1 T his word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

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

2 “ 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!’”

Stand 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.

3 T he 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.

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

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 F or 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,

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

6 i f 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,

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

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

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

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

9 W ill 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,

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 a nd 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?

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 H as 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.

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 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.

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 N ow 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.

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 S o 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.

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 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

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

16 “ 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.

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

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 T he 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.

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

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

20 S o 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.”

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

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

22 F or 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.

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 B ut 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.’

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 Y et 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.

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 S ince 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.

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 Y et 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

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

27 “ 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.

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 A nd 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.

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 C ut 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.’

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 F or 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.

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 A nd 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.

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 S o 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.

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 T he 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.

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 T hen 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.

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.