Open English Translation JER Chapter 7

7 Yahweh’s message came to Yirmeyah (Jeremiah):

2 Stand at the gate at Yahweh’s temple and proclaim this message, saying:

Listen to Yahweh’s message,

all you people of Yehudah (Judah) who enter these gates to worship Yahweh.

3 Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh says that

you all must improve your ways,

≈ and make them right

so that I’ll allow you all to live in this land.

4 Don’t trust in deceptive words that say,

‘Yahweh’s temple is here.’

≈ ‘Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s temple.’

5 Yes, if you all really make your behaviour good,

≈ and everyone really acts fairly towards their neighbours,

6 and you all don’t oppress strangers, orphans, or widows,

and don’t shed innocent blood in this place

or follow after other gods that will harm you,

7 then I’ll allow you all to live in this place in the land that I gave to your ancestors from ancient times and for the future to come.

8 Listen, you’re all relying on deceptive messages which can’t profit. 9 Will you all keep stealing and murdering, committing adultery and telling lies in court, offering incense to Baal and following other gods that you didn’t previously know. 10 Then you all come here and stand in front of this temple that’s associated with my name, and say that you’re saved while you all continue to do all those disgusting things. 11 This house which bears my name has become a robbers’ den in your eyes. Listen, I’ve also seen it. That is Yahweh’s utterance.[ref] 12 But please go to my place in Shiloh where I had previously had my tent and my name resided, and see what I did to destroy that place due to the wickedness of my people, Yisrael.[ref] 13 So now Yahweh declares that because you’ve all been doing those things, and I’ve spoken to you all over and over again but you wouldn’t listen, and I called you all but you wouldn’t answer, 14 then I’ll do what I did to Shiloh, to this house that’s called by my name—the temple that you’ve all trusted in, and the place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I’ll throw you all away where I can’t see you just as I threw out all your relatives, all of Efrayim’s descendants, from the northern kingdom.

16 And you, Yirmeyah, don’t pray on behalf of this group of people, and don’t cry out for help, or pray for them, or petition me about them, because I won’t listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they do in Yehudah’s (Judah’s) cities and in Yerushalem’s (Jerusalem’s) streets? 18 The sons are gathering firewood, and the fathers are kindling the fire, and the women are kneading dough to make cakes for ‘the queen of the heavens’ and pouring out drink offerings for other gods so as to provoke me to anger.[ref] 19 Yahweh declares that it’s not me they’re provoking, but rather it’s themselves that they’re hurting to their own shame. 20 So my master Yahweh, says this: “Listen, my anger and rage will gush out onto this place—onto people and animals, and trees in the countryside and crops in the ground. It will burn and not be extinguished.”

21 Yisrael’s god, Commander-in-chief Yahweh says: “Instead of wasting time burning up your sacrifices, just eat the meat yourselves, 22 because on the day when I brought your ancestors out from Egypt, I didn’t immediately give them orders about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 What I told them was, ‘Listen to my voice, and I’ll be your god, and you all will be my people. Follow all the instructions that I’ll give you so that everything will go well for you all.’ 24 But they didn’t turn their heads towards him and listen, and they enacted schemes from the stubbornness of their own evil hearts—going backwards instead of forwards 25 from the day that their ancestors left Egypt even until today. Then I sent my servants the prophets to you all—rising early each day and sending them. 26 However, they didn’t listen to me, and they stiffened their necks and turned their heads—doing even more evil than their ancestors.

27 So pass all these messages on to them, even though they won’t listen to you.

You’ll call to them, but they won’t answer you. 28 Tell them that this is a nation that doesn’t listen to the voice of its god Yahweh, and doesn’t accept discipline.