Jeremiah 7

1 The word that has been to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying,

The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:

2 “Stand in the gate of the house of YHWH, and you have proclaimed this word there, and have said, Hear a word of YHWH, all you of Judah, who are coming in at these gates, to bow before YHWH.”

Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye men of Juda, that enter in at these gates, to adore the Lord.

3 Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: “Amend your ways, and your doings, And I cause you to dwell in this place.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Make your ways and your doings good: and I will dwell with you in this place.

4 Do not trust for yourselves To the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of YHWH! The temple of YHWH! These [are] the temple of YHWH!

Trust not in lying words, saying: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, it is the temple of the Lord.

5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, If you thoroughly do judgment Between a man and his neighbor,

For if you will order well your ways, and your doings: if you will execute judgement between a man and his neighbor,

6 You do not oppress sojourner, fatherless, and widow, And innocent blood is not shed in this place, And [you] do not walk after other gods, for evil to yourselves,

If you opress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after strange gods to your own hurt,

7 Then I have caused you to dwell in this place, In the land that I gave to your fathers, From age even to age.

I will dwell with you in this place: in the land, which I gave to your fathers from the beginning and for evermore.

8 Behold, you are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit.

Behold you put your trust in lying words, which shall not profit you:

9 Stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, And swearing to falsehood, and giving incense to Ba‘al, And going after other gods whom you did not know.

To steal, to murder, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to offer to Baalim, and to go after strange gods, which you know not.

10 And you have come in and stood before Me, In this house on which My Name is called, And have said, We have been delivered, In order to do all these abominations.

And you have come, and stood before me in this house, in which my name is called upon, and have said: We are delivered, because we have done all these abominations.

11 Has this house, On which My Name is called, Been a den of burglars in your eyes? Even I, behold, have seen,” A declaration of YHWH.

Is this house then, in which my name hath been called upon, in your eyes become a den of robbers? I, I am he: I have seen it, saith the Lord.

12 “But go now to My place that [is] in Shiloh, Where I caused My Name to dwell at first, And see that which I have done to it, For the wickedess of My people Israel.

Go ye to my place in Silo, where my name dwelt from the beginning: and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel:

13 And now, because of your doing all these works,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I speak to you, rising early and speaking, And you have not listened, And I call you, and you have not answered,

And now, because you have done all these works, saith the Lord: and I have spoken to you rising up early, and speaking, and you have not heard: and I have called you, and you have not answered:

14 I also have done to the house on which My Name is called, In which you are trusting, And to the place that I gave to you, and to your fathers, As I have done to Shiloh.

I will do to this house, in which my name is called upon, and in which you trust, and to the places which I have given you and your fathers, as I did to Silo.

15 And I have cast you from before My face, As I have cast out all your brothers, The whole seed of Ephraim.

And I will cast you away from before my face, as I have cast away all your brethren, the whole seed of Ephraim.

16 And you do not pray for this people, Nor lift up crying and prayer for them, Nor intercede with Me, for I do not hear you.

Therefore, do not thou pray for this people, nor take to thee praise and supplication for them: and do not withstand me: for I will not hear thee.

17 Are you not seeing what they are doing In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem?

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The sons are gathering wood, And the fathers are causing the fire to burn, And the women are kneading dough, To make cakes to the queen of the heavens, And to pour out drink-offerings to other gods, So as to provoke Me to anger.

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to offer libations to strange gods, and to provoke me to anger.

19 Are they provoking Me to anger?” A declaration of YHWH, “Is it not themselves, For the shame of their own faces?”

Do they provoke me to anger, saith the Lord? Is it not themselves, to the confusion of their contenance?

20 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: “Behold, My anger and My fury is poured out on this place, On man, and beast, and on tree of the field, And on fruit of the ground, And it has burned, and it is not quenched.”

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold my wrath and my indignation was enkindled against this place, upon men and upon beasts, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruits of the land, and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

21 Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: “Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat ye the flesh.

22 For I did not speak with your fathers, Nor did I command them in the day of My bringing them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning the matters of burnt-offering and sacrifice,

For I spoke not to your fathers, and I commanded them not, in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offerings and sacrifices.

23 But this thing I commanded them, saying, Listen to My voice, And I have been to you for God, And you are to Me for a people, And have walked in all the way that I command you, So that it is well for you.

But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk ye in all the way that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.

24 And they have not listened, nor inclined their ear, And they walk in the counsels, [And] in the stubbornness, of their evil hearts, And are backward and not forward.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear: but walked in their own will, and in the perversity of their wicked heart: and went backward and not forward,

25 Even from the day when your fathers Went out of the land of Egypt until this day, I send all My servants the prophets to you, Daily rising early and sending,

From the day that their fathers came out of the land of Egypt, even to this day. And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets from day to day, rising up early and sending.

26 And they have not listened to Me, Nor inclined their ear—and they harden their neck, They have done evil above their fathers.

And they have not hearkened to me: nor inclined their ear: but have hardened their neck, and have done worse than their fathers.

27 And you have spoken all these words to them, And they do not listen to you, And you have called to them, And they do not answer you.

And thou shalt speak to them all these words, but they will not hearken to thee: and thou shalt call them, but they will not answer thee.

28 And you have said to them: This [is] the nation that has not listened, To the voice of its God YHWH, Nor have they accepted instruction, Steadfastness has perished, Indeed, it has been cut off from their mouth.

And thou shalt say to them: This is a nation which hath not hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, nor received instruction: Faith is lost, and is carried away out of their mouth.

29 Cut off your crown, and cast [it] away, And lift up lamentation on high places, For YHWH has rejected, And He leaves the generation of His wrath.

Cut off thy hair, and cast it away: and take up a lamentation on high: for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath,

30 For the sons of Judah Have done evil in My eyes,” A declaration of YHWH, “They have set their abominations in the house On which My Name is called—to defile it,

Because the children of Juda have done evil in my eyes, saith the Lord. They have set their abominations in the house in which my name is called upon, to pollute it;

31 And have built the high places of Tophet, That [are] in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come up on My heart.

And they have built the high places of Topeth, which is in the valley of the son of Ennom, to burn their sons, and their daughters in the fire: which I commanded not, nor thought on in my heart.

32 Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And it is no longer said, The Tophet, And, Valley of the Son of Hinnom, But, Valley of the Slaughter, And they have buried in Tophet—without place.

Therefore behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and it shall no more be called Topeth, nor the valley of the son of Ennom: but the valley of slaughter, and they shall bury in Topeth, because there is no place.

33 And the carcass of this people has been for food To a bird of the heavens, and to a beast of the earth, And there is none troubling.

And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be non to drive them away.

34 And I have caused to cease from cities of Judah, And from streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, For the land becomes a desolation!”

And I will cause to cease out of the cities of Juda, and out of the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.