Jeremiah 7

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

The word that came to Jeremiah 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.”

Place thyself in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in by these gates to bow down before 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 hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will permit you to dwell 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!

[But] do not rely on the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, [as] they [say].

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

For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your deeds; if ye thoroughly execute justice 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 ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after other 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.

Then will I permit you to dwell in this place, in the land that I have given to your fathers, from eternity to eternity.

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

Behold, ye rely on the words of falsehood, that cannot profit.

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.

How? will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Ba'al, and walk after other gods of which ye have no knowledge;

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 [then] come and stand before my presence in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are delivered;” in order to do 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 then this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? [But] I also, behold, 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.

For go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did unto it because of 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, whereas ye have done all these acts, saith the Lord, and I spoke unto you, causing [the prophets] to rise up early and speaking, while ye would not hear; and I called you, but ye would not answer:

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.

Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, whereon ye rely, and unto the place which I have given to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

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 out of my presence, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the 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.

But thou—pray not thou in behalf of this people, nor lift up in their behalf entreaty or prayer, nor make intercession to 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?

Dost thou not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah 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 dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, in order 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, [and] not themselves, to the shame of their own faces?

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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, over man, and over beast, and over the trees of the field, and over the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and it shall not be quenched.

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

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Add your burnt-offerings unto your peace-sacrifices, and eat the flesh thereof.

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 with your fathers, and I commanded them not on the day of my bringing them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offering or sacrifice;

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 did I command them, saying, Hearken to my voice, and I will be unto you for a God, and ye shall be unto me for a people; and walk ye altogether on the way which I may command you, in order that it may be well unto 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.

Yet they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear; but they walked in the counsels, in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and they 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,

Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt until this day; and I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, sending them daily in the morning early;

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

Yet they hearkened not unto me, and inclined not their ear; but they hardened their neck; they did 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 if thou speak unto them all these words, and they will not hearken to thee; and if thou call unto them, and 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.

Then shalt thou say unto them, This is the nation that hearken not to the voice of the Lord their God, and accept not correction; lost is the truth, and is obliterated from 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 flowing hair, and cast it away, and take up on mountain-tops a lamentation; for rejected hath the Lord 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,

For the children of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes, saith the Lord: they have set up their abominations in the house which is called by my name, 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 Thophet, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I had not commanded, and which never came into my mind.

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 days are coming, saith the Lord, that it shall not be called any more Thophet, or The valley of Ben-hinnom, but The valley of slaughter: and they shall bury in Thophet, for want of room.

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 become food unto the fowls of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth, with none to chase 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 from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for a desert shall the land become.