Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 233
7:24–8:4
J eremiah
221
“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. From the day your ancestors left Egypt until
now, I have continued to send my servants, the prophets—day in and day
out. But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have
been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.
“Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your
warnings, but do not expect them to respond. Say to them, ‘This is the na
tion whose people will not obey the Lord their God and who refuse to be
taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their
lips. Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains.
For the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked
his fury.’
“The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes,” says the Lord.
“They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears
my name, defiling it. They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage
dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, 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! So beware, for the
time is coming,” says the Lord, “when that garbage dump will no longer
be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaugh
ter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room
for them. The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild
animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. I will put an end to the
happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices
of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah.
The land will lie in complete desolation.
“In that day,” says the Lord, “the enemy will break open the graves of
the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets,
and common people of Jerusalem. They will spread out their bones on
the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have
loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again
or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. And the people
of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will
send them. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn
back?
