Jeremiah 7

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,

2 "Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

“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.

3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

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.

4 Do not trust in lying words, saying, "The LORD's temple, The LORD's temple, The LORD's temple, are these."

Do not entrust yourself to deceitful words and say, “Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh!”

5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;

For if you actually make your ways and practices good; if you completely execute justice between a man and his neighbor—

6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:

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—

7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forevermore.

then I will let you stay in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors from ancient times and forever.

8 Look, you trust in lying words, that can't profit.

Behold! You are trusting in deceitful words that do not help you.

9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,

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?

10 and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, "We are delivered"; that you may do all these abominations?

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?

11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD.

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.'

12 But go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

'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.

13 Now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear; and I called you, but you did not answer:

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.

14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

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.

15 I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

For I will send you out from before me just as I had sent out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.'

16 Therefore do not pray for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.

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.

17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 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 pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

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.

19 Do they provoke me to anger?" says the LORD. "Do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?"

Are they truly provoking me?—this is Yahweh's declaration—is it not themselves whom they are provoking, so that shame is on them?

20 Therefore thus says the LORD: "Look, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out on this place, on man, and on animal, and on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched."

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.'

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat meat.

Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel says this, 'Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and the meat from them.

22 For I did not speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

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.

23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, 'Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'

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.”

24 But they did not listen nor turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

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.

25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

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.

26 yet they did not listen to me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers."

But they did not listen to me. They paid no attention. Instead, they hardened their necks. They were more wicked than their ancestors.'

27 "You shall speak all these words to them; but they will not listen to you: you shall also call to them; but they will not answer you.

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.

28 You shall tell them, 'This is the nation that has not listened to the voice of the LORD their God, nor received instruction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

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.

29 Cut off your hair, and throw it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.'"

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.

30 "For the people of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight," says the LORD: "they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.

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.

31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

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.

32 Therefore look, the days come," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The Valley of Ben Hinnom, but The Valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, until there is no place to bury.

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.

33 The dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.

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.

34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste."

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.”