Beginning
Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon
7 This is the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Temple. Preach this message there:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of the nation of Judah! All you who come through these gates to worship the Lord, listen to this message! 3 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do what is right! If you do, I will let you live in this place. 4 Don’t trust the lies that some people say! They say, “This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple of the Lord!” 5 You must change your lives and do what is right. You must be fair to each other. 6 You must not be hard on the strangers, the orphans and widows. Don’t kill innocent people in this place! Don’t follow other gods, or they will ruin your lives. 7 If you do these things, I will let you live in this land. This is the land I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
8 “‘But look! You are trusting lies. Such trust is useless. 9 Will you steal and murder? Will you be guilty of adultery? Will you falsely accuse other people? Will you worship the false god Baal? And will you follow other gods you have not known? 10 If you do that, do you think you can come before me? Can you stand in this place where I have chosen to be worshiped? Do you think you can say, “We are safe!” Are you safe to do all these hated things? 11 This is the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. Is it nothing more to you than a hideout for robbers? I have been watching you, says the Lord!
12 “‘You people of Judah, go now to the town of Shiloh. It was there that I first made a place to be worshiped. Go there and see what I did because of the evil things they had done. 13 You people of Israel were doing all these evil things, says the Lord. I spoke to you again and again. But you did not listen to me. I called you, but you did not answer. 14 So I will destroy the place where I have chosen to be worshiped in Jerusalem. You trust in that place. I gave it to you and your ancestors. But I will destroy it just as I destroyed Shiloh. 15 I will push you away from me. I will do it just as I pushed away your brothers, the people of Israel!’
16 “As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people. Don’t cry out for them or ask anything for them. Don’t beg me to help them. I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah? Don’t you see what they are doing in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 This is what the people of Judah are doing: The children gather wood. The fathers use the wood to make a fire. The women make the dough for cakes of bread. And they offer them to the Queen Goddess. They pour out drink offerings to worship other gods. They do this to make me angry. 19 But I am not the one the people of Judah are really hurting, says the Lord. They are only hurting themselves. They are bringing shame upon themselves.
20 “‘So this is what the Lord says: I will pour out my anger on this place. I will pour it out on man and animal. I will pour out my anger on the trees in the field. And I will pour it out on the crops in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire. And no one will be able to put it out.
Obedience Is More than Sacrifice
21 “‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and offer as many burnt offerings and sacrifices as you want! Eat the meat of those sacrifices yourselves! 22 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt. I spoke to them. But I did not give them commands only about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Do all that I command, and good things will happen to you. 24 But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me. They were stubborn and did whatever their evil hearts wanted. They went backward, not forward. 25 Since the day your ancestors left Egypt, I have sent you my servants, the prophets. I sent them to you again and again. 26 But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me. They were very stubborn. And they did more evil than their ancestors.’
27 “Jeremiah, you will tell these things to the people of Judah. But they will not listen to you! You will call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 So say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God. These people do nothing when I correct them. They do not tell the truth. It has disappeared from their lips.
The Valley of Killing
29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away. Go up to the bare hilltop and cry. Do it because I, the Lord, have rejected these people. I have turned my back on them. And in my anger I will punish them! 30 The people of Judah have done what I said was evil, says the Lord. They have set up their hated idols in the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. They have made it unclean! 31 The people of Judah have built places of worship at Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There the people offered their own sons and daughters as sacrifices. This is something I never commanded. It never even entered my mind! 32 So, I warn you. The days are coming, says the Lord, when people will not call this place Topheth. They will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom anymore. They will call it the Valley of Killing. They will bury dead people in Topheth until there is no room to bury anyone else! 33 Then the bodies of the dead will lie on top of the ground. They will become food for the birds of the sky. Wild animals will eat the bodies. There will be no one left alive to chase the birds or animals away. 34 I will end the happy sounds of the bride and bridegroom. There will be no happy sounds in Judah or in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become an empty desert!
8 “‘The Lord says: At that time the bones will be removed from the tombs. The bones of Judah’s kings and officers, priests and prophets and the people of Jerusalem will be removed. 2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon and stars the people loved and served. They went after these gods, searched them out and worshiped them. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung thrown on the ground. 3 I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were dead, says the Lord.’
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says:
When a man falls down, doesn’t he get up again?
And when a man goes the wrong way, doesn’t he come back again?
5 Why, then, have the people of Judah gone the wrong way?
And why do the people of Jerusalem not turn back?
They believe their own lies.
They refuse to turn around and come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully.
But they do not say what is right.
They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways.
The people don’t think about the bad things they have done.
Each person goes his own way.
He is like a horse charging into a battle.
7 Even the birds in the sky
know the right times to do things.
The storks, doves, swifts and thrushes
know when it is time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
what the Lord wants them to do!
8 “‘You keep saying, “We are wise.
This is because we have the teachings of the Lord.”
But actually, those who copy the Scriptures
have written lies with their pens.
9 These wise men refused to listen to the word of the Lord.
So they are not really wise at all.
They will be ashamed.
They will be shocked and trapped.
10 So I will give their wives to other men.
I will give their fields to new owners.
Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
11 They try to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They say, “It’s all right, it’s all right!”
But really, it is not all right.
12 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them, says the Lord.
13 “‘I will take away their crops, says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will dry up and die.
I will take away what I gave them!’”
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s get together!
We have sinned against the Lord.
So he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s run to the strong, walled cities.
The Lord our God has decided that we must die.
So let’s die there.
15 We hoped to have peace.
But nothing good has come.
We hoped for a time when he would heal us.
But only disaster has come!
16 From the land of the tribe of Dan,
the snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard.
The ground shakes from the neighing of their large horses.
They have come to destroy
the land and everything in it.
They have come to destroy
the city and all the people who live there.”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes to attack you.
These snakes cannot be charmed.
They will bite you,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Sadness
18 God, you are my comfort when I am very sad.
You are my comfort when I’m afraid.
19 Listen to my people!
They are crying for help from a faraway land.
They say, “Is the Lord still in Jerusalem?
Is Jerusalem’s king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols?
They worshiped their useless foreign idols.”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over.
Summer has ended.
And we have not been saved.”
21 My people are crushed. So I am crushed.
I cry loudly, and I am afraid for them.
22 Surely there is a balm in the land of Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor there.
So why aren’t the hurts of my people healed?
9 I wish my head were like a spring of water.
And I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!
Then I could cry day and night
for my people who have been killed.
2 I wish I had a place in the desert—
a house where travelers spend the night.
Then I could leave my people.
I could go away from them.
This is because they are all unfaithful to God.
They are all turning against him.
Judah’s Failures
3 “They use their tongues like a bow.
They shoot lies from their mouths like arrows.
Lies, not truth,
have grown strong in the land.
They go from one evil thing to another.
They do not know who I am,” says the Lord.
4 “Watch your friends.
Don’t trust your own brothers.
This is because every brother is a cheater.
And every friend tells lies about you.
5 Everyone lies to his friend.
No one speaks the truth.
The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie.
They become tired from sinning.
6 Jeremiah, you live in the middle of evil.
And lies follow lies.
The people have refused to know me,” says the Lord.
7 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire.
I have no other choice.
My people have sinned.
8 Their tongues are like sharp arrows.
Their mouths speak lies.
Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor.
But he is secretly planning to attack him.
9 Shouldn’t I punish the people for doing this?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I give them the punishment they deserve?”
10 I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountains.
I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields.
They are empty, and no one passes through.
The mooing of cattle cannot be heard.
The birds have flown away,
and the animals are gone.
11 “I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
It will become a home for wild dogs.
I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah
so no one can live there.”
12 What man is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord who can explain them? Why was the land ruined? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13 The Lord answered, “It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me. They have not done what I told them to do. 14 Instead, the people of Judah were stubborn. They followed the false god Baal. Their fathers taught them to do this!” 15 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, says: “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them through other nations. They will live in strange nations that they and their ancestors never knew about. I will chase the people of Judah with the sword until they are all killed.”
17 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“Now, think about these things!
Call for the women who cry at funerals.
Send for those women who are good at that job.
18 Let them come quickly
and cry loudly for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears.
And streams of water will come out of our eyes.
19 The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem:
‘We are truly ruined!
We are truly ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the word of the Lord.
Open your ears to hear the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Teach one another a funeral song!
21 Death has climbed in through our windows.
It has entered our strong cities.
Death has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken the young men who meet in the city squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The dead bodies of men will lie
in the open field like dung.
They will lie on the ground like grain a farmer has cut.
But there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Wise men must not brag about their wisdom.
Strong men must not brag about their strength.
Rich men must not brag about their money.
24 But if someone wants to brag, let him brag about this:
Let him brag that he understands and knows me.
Let him brag that I am the Lord.
Let him brag that I am kind and fair.
Let him brag that I do things that are right on earth.
This kind of bragging pleases me,” says the Lord.
25 The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. 26 That is the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab. I will also punish the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries have not given themselves to serving me. And the men of Israel do not give themselves to serving me.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.