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| 1 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, |
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| 2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast proclaimed there this word, and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, who are coming in at these gates, to bow before Jehovah: |
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| 3 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Amend your ways, and your doings, And I 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 trust for yourselves Unto the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah [are] they! |
Temple of the LORD – The Christ. T70[T70]
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| 5 For, if ye do thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, If ye do judgment thoroughly Between a man and his neighbour, |
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| 6 Sojourner, fatherless, and widow, ye oppress not, And innocent blood do not shed in this place, And after other gods do not walk, for evil to yourselves, |
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| 7 Then I have caused you to dwell in this place, In the land that I gave to your fathers, From age even unto age. |
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| 8 Lo, ye are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit. |
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| 9 Stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, And swearing to falsehood, and giving perfume to Baal, And going after other gods whom ye knew not. |
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 ye have come in and stood before Me, In this house on which My name is called, And have said, 'We have been delivered,' In order to do all these abominations. |
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| 11 A den of burglars hath this house, On which My name is called, been in your eyes Even I, lo, I have seen, an affirmation of Jehovah. |
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| 12 But go ye, I pray you, Unto My place that [is] in Shiloh, Where I caused My name to dwell at first, And see that which I have done to it, For the wickedness of My people Israel. |
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| 13 And now, because of your doing all these works, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I speak unto you, rising early and speaking, And ye have not hearkened, And I call you, and ye have not answered, |
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| 14 I also to the house on which My name is called, In which ye are trusting, And to the place that I gave to you, and to your fathers, Have done, as I have done to Shiloh. |
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| 15 And I have cast you from before My face, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim. |
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| 16 And thou dost not pray for this people, Nor lift up for them crying and prayer, Nor intercede with Me, for I hear thee not. |
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| 17 Art thou not seeing what they are doing In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem |
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| 18 The sons are gathering wood, And the fathers are causing the fire to burn, And the women are kneading dough, To make cakes to the queen of the heavens, And to pour out libations to other gods, So as to provoke 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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The queen of heaven – An apparent reference to Mariolatry. – Say ten "hail Mary's" for your penance. |
| 19 Me are they provoking to anger an affirmation of Jehovah, Is it not themselves, For the shame of their own faces |
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| 20 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah, Lo, Mine anger and My fury is poured out on this place, On man, and beast, and on tree of the field, And on fruit of the ground, And it hath burned, and it is not quenched. |
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| 21 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye flesh. |
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| 22 For I did not speak with your fathers, Nor did I command them in the day of My bringing them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning the matters of burnt-offering and sacrifice, |
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| 23 But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to My voice, And I have been to you for God, And ye ye are to Me for a people, And have walked in all the way that I command you, So that it is well for you. |
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| 24 And they have not hearkened, nor inclined their ear, And they walk in the counsels, In the stubbornness, of their evil heart, And are for backward, and not for forward. |
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| 25 Even from the day when your fathers Went out of the land of Egypt till this day, I send to you all my servants the prophets, Daily rising early and sending, |
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 And they have not hearkened unto Me, Nor inclined their ear, and harden their neck, They have done evil above 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 And thou hast spoken unto them all these words, And they do not hearken to thee, And thou hast called unto them, And they do not answer thee. |
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| 28 And thou hast said unto them: This [is] the nation that hath not hearkened, To the voice of Jehovah its God, Nor have they accepted instruction, Perished hath stedfastness, Yea, it hath been cut off from their mouth. |
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| 29 Cut off thy crown, and cast [it] away, And lift up on high places lamentation, For Jehovah hath rejected, And He leaveth the generation of His wrath. |
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| 30 For the sons of Judah Have done the evil thing in Mine eyes, An affirmation of Jehovah, They have set their abominations in the house On which My name is called to defile it, |
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| 31 And have built the high places of Tophet, That [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come 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, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, 'The Tophet,' And 'Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But 'Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet without place. |
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| 33 And the carcase of this people hath been for food To a fowl of the heavens, and to a beast of the earth, And there is none troubling. |
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| 34 And I have caused to cease from cities of Judah, And from streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, For the land doth become a desolation! |
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