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

This word 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 you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and make this word known: ‘Hear the Word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who go through these gates to worship the Lord!’”

3 T hus 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.

The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Change your ways and your works for the better, and I will let you live in this place.

4 T rust not in the lying words, saying, This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

Do not trust the lies that say, ‘This is the house of the Lord, the house of the Lord, the house of the Lord.’

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

For if you for sure change your ways and what you do for the better, if you are fair as you judge between a man and his neighbor,

6 I f 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,

if you do not make it hard for the stranger from another land, or the child whose parents have died, or the woman whose husband has died, and do not kill those who are not guilty in this place, and stop going after other gods, for that will destroy you,

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

then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

8 B ehold, you trust in lying words that cannot benefit.

“See, you are trusting in lies which cannot help you.

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

Will you steal, kill, do sex sins, make false promises, give gifts to the false god 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 set free!—only to go on with this wickedness and these abominations?

and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are safe and free!’ and still do all these hated sins?

11 H as 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.

Has this house which is called by My name become a place of robbers in your eyes? See, I Myself have seen it,” says the Lord.

12 B ut 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.

“But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a place for My name. And see what I did to it because of the sin of My people Israel.

13 A nd 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,

Now you have done all these things,” says the Lord. “I spoke to you again and again, but you did not hear. I called you but you did not answer.

14 T herefore 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.

So as I did to Shiloh, I will do to the house that is called by My name and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave you and your fathers.

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

I will send you away from My eyes, as I have sent away all your brothers, all the children of Ephraim. Israel Does Not Obey

16 T herefore 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.

“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. Do not speak with Me about them, for I do not hear you.

17 D o you not see what they are doing 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, 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!

The children gather wood. The fathers make the fire. And the women make bread and cakes for the queen of heaven. They pour out drink gifts to other gods to make Me angry.

19 A m 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?

Do they make Me angry?” says the Lord. “Is it not themselves they hurt, to their own shame?”

20 T herefore 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.

So the Lord God says, “See, My anger will be poured out on this place, on man and animal, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn and not be stopped.”

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

The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Add your burnt gifts to the animals you kill on the altar, and eat the flesh.

22 F or 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.

For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or tell them what to do about burnt gifts and animals killed on the altar.

23 B ut 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.

But I did tell them, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. Walk in all the way that I tell you, that it may be well with you.’

24 B ut 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.

Yet they did not obey or listen, but walked in the way they wanted to and in the strong-will of their sinful heart. They only stepped back and did not go on.

25 S ince 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.

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants who speak for Me. I have risen up early and sent them day after day.

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

Yet they did not listen to Me or turn their ear to Me, but made their neck hard. They sinned more than their fathers. Israel’s Sinful Actions

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

“You will speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You will call to them, but they will not answer you.

28 Y et 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.

And you will say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or receive His strong teaching. They have lost the truth. It has been cut off from their mouth.

29 C ut 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.

Cut off your hair and throw it away. And cry in sorrow on the open hill-tops. For the Lord has turned away and left the people who made Him angry.’

30 F or 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.

For the sons of Judah have done what is sinful in My eyes,” says the Lord. “They have put their hated things in the house that is called by My name, to make it unclean.

31 A nd 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.

And they have built the high places of Topheth, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I did not tell them to do this. It did not come into My mind.

32 T herefore, 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.

So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will not be called Topheth any more, or the valley of the son of Hinnom. But it will be called the valley of Killing. For they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.

33 A nd 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.

The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth. And no one will send them away in fear.

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 will become a waste.

Then in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, I will put an end to the voice of joy and the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride. For the land will become a waste.