Jeremiah

7 The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah with the instruction 2* “Stand in the gate of Jehovah’s house and proclaim this word there, and say ‘Hear Jehovah’s word, all Judah that come in at these gates to do reverence to Jehovah:

3* “‘Says Israel’s God Jehovah of Armies, Make your courses and practices good, and I will neighbor with you in this place. 4 Do not put trust in lying phrases, “Jehovah’s temple, Jehovah’s temple, Jehovah’s temple they are.” 5 For if you shall make your courses and practices good, if you shall do justice between man and man, 6 not refuse it to immigrant, orphan, and widow nor shed innocent blood in this place, and not follow other gods for your own harm, 7** I will neighbor with you in this place, in the country I gave to your fathers, from age to age; 8 but here are you putting useless trust in lying phrases. 9 Stealing, murdering, and adultery, and false swearing and making burnings to the Baal and following other gods that you had never known— 10 and will you come and stand before this house that wears my name and say “We are delivered” in order to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house that wears my name become an outlaws’ cave in your eyes? you will find I too have seen it all, quoth Jehovah. 12 For go to my place at Shiloh where I fixed the seat of my name at first, and see what I did to it for the misdeeds of my people Israel; 13** and now as you have done all these deeds and I spoke to you and you did not listen, called and you did not answer, 14 I will do to the house that wears my name in which you are putting trust, and to the place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh, 15 and I will throw you aside as I did your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.’

16 “And for yourself, do not pray for this people, do not put up appeal and prayer for them, do not intercede with me; for I am not going to hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18* the children are picking up wood and the fathers making the fires and the women kneading dough to make cauvan-cakes for the Queen of the Sky and pour libations to other gods, to gall me. 19 Is it me they are galling? quoth Jehovah; is it not themselves, to bring shame on their faces?

20* “So the Lord Jehovah says, Here is my anger and resentment poured out on this place, on man and beast, on tree in the field and fruit of the soil, and it shall blaze and not go out. 21* Says Israel’s God Jehovah of Armies, Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat! For on the day of bringing your fathers out of Egypt 22 I did not speak with them, nor give them commands, in regard to burnt-offering and sacrifice, 23 but gave them this command: ‘Obey me and you shall have me for your God and I will have you for my people; and walk the road I command you all the way, that you may be well off’; 24** but they did not listen nor turn their ears, but walked in their willful wicked way and became all back and no face, 25* from the day your fathers came out of Egypt to this day. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, each one early, 26 but they did not listen to me nor turn their ears, but stiffened up their necks, did worse than their fathers. 27 And you shall speak this word to them, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them but they will not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them ‘This is the nation that did not obey Jehovah nor take a lesson; good faith is lost out of their mouths.’ 29 Shear off your locks and throw them away, and strike up a lamentation on the scalped heights; for Jehovah has repudiated and abandoned the generation he is enraged with. 30 For the sons of Israel have done what displeases me, quoth Jehovah; they have placed their disgusting idols in the house that wears my name to defile it, 31 and have built the Fire-Pit Height in Ben-Hinnom’s Valley to burn up their children, which I had not commanded nor thought of.

32 “So here are days coming, quoth Jehovah, when they shall no longer say ‘Fire-Pit’ nor ‘Ben-Hinnom’s Valley’ but ‘Slaughter Valley,’ and they shall bury in the Fire-Pit for want of room; 33 and the carcasses of this people shall become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth with nobody to alarm them. 34 And out of the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I will abolish the voice of rejoicing and of merrymaking, the voice of bridegroom and of bride, for the country shall fall to ruins.