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| 1 The word that came unto Jeremiah, from Yahweh, saying:– |
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| 2 Stand thou in the gate of the house of Yahweh, and thou shalt proclaim there, this word,–and shalt say–Hear ye the word of Yahweh, all Judah, ye who are entering in at these gates, to bow down unto Yahweh: |
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| 3 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Amend your ways, and your doings,–That I may cause you to dwell in this place. |
Amend your ways – If our ways are not right they should be amended and not justified, saying, It is my way. R2204:4, R705:3
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| 4 Do not, on your part, trust in false, words, saying,–The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh, they are! |
Temple of the LORD – The Christ. T70[T70]
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| 5 But, if ye shall, thoroughly amend, your ways, and your doings,–Shall, thoroughly execute, justice, between a man and his neighbour; |
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| 6 The sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, shall not oppress, And, innocent blood, shall not shed in this place,–And, after other gods, shall not walk, to your own hurt, |
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| 7 Then will I cause you to dwell, In this place, In the land, which I gave to your fathers,–From one age even unto another. |
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| 8 Lo! ye, on your part, are trusting in false, words,–To no, profit! |
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| 9 Are ye to steal, commit murder, and commit adultery, and swear, falsely, and burn incense unto Baal,–and walk after other gods, whom ye have not known; |
Unto Baal – To whom were offered human sacrifices. D24
After other gods – Corrupting the Israelites by contact with them. D24
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| 10 And will ye then come in, and stand before me, in this house, whereon my Name hath been called, and say,–We have set ourselves free,–for the purpose of committing all these abominations? |
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| 11 A den of robbers, hath this house, on which my Name hath been called, become, in your own eyes? I, also,–lo! I have seen it, Declareth Yahweh. |
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| 12 For go, I pray you, unto my place which was in Shiloh, Where I made my Name to dwell, at first,–And see what I did to it, because of the wickedness of my people Israel! |
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| 13 Now, therefore–Because ye have done all these deeds, Declareth Yahweh,–And though, I, spake unto you, betimes, speaking, Yet ye hearkened not, And though I cried unto you, Yet ye answered not, |
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| 14 Therefore will I do to the house, Whereon my Name hath been called, Wherein, ye, are trusting, Even to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers,–Just as I did unto Shiloh; |
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| 15 And will cast you, out from before me,–Just as I have cast out, All your brethren, All the seed of Ephraim. |
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| 16 Thou, therefore–Do not pray for this people, Neither lift up for them cry or prayer, Neither intercede with me,–For I am not going to hear thee. |
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| 17 Dost thou not, see what, they, are doing, In the cities of Judah,–and, In the streets of Jerusalem? |
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| 18 The children, gather wood, and, The fathers, kindle the fire, and, The women, knead dough,–To make sacrificial cakes, to the queen of the heavens, And to pour out drink-offerings, to other, gods, Provoking me to anger! |
Provoke me to anger – The idolatrous tendencies of that nation brought divine wrath upon them and sent them into captivity to Babylon. R5125:1
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| 19 Is it, me, they are provoking? Enquireth Yahweh,–Is it not, themselves,–unto the shame of their own faces? |
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| 20 Wherefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh–Lo! mine anger and mine indignation, are about to be poured out upon this place, On man, and on beast, and, On the tree of the field, and, On the fruit of the ground,–And it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. |
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| 21 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel,–Your ascending-offerings, add ye unto your peace-offerings, and eat ye flesh. |
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| 22 For I bade not your fathers, Neither commanded I them, In the day I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,–Concerning the matter of ascending-offering and peace-offering; |
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| 23 But, this thing, I commanded them–saying, Hearken ye unto my voice, So will I become unto you–a God, And, ye, shall become unto me–a people,–Ye shall therefore walk in all the way that I may command you, To the end it may be well with you; |
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| 24 Yet they hearkened not, Neither inclined their ear, But walked, In the counsels–In the stubbornness of, their, own wicked heart; And went backward, and not forward. |
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| 25 Ever since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt, until this day, Have I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, Daily, betimes, sending them; |
I have even sent unto you – God was continually reminding them of their unfaithfulness. R1365:4
During the Millennial age it will no longer be necessary to be always preaching "know the Lord." R1365:5
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| 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, Neither inclined their ear,–But stiffened their neck, They did more wickedly than their fathers. |
Hardened their neck – A figure taken from the stiffness of neck of an unruly yoke of oxen. R3464:1
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| 27 Therefore shalt thou speak unto them all these words, Though they do not hearken unto thee,–And thou shalt cry aloud unto them, Though they do not answer thee;– |
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| 28 But thou shalt say unto them,–This, is the nation that hearkened not unto the voice of Yahweh its God, Neither accepted they correction,–Perished, is fidelity, And is cut off, out of their mouth. |
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| 29 Cut thou off thy crown of hair, [O Jerusalem], and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge,–For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth. |
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| 30 For the sons of Judah, have done, that which was wicked in mine eyes, Declareth Yahweh,–They have set their abominations in the house whereon my Name hath been called, to defile it; |
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| 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn up their sons and their daughters, in the fire,–Which I commanded not, Neither came it up on my heart. |
Tophet – Later called Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom. PD63/73
Used as a type of the real Gehenna, or lake of fire, unquenchable till its work is done. R1449:5*
A place for the offerings or sacrifices of persons in idolatrous worship. R1449:5*
The valley of Hinnom was first established under demon influence as a place of torture; but Israel made it a crematory for the carcases of dead animals and the bodies of certain vile criminals and it thus became a symbol of the Second Death. R3069:1[R3069]
Burn their sons – The image of Moloch was erected there and children were roasted alive in the arms of the image. R3069:1[R3069]; PD63/73
Neither came it – The doctrine of everlasting torture is contrary to every element of divine character. R5326:6
Under the Lord's arrangement no torture was permitted in Israel. R3069:1[R3069]
For centuries the masses of Christendom have attributed to the God of love a character far worse than that of Moloch. R3069:1[R3069]
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| 32 Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When it shall not be called any more–The Topheth, nor, The valley of Ben-hinnom, but, The valley of Slaughter,–And they shall bury in Topheth, for want of place; |
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| 33 And the dead bodies of this people shall become food, For the bird of the heavens, and, For the beast of the earth,–And there shall be none, to drive them away. |
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| 34 So will I cause to cease, 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, a desolation, shall the land become. |
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