Message at the Temple Gate

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Do not trust in the deceptive and lying words [of the false prophets who claim that Jerusalem will be protected by God because of the temple], saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

therefore, I will do to this house (the temple) which is called by My Name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, just as I did to Shiloh.

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning, Is the place of our sanctuary (the temple).

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken Jeconiah [who was also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah [along] with the craftsmen and smiths into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, the Lord showed me [in a vision] two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord.

then I will make this house [the temple] like Shiloh, and I will make this city [subject to] the curse of all nations of the earth [because it will be so vile in their sight].”’”

“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Zion will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become [heaps of] ruins, And the mountain of the house [of the Lord—Mount Moriah, on which stands the temple, shall become covered not with buildings, but] like a densely wooded height.”’

For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the [bronze] pillars, the [bronze] Sea, the [bronze] bases [of the ten basins in Solomon’s temple used for washing sacrificial animals], and the rest of the articles that are left in this city (Jerusalem),

And the whole valley (Hinnom) of the dead bodies and [the hill] of the ashes [long dumped there from the temple sacrifices], and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It (the city) will not be uprooted or overthrown anymore to the end of the age.”

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

And [through him] I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them (Egyptian idols) captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will go away from there safely.

Nebuchadnezzar will also break the images and shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis in the land of Egypt; and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon, Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, The vengeance [of the Lord against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.

Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields [and cover yourselves]! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it; For that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance [on Babylon] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.

They also took away the pots [for carrying away ashes] and the shovels and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.