16 “As for you, (A)do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not plead with Me; for I am not listening to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The [a]children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they (B)pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to (C)provoke Me to anger. 19 (D)Are they provoking Me?” declares the Lord. “Is it not themselves instead, to their [b]own (E)shame?” 20 Therefore this is what the Lord [c]God says: “Behold, My (F)anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on human and animal life, and on the (G)trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:18 Lit sons
  2. Jeremiah 7:19 Lit their faces’
  3. Jeremiah 7:20 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

16 As for you, don’t pray for these people, don’t cry out or plead for them, and don’t intercede with me, for I won’t listen to you. 17 Can’t you 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 dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven. And to offend me all the more, they pour out drink offerings to foreign gods. 19 But am I the one they are really offending? declares the Lord. Aren’t they in fact humiliating themselves? 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I’m going to pour out my fierce anger on this place, on humans and beasts, on the trees of the field and the crops of the fertile land. It will burn and not go out.

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