< Jeremiah 7 >

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
2 “Stand at the gate of Yahweh's house and proclaim this word! Say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, all you of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship Yahweh.
Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast proclaimed there this word, and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, who are coming in at these gates, to bow before Jehovah:
3 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Make your ways and practices good, and I will let you continue to live in this place.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Amend your ways, and your doings, And I cause you to dwell in this place.
4 Do not entrust yourself to deceitful words and say, “Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh!”
Do not trust for yourselves Unto the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah [are] they!
5 For if you actually make your ways and practices good; if you completely execute justice between a man and his neighbor—
For, if ye do thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, If ye do judgment thoroughly Between a man and his neighbour,
6 if you do not exploit the one staying in the land, the orphan, or the widow and do not pour out innocent blood in this place, and do not walk after other gods to your own harm—
Sojourner, fatherless, and widow, ye oppress not, And innocent blood do not shed in this place, And after other gods do not walk, for evil to yourselves,
7 then I will let you stay in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors from ancient times and forever.
Then I have caused you to dwell in this place, In the land that I gave to your fathers, From age even unto age.
8 Behold! You are trusting in deceitful words that do not help you.
Lo, ye are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit.
9 Do you steal, kill, and commit adultery? Do you swear deceitfully and offer incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you have not known?
Stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, And swearing to falsehood, and giving perfume to Baal, And going after other gods whom ye knew not.
10 Then do you come and stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, “We are saved,” so you can do all of these abominations?
And ye 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.
11 Is this house, which carries my name, a den of bandits in your eyes? But behold, I have seen it—this is Yahweh's declaration.'
A den of burglars hath this house, On which My name is called, been in your eyes? Even I, lo, I have seen, an affirmation of Jehovah.
12 'So go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I allowed my name to stay there in the beginning, and look at what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
But go ye, I pray you, Unto 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 wickedness of My people Israel.
13 So now, on account of your doing all of these practices—this is Yahweh's declaration—I spoke to you time and time again, but you did not listen. I summoned you, but you did not answer.
And now, because of your doing all these works, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I speak unto you, rising early and speaking, And ye have not hearkened, And I call you, and ye have not answered,
14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh, I will also do to this house that is called by my name, the house in which you have trusted, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors.
I also to the house on which My name is called, In which ye are trusting, And to the place that I gave to you, and to your fathers, Have done, as I have done to Shiloh.
15 For I will send you out from before me just as I had sent out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.'
And I have cast you from before My face, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.
16 As for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a lamenting wail or say a prayer on their behalf, and do not petition me, for I will not listen to you.
And thou dost not pray for this people, Nor lift up for them crying and prayer, Nor intercede with Me, for I hear thee not.
17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Art thou not seeing what they are doing In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem?
18 The children are gathering wood and the fathers kindling the fire! The women are kneading dough to make cakes for the queen of the heavens and pour out drink offerings for other gods so that they will provoke me.
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 libations to other gods, So as to provoke Me to anger.
19 Are they truly provoking me?—this is Yahweh's declaration—is it not themselves whom they are provoking, so that shame is on them?
Me are they provoking to anger? an affirmation of Jehovah, Is it not themselves, For the shame of their own faces?
20 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'See, my anger and wrath will gush out onto this place, on both man and beast, on the tree in the fields and the fruit on the ground. It will burn and never be extinguished.'
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah, Lo, Mine 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 hath burned, and it is not quenched.
21 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel says this, 'Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and the meat from them.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye flesh.
22 For when I brought your ancestors out from the land of Egypt, I did not require anything from them. I gave them no command about matters of burnt offerings and sacrifices.
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,
23 I only gave them this command, “Listen to my voice, and I will be your God and you will be my people. So walk in all the ways that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you.”
But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to My voice, And I have been to you for God, And ye — ye are to Me for a people, And have walked in all the way that I command you, So that it is well for you.
24 But they did not listen or pay attention. They lived by their own stubborn plans of their wicked hearts, so they went backwards, not forward.
And they have not hearkened, nor inclined their ear, And they walk in the counsels, In the stubbornness, of their evil heart, And are for backward, and not for forward.
25 Ever since the day when your ancestors went out from the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent every one of my servants, my prophets, to you. I persisted in sending them.
Even from the day when your fathers Went out of the land of Egypt till this day, I send to you all my servants the prophets, Daily rising early and sending,
26 But they did not listen to me. They paid no attention. Instead, they hardened their necks. They were more wicked than their ancestors.'
And they have not hearkened unto Me, Nor inclined their ear, and harden their neck, They have done evil above their fathers.
27 So proclaim all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. Proclaim these things to them, but they will not answer you.
And thou hast spoken unto them all these words, And they do not hearken to thee, And thou hast called unto them, And they do not answer thee.
28 Say to them: This is a nation that does not listen to the voice of Yahweh its God and does not receive discipline. Truth is destroyed and cut off from their mouths.
And thou hast said unto them: This [is] the nation that hath not hearkened, To the voice of Jehovah its God, Nor have they accepted instruction, Perished hath stedfastness, Yea, it hath been cut off from their mouth.
29 Cut off your hair and shave yourself, and throw away your hair. Sing a funeral song over the open places. For Yahweh has rejected and abandoned this generation in his rage.
Cut off thy crown, and cast [it] away, And lift up on high places lamentation, For Jehovah hath rejected, And He leaveth the generation of His wrath.
30 For the sons of Judah have done evil in my eye—this is Yahweh's declaration—they have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, in order to defile it.
For the sons of Judah Have done the evil thing in Mine eyes, An affirmation of Jehovah, They have set their abominations in the house On which My name is called — to defile it,
31 Then they built the high place of Topheth that is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. They did this to burn their sons and daughters in fire—something that I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
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.
32 So see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when it will no longer be called Topheth or Valley of Ben Hinnom. It will be the Valley of Slaughter; they will bury bodies in Topheth until there is no room left.
Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, 'The Tophet,' And 'Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But 'Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet — without place.
33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the skies and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
And the carcase of this people hath been for food To a fowl of the heavens, and to a beast of the earth, And there is none troubling.
34 I will put an end to the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, for the land will become a desolation.”
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 doth become a desolation!

< Jeremiah 7 >