Jeremiah 7:1–10:25

False Religion Worthless

7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Standm at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your waysn and your actions, and I will let you liveo in this place. 4 Do not trustp in deceptiveq words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really changer your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,s 6 if you do not oppresst the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent bloodu in this place, and if you do not follow other godsv to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the landw I gave your ancestorsx for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trustingy in deceptivez words that are worthless.

9 “ ‘Will you steala and murder,b commit adulteryc and perjury,a d burn incense to Baale and follow other godsf you have not known, 10 and then come and standg before me in this house,h which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?i 11 Has this house,j which bears my Name, become a den of robbersk to you? But I have been watching!l declares the Lord.

12 “ ‘Go now to the place in Shilohm where I first made a dwellingn for my Name,o and see what I didp to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spokeq to you again and again,r but you did not listen;s I calledt you, but you did not answer.u 14 Therefore, what I did to Shilohv I will now do to the house that bears my Name,w the templex you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence,y just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’z

16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any pleaa or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listenb to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 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.c They pour out drink offeringsd to other gods to arousee my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking?f declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?g

20 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereignh Lord says: My angeri and my wrath will be pouredj 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.k

21 “ ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrificesl and eatm the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commandsn about burnt offerings and sacrifices,o 23 but I gave them this command:p Obeyq me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.r Walk in obedience to alls I command you, that it may go wellt with you. 24 But they did not listenu or pay attention;v instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.w They went backwardx and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and againy I sent you my servantsz the prophets.a 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention.b They were stiff-neckedc and did more evil than their ancestors.’d

27 “When you telle them all this, they will not listenf to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.g 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.h Truthi has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

29 “ ‘Cut offj your hair and throw it away; take up a lamentk on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandonedl this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

30 “ ‘The people of Judah have done evilm in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idolsn in the house that bears my Name and have defiledo it. 31 They have built the high places of Tophethp in the Valley of Ben Hinnomq to burn their sons and daughtersr in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.s 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter,t for they will buryu the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcassesv of this people will become foodw for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.x 34 I will bring an end to the soundsy of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroomz in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,a for the land will become desolate.b

8 “ ‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bonesc of the people of Jerusalem will be removedd from their graves. 2 They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and servede and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.f They will not be gathered up or buried,g but will be like dung lying on the ground.h 3 Wherever I banish them,i all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,j declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘When people fall down, do they not get up?k

When someone turns away,l do they not return?

5 Why then have these people turned away?

Why does Jerusalem always turn away?

They cling to deceit;m

they refuse to return.n

6 I have listenedo attentively,

but they do not say what is right.

None of them repentp of their wickedness,

saying, “What have I done?”

Each pursues their own courseq

like a horse charging into battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky

knows her appointed seasons,

and the dove, the swift and the thrush

observe the time of their migration.

But my people do not knowr

the requirements of the Lord.

8 “ ‘How can you say, “We are wise,

for we have the laws of the Lord,”

when actually the lying pen of the scribes

has handled it falsely?

9 The wiset will be put to shame;

they will be dismayedu and trapped.v

Since they have rejected the wordw of the Lord,

what kind of wisdomx do they have?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.y

From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;z

prophetsa and priests alike,

all practice deceit.b

11 They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

“Peace, peace,” they say,

when there is no peace.c

12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

No, they have no shamed at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when they are punished,e

says the Lord.f

13 “ ‘I will take away their harvest,

declares the Lord.

There will be no grapes on the vine.g

There will be no figsh on the tree,

and their leaves will wither.i

What I have given them

will be takenj from them.a’ ”

14 Why are we sitting here?

Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified citiesk

and perish there!

For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish

and given us poisoned waterl to drink,

because we have sinnedm against him.

15 We hoped for peacen

but no good has come,

for a time of healing

but there is only terror.o

16 The snorting of the enemy’s horsesp

is heard from Dan;q

at the neighing of their stallions

the whole land trembles.r

They have come to devours

the land and everything in it,

the city and all who live there.

17 “See, I will send venomous snakest among you,

vipers that cannot be charmed,u

and they will bite you,”

declares the Lord.

18 You who are my Comforterb in sorrow,

my heart is faintv within me.

19 Listen to the cry of my people

from a land far away:w

“Is the Lord not in Zion?

Is her Kingx no longer there?”

“Why have they arousedy my anger with their images,

with their worthlessz foreign idols?”a

20 “The harvest is past,

the summer has ended,

and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed,b I am crushed;

I mourn,c and horror grips me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?d

Is there no physiciane there?

Why then is there no healingf

for the wound of my people?

9 a Oh, that my head were a spring of water

and my eyes a fountain of tears!g

I would weeph day and night

for the slain of my people.i

2 Oh, that I had in the desertj

a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,k

a crowd of unfaithfull people.

3 “They make ready their tongue

like a bow, to shoot lies;m

it is not by truth

that they triumphb in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

they do not acknowledgen me,”

declares the Lord.

4 “Beware of your friends;o

do not trust anyone in your clan.p

For every one of them is a deceiver,c q

and every friend a slanderer.r

5 Friend deceives friend,s

and no one speaks the truth.t

They have taught their tongues to lie;u

they weary themselves with sinning.

6 Youd live in the midst of deception;v

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refinew and testx them,

for what else can I do

because of the sin of my people?

8 Their tonguey is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully.

With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,z

but in their hearts they set trapsa for them.b

9 Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avengec myself

on such a nation as this?”

10 I will weep and wail for the mountains

and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.d

They are desolate and untraveled,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard.

The birdse have all fled

and the animals are gone.

11 “I will make Jerusalem a heapf of ruins,

a haunt of jackals;g

and…