Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations - Volume 1

1The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, —

2Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, And proclaim there this word, and say, — Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah, Who enter through these gates to worship Jehovah:

3Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Make good your ways and your doings, And I will dwell with you in this place:

4Trust not in words of falsehood, by saying, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, are these buildings.”(1:364)

5Surely, if by making good ye make good Your ways and your doings, If by doing ye do judgment Between man and his neighbor,

6If the stranger, the orphan and the widow, Ye oppress not, and innocent blood Ye shed not in this place, And after strange gods Ye walk not to your hurt, —

7Then will I cause you to dwell in this places In the land which I gave to your fathers, For ever and ever.

8Behold, ye trust in words of falsehood, Which are without profit.

9Will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery, Swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, And walk after alien gods, Whom ye do not know;

10And come and stand before me in this house, Which is called by my name, and say, “We have been made free To do all these abominations?” (1:373)

11Is this house, called by my name, Become a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold I see, saith Jehovah.

12But go now to my place in Shilo, Where I made to dwell my name at first, And see what I did there, For the wickedness of my people Israel:

13And now, because ye have done All these works, saith Jehovah, And I spoke to you, rising early, And when I spoke, ye heard not, When I called you, ye answered not;

14I will therefore do to this place, Which is called by my name, In which ye trust — Even to the place which I gave to you And to your fathers, as I did to Shilo;

15And I will cast you out from my presence, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.

16And thou, pray not for this people, And raise not for them a cry and a prayer, And intercede not with me; For I will not hear thee. (1:384)

17Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem?

18Children gather wood, And fathers kindle a fire, And women knead a dough, To make cakes for the queen of heaven; And they pour libations to alien gods, That they may provoke me to wrath! (1:387)

19Do they provoke me to wrath, saith Jehovah? Is it not to the shame of their own faces?

20Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, — Behold my wrath, even my fury, It shall be poured on this place, Upon men and upon beast, Upon the tree of the field and the fruit of the land; And it shall burn, and none shall quench it.

21Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye the flesh:

22For I spoke not to your fathers, Nor commanded them in the day, In which I brought them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices;

23But this is what I commanded them, saying, — “Hear my voice, And I will be to you a God, And you shall be to me a people; And walk ye in all the ways Which I have commanded you. That it may be well with you:

24Yet they heard not, nor inclined their car; But walked in perverse counsels, In the wickedness of their own evil heart, And went backward and not forward.

25From the day in which your fathers came out From the land of Egypt, to this day, Have I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, Every day rising early and sending them:

26Yet they heard not nor inclined their ear, But hardened their neck; They have acted more perversely than their fathers.

27Thou also shalt say to them all these words, But they will not hear thee; And thou shalt call to them, But they will not answer thee:

28Therefore say to them, — This is a nation, Which have not hearkened to the voice Of Jehovah, their God, And have not received correction: Perished has the truth, And cut off has it been from their mouth.

29Shave off thy hair and cast it away, Raise on the heights a lamentation; Nor rejected thee has Jehovah; And forsaken hath he the generation of his wrath:

30For the children of Judah have done evil Before mine eyes, saith Jehovah; They have set their abominations in the house, On which my name is called, to pollute it;

31And 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 have not commanded, Nor has it ever come into my heart.

32Therefore, behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That it shall no more be called Tophet, And The valley of the son of Hinnom, But, The valley of slaughter; And they shall bury in Tophet, For elsewherethere will be no place:

33And the carcasses of this people shall be for meat To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth; And there will be none to frighten them:

34And to cease will I make, from the cities of Judah And from the streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; For to a waste shall the land be reduced.