Jeremiah 7

1 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 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:

“Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD.

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

Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.

4 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!

Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

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

For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,

6 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,

if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,

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

then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

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

But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

9 Stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, And swearing to falsehood, and giving perfume to Baal, And going after other gods whom ye knew not.

Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,

10 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.

and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?

11 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.

Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.

12 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.

But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

13 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,

And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,

14 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.

therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.

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

And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

16 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.

As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.

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

Do you 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 libations to other gods, So as to provoke Me to anger.

The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.

19 Me are they provoking to anger? an affirmation of Jehovah, Is it not themselves, For the shame of their own faces?

But am I the One they are provoking? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?

20 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.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.

21 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye flesh.

This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!

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 when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices,

23 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.

but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

24 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.

Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

25 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,

From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.

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

Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.

27 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.

When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer.

28 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.

Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips.

29 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.

Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’

30 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,

For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled 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.

They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.

32 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.

So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.

33 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.

The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare 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 doth become a desolation!

I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”