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Jeremiah 7

English Standard Version



1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 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 men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. (Jer 26:2) 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. (Jer 18:11; Jer 26:13) 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ (Jer 7:8) 5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, (De 24:14; Jer 22:3) 6 if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, (De 6:14; Jer 7:5; Jer 13:10; Jer 25:6) 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. (De 4:40; Jer 3:18) 8 “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, (Jer 1:16; Jer 5:2; Jer 7:6; Ho 4:1) 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? (Jer 32:34; Jer 34:15) 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. (Isa 56:7; Jer 7:10; Eze 7:22; Mt 21:13; Mr 11:17; Lu 19:46) 12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. (De 12:11; Jud 18:31; 1Sa 1:3; 1Sa 4:3; Ps 78:60; Jer 26:6) 13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, (2Ch 36:15; Pr 1:24; Isa 50:2; Isa 65:12; Jer 7:25; Jer 7:27) 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. (De 12:5; 1Ki 9:7; Jer 7:10; Jer 7:12) 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. (2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 17:23; Ps 78:67; Jer 7:14; Ho 4:17; Ho 5:3; Ho 5:9; Ho 6:4; Ho 12:1) 16 “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. (Ex 32:10; De 9:14; Jer 11:14; Jer 14:11; 1Jo 5:16) 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 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. (De 32:16; De 32:21; 1Ki 14:9; 1Ki 16:2; 2Ki 23:13; 2Ch 34:25; Jer 11:17; Jer 19:13; Jer 44:17; Jer 44:19; Ho 7:4) 19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? (Job 35:6; Jer 51:51) 20 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.” (2Ch 34:25; Jer 17:27; Jer 42:18; Jer 44:6; La 4:11) 21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. (Jer 6:20) 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Ho 6:6) 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey 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.’ (Ex 15:26; Le 26:12; De 4:40; De 5:33; De 6:3; Jer 11:4; Jer 11:7; Jer 42:6) 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (Ps 81:11; Ps 81:12; Jer 2:19; Jer 2:27; Jer 3:17; Jer 8:5; Jer 15:6; Jer 32:33; Ho 4:16) 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. (2Ch 36:15) 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. (2Ch 30:8; Jer 7:24; Jer 16:12) 27 “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. (Jer 1:17; Jer 7:13) 28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips. (Jer 9:3) 29 “Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ (Job 1:20; Jer 3:2) 



30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. (2Ki 21:4; 2Ki 21:7; Jer 7:10; Jer 19:5; Jer 32:34; Eze 5:11; Eze 7:20) 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. (De 17:3; Jos 18:16; 2Ki 23:10; Ps 106:38; Jer 7:21; Jer 31:40) 32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. (Jer 7:31; Jer 19:6; Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5) 33 And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. (De 28:26; Ps 79:2; Isa 17:2; Jer 12:9; Jer 16:4; Jer 19:7; Jer 34:20) 34 And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in 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. (Le 26:31; Le 26:33; Ps 78:63; Isa 24:7; Jer 16:9; Jer 25:10; Jer 27:17; Jer 44:2; Jer 44:6; Eze 26:13; Ho 2:11; Re 18:22) 

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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Jeremiah 7

New International Version



1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 ‘Stand 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 ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 ‘ “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,[1] burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’ – safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. 12 ‘ “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 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.” 16 ‘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. 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. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? 20 ‘ “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. 21 ‘ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backwards and not forwards. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.” 27 ‘When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. 29 ‘ “Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath. 



30 ‘ “The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire – something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 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, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no-one to frighten them away. 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate. 

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Jeremiah 7

King James Version

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD' house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; 10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it , saith the LORD. 12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; 14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 16 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. 17 Seest thou not what they do 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 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. 19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 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. 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them : 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. 28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. 29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem , and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. 32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. 33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray 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 be desolate. 

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Jeremiah 7

New International Reader’s Version



1 A message from the LORD came to Jeremiah. The LORD said, 2 ‘Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say, ‘ “Listen to the LORD’s message, all you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the LORD who rules over all. He says, ‘Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in lies. Do not say, “This is the temple of the LORD! This is the temple of the LORD! This is the temple of the LORD!” 5 You must really change the way you live and act. Treat one another fairly. 6 Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you. 7 If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever. 8 But look! You are trusting in worthless lies. 9 ‘ “ ‘You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before. 10 Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say, “We are safe.” You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate. 11 My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!’ announces the LORD. 12 ‘ “ ‘Go now to the town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first made a home for my Name. See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing. 13 I spoke to you again and again,’ announces the LORD. ‘I warned you while you were doing all these things. But you did not listen. I called out to you. But you did not answer. 14 So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my Name is. It is the temple you trust in. It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago. 15 But I will throw you out of my land. That is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim. And they are your relatives.’ ” 16 ‘Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. Do not beg me. I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing? They are worshipping other gods in the towns of Judah. They are offering sacrifices to them in the streets of Jerusalem. 18 The children go out and gather wood. The fathers light the fire. The women mix the dough. They make flat cakes of bread to offer to the female god called the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods. That makes me very angry. 19 But am I the one they are hurting?’ announces the LORD. ‘Aren’t they only harming themselves? They should be ashamed of it.’ 20 So the LORD and King says, ‘I will pour out my burning anger on this place. It will strike people and animals alike. It will destroy the trees in the fields and the crops in your land. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out.’ 21 The LORD who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Go ahead! Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices. Eat the meat yourselves! 22 When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them. But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also gave them another command. I said, “Obey me. Then I will be your God. And you will be my people. Live the way I command you to live. Then things will go well with you.” 24 But they did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. They went backwards and not forwards. 25 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets to you. They came to you day after day. They prophesied from the time your people left Egypt until now. 26 But your people of long ago did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. They were stubborn. They did more evil things than their people who lived before them. 27 ‘Jeremiah, when you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not answer. 28 So say to them, “You are a nation that has not obeyed the LORD your God. You did not pay attention when you were corrected. Truth has died out. You do not tell the truth anymore.” ’ 29 The LORD says to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Cut off your hair. Throw it away. Sing a song of sadness on the bare hilltops. I am very angry with you. I have turned my back on you. I have deserted you. 



30 ‘The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes,’ announces the LORD. ‘They have set up statues of their gods. They have worshipped them in the house where my Name is. They have made my house “unclean”. I hate those statues. 31 The people have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There they worship other gods. And there they sacrifice their children in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. 32 So watch out!’ announces the LORD. ‘The days are coming when people will not call it Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death. They will bury the dead bodies of some people in Topheth. But they will run out of room. 33 Then they will not be able to bury the bodies of other people there. So the bodies will become food for birds and wild animals. And no one will scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore. There will be no sounds of joy in the towns of Judah. And there will be no joy in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a desert. 

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