Yaram'Yahu (Jeremiah) — 7

Yaramyahu Speaks at the Haykal (Temple)

1 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gave another message to Yaramyahu, He said, 

2 “Go to the entrance of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Yahudah, listen to this message from 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! 

3 This is what 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Tsaba'ut the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL Dabar: ‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. 

4 But do not be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because  𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s Temple is here, They chant, “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s Temple is here! 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s Temple is here!” 

5 But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; 

6 only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. 

7 Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your fathers to keep forever.

8 “‘Do not be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Haykal (Temple) is here. It’s a lie! 

9 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new idols of yours, 

10 and then come here and stand before me in my Haykal (temple) and chant, “We are safe!” only to go right back to all those evils again? 

11 Do you not admit that this Haykal which bears my Name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, have spoken!

12 “‘Go now to the place at Shiluh where I once put the Tabernacle that bore my Name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Yasharalym. 

13 While you were doing these wicked things, says 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer. 

14 So just as I destroyed Shiluh, I will now destroy this Temple that bears my Name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your fathers. 

15 And I will send you out of my sight into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Yashar'AL.’

Yahudah’s Persistent Idolatry

16 Pray no more for these people Yaramyahu, do not weep or pray for them, and do not beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. 

17 Do you not see what they are doing through out the towns of Yahudah and in the streets of Yahushalam? 

18 No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires, See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of deity, and they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol deities! 

19 Am I the one they are hurting?” asks 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.”

20 So this is what 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Dabar: “I will pour out my terrible fury on this place, Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”

21 This is what 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Tsaba'ut, the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL Dabar: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! 

22 When I led your fathers out of Mitzraym, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 

23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’

24 “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward. 

25 From the day your ancestors left Mitzraym until now, I have continued to send my servants, the Nabyms, day in and day out. 

26 But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear, They have been stubborn and sinful, even worse than their ancestors.

27 “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. 

28 Say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people will not obey 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH  their 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips. 

29 Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury.’

The Valley of Slaughter

30 “The people of Yahudah have sinned before my very eyes,” says 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, “They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears my Name, defiling it. 

31 They have built pagan shrines at Tuphath, the garbage dump in the valley of Ban-Hinnum, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 

32 So beware, for the time is coming,” says 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, “when that garbage dump will no longer be called Tuphath or the valley of Ban-Hinnum, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Tuphath until there is no more room for them. 

33 The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. 

34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Yahushalam. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Yahudah. The land will lie in complete desolation.