Jeremiah 7:9–23

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.