^7:16Then the Lord said,³⁷ “As for you, Jeremiah,³⁸ do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them,³⁹ because I will not listen to you. ^7:17Do you see⁴⁰ what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?⁴¹^7:18Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven.⁴² They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just⁴³ to trouble me. ^7:19But I am not really the one being troubled!”⁴⁴ says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame!⁴⁵^7:20So,” the Lord God⁴⁶ says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land.⁴⁷ It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops.⁴⁸ And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”

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Footnotes

37 The words “Then the Lord said” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
38 Heb “As for you.” The personal name Jeremiah is supplied in the translation for clarity.
39 The words “to save them” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
40 Or “Just look at …” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
41 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
42 The form for “queen” is unusual. It is pointed (מְלֶכֶת [mélekhet] instead of מַלְכַּת [malkat]) as though the Masoretes wanted to read the word for “work” (מְלֶאכֶת [méle’khet]), i.e., the “hosts of,” a word that several Hebrew read and an understanding the reflects. The other ancient and modern versions generally, however, accept it as a biform for the word “queen.” The Queen of Heaven is probably a reference to the goddess known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Anat in Canaan, Ashtoreth in Israel. She was the goddess of love and fertility. For further discussion, see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26–52 (), .
43 Heb “to provoke me.” There is debate among grammarians and lexicographers about the nuance of the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (léma’an). Some say it always denotes purpose, while others say it may denote either purpose or result, depending on the context. For example, 775 לְמַעַן note 1 says that it always denotes purpose, never result, but that sometimes what is really a result is represented ironically as though it were a purpose. That explanation fits nicely here in the light of the context of the next verse. The translation is intended to reflect some of that ironic sarcasm.
44 Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.
45 Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.
46 Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
47 Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
48 Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg me, for I will not listen to you. Don’t you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke me to anger. But are they really provoking me?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Isn’t it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?”

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Look, my anger—my burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place, on people and animals, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”

NLTNew Living Translation

“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. Don’t you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods! Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the Lord. “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.”

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“And you, you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty or a prayer, and you must not plead with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children are gathering wood, and the fathers are kindling the fire, and the women are kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger. Are they provoking me to anger? ” declares Yahweh, “Is it not themselves they hurt, for the sake of the shame of their faces?” Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Look, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on the humankind, and on the animal, and on the tree of the field, and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be extinguished.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

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