Jeremiah 7:1-34
False Religion Worthless
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 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, 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 backward and not forward. 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.
This is the LORD’s message to Jeremiah: “Jeremiah, stand at the gate of the LORD’s house...Teach this message at the gate: “‘Hear the message from the LORD, all you people of the nation of Judah...All you who come through these gates to worship the LORD, hear this message...The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do good things...If you do this, I will let you live in this place...Don’t trust the lies that some people say...They say, “This is the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD!”...If you change your lives and do good things, I will let you live in this place...You must be fair to each other...You must be fair to strangers...You must help widows and orphans...Don’t kill innocent people!...And don’t follow other gods, because they will only ruin your lives...If you obey Me, I will let you live in this place...I gave this land to your ancestors for them to keep forever...“‘But you are trusting lies that are worthless...Will you steal and murder?...Will you commit adultery?...Will you falsely accuse other people?...Will you worship the false god Baal and follow other gods that you have not known?...If you commit these sins, do you think that you can stand before Me in this house that is called by My name?...Do you think you can stand before Me and say, “We are safe,” just so you can do all these terrible things?...This Temple is called by My name...Is this Temple nothing more to you than a hideout for robbers?...I have been watching you.’”...This message is from the LORD...
“‘You people of Judah, go now to the town of Shiloh...Go to the place where I first made a house for My name...The people of Israel also did evil things...Go and see what I did to that place because of the evil they did...You people of Israel were doing all these evil things...This message is from the LORD!...I spoke to you again and again, but you refused to listen to Me...I called to you, but you did not answer...So I will destroy the house called by My name in Jerusalem...I will destroy that Temple as I destroyed Shiloh...And that house in Jerusalem that is called by My name is the Temple you trust in...I gave that place to you and to your ancestors...I will throw you away from Me just as I threw away all your brothers from Ephraim.’...
“As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people of Judah...Don’t beg for them or pray for them...Don’t beg Me to help them...I will not listen to your prayer for them...I know you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah...You can see what they are doing in the streets of the city of Jerusalem...This is what the people of Judah are doing: The children gather wood...The fathers use the wood to make a fire...The women make the dough and then make cakes of bread to offer to the Queen of Heaven...The people of Judah pour out drink offerings to worship other gods...They do this to make Me angry...But I AM not the one they are really hurting.”...This message is from the LORD...“They are only hurting themselves...They are bringing shame on themselves.”...
“Jeremiah, cut off your hair and throw it away...Go up to the bare hilltop and cry, because the LORD has rejected this generation of people...He has turned his back on these people...And in anger He will punish them...Do this because I have seen the people of Judah doing evil things.”...This message is from the LORD...“They have set up their idols, and I hate those idols...They have set up idols in the Temple that is called by My name...They have made My house ‘dirty’!...The people of Judah built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom where they killed their own sons and daughters and burned them as sacrifices...This is something I never commanded...Something like this never even entered My mind!...So I warn you...The days are coming,” says the LORD, “when people will not call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom anymore...No, they will call it the Valley of Slaughter...They will give it this name because they will bury the dead people in Topheth until there is no more room to bury anyone else...Then the bodies of the dead people will become food for the birds of the sky...Wild animals will eat the bodies of those people...There will be no one left alive to chase the birds or animals away...I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and happiness in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem...There will be no more sounds of the bride and bridegroom in Judah or Jerusalem...The land will become an empty desert.”...