, nor be buried. They will be as dung upon the face of the earth. 3 Death will be chosen rather than life by all the rest of those who remain of this evil family, which remains in all the places wherever I have driven them, says the Lord of Hosts.
Sin and Judgment
4 Moreover you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
Do men fall and not arise?
Do they turn away and not repent?
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem
turned away by a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I listened and heard,
but they did not speak what is right.
No man repented of his wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone turned to his course,
as the horse rushes into the battle.
7 Indeed, the stork in the sky
knows her appointed times.
And the turtledove and the crane and the swallow
observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know
the judgment of the Lord.
8 How do you say, “We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us”?
Certainly the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men are ashamed;
they are dismayed and caught.
Indeed, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
and what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,
and their fields to those who shall inherit them.
For everyone from the least even to the greatest
is given to covetousness;
from the prophet even to the priest
everyone deals falsely.
11 For they have healed the brokenness
of the daughter of My people superficially,
saying, “Peace, peace,”
when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
They were not at all ashamed,
nor could they blush.
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
in the time of their punishment they will be cast down,
says the Lord.
13 I will surely consume them,
says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine
nor figs on the fig tree,
and the leaf shall fade;
and the things that I have given them
will pass away from them.
14 Why do we sit still?
Assemble yourselves,
and let us enter the fortified cities
and let us perish there.
For the Lord our God has doomed us
and given us water of gall to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We looked for peace,
but no good came;
and for a time of health,
but there was trouble!
16 The snorting of his horses
was heard from Dan;
the whole land trembled
at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones.
For they have come and have devoured
the land and all that is in it,
the city, and those who dwell in it.
17 See, I will send serpents against you,
adders, which will not be charmed,
and they will bite you,
declares the Lord.
Jeremiah Mourns for His People
18 My sorrow is beyond healing;
my heart is faint within me.
19 Listen! The cry of the daughter of my people
from a far country:
“Is not the Lord in Zion?
Is not her king in her?”
“Why have they provoked Me to anger with their graven images,
with foreign vanities?”
20 “The harvest is past,
the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people am I broken;
I mourn; dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has not the health
of the daughter of my people recovered?
Jeremiah 7-8
New International Version
Jeremiah 7-8
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)
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. 2 They 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) 3 Wherever 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?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(DA)
they refuse to return.(DB)
6 I 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.
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(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?
9 The 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?
10 Therefore 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)
11 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.(DQ)
12 Are 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]’”
14 Why 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.
15 We hoped for peace(EB)
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(EC)
16 The 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.
18 You who are my Comforter[c] in sorrow,
my heart is faint(EJ) within me.
19 Listen 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?”
20 “The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”
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.
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.