1 T he word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 S tand in the gate of the Lord’s 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.

Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

3 T hus 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.

Thus says 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 T rust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

Trust not in the lying words, saying, This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

5 F or if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly and truly execute justice between every man and his neighbor,

6 i f 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:

If you do not oppress the transient and the alien, the fatherless, and the widow or shed innocent blood in or go after other gods to your own hurt,

7 t hen will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers to dwell in forever.

8 B ehold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot benefit.

9 W ill ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,

10 a nd come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

And come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My Name, and say, we are set free!—only to go on with this wickedness and these abominations?

11 I s 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.

Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes ? Behold, I Myself have seen it, says the Lord.

12 B ut 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.

But go now to 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 A nd 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;

And now, because you have done all these things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently, you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer,

14 t herefore 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.

Therefore will I do to this house (the temple), which is called by My Name and in which you trust, to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

15 A nd I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole posterity of Ephraim.

16 T herefore 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.

Therefore do not pray for this people or lift up a cry or entreaty for them or make intercession to Me, for I will not listen to or hear you.

17 S eest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 T he 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.

The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger!

19 D o they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

Am I the One Whom they provoke to anger? says the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own confusion and vexation and to their own shame?

20 T herefore 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.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.

21 T hus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh.

22 F or 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:

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 or sacrifices.

23 b ut 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.

But this thing I did command them: Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people; and walk in the whole way that I command you, that it may be well with you.

24 B ut 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.

But they would not listen to and obey Me or bend their ear, but followed the counsels and the stubborn promptings of their own evil hearts and minds, and they turned their backs and went in reverse instead of forward.

25 S ince 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:

Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, early and late.

26 y et they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

Yet the people would not listen to and obey Me or bend their ears, but stiffened their necks and behaved worse than their fathers.

27 T herefore 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.

Speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to and obey you; also call to them, but they will not answer you.

28 B ut 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.

Yet you shall say to them, This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or receive instruction and correction and warning; truth and faithfulness have perished and have completely vanished from their mouths.

29 C ut 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.

Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.

30 F or 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.

For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight, says the Lord; they have set their abominations (extremely disgusting and shamefully vile things) in the house which is called by My Name to defile it.

31 A nd 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.

And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire —which I did not command, nor did it come into My mind or heart.

32 T herefore, 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.

Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no more be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury in Topheth till there is no more room and no place else to bury.

33 A nd 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.

And the dead bodies of this people will be meat for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away.

34 T hen 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.

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 will become a waste.