Jeremiah 7:24–26

¹¹But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

¹²So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

¹⁹And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

²⁶Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

⁵Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

³³And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

⁷¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

⁸But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

⁷For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

⁸Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

⁶Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

²⁷Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

¹⁷At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

²⁹And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

¹⁶Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

¹⁷And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

¹⁸Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

¹⁹Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

²⁰Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

⁷Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.

⁸Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

⁹He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

¹⁰And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

¹²Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

¹³They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

¹⁵And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

²⁰Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

²¹They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

²³Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

²⁴Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:

²⁵But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.

²⁶Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:

²⁷To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

²⁸They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

²⁹Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.

³⁰Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.

³¹And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.

³²They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:

³³Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them:

³⁵But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.

³⁶And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.

³⁷Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,

³⁸And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.

⁴⁰Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.

⁴¹And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

⁴³Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:

⁴⁵And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

⁴⁶He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.

⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.

¹⁵And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:

⁴And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

²⁶Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

³And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

¹³And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

¹⁰And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

¹¹And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

¹²And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

³⁴And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

³⁵And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

³⁶Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

⁷And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

²¹And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

²²And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked the Lord to wrath.

²³Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

²⁴Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

⁷¶ Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord.

⁵¶ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God;

⁶In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

⁷Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

⁸But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰¶ Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

¹²Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

¹⁵Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

¹⁶Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

¹⁹I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;

²⁰And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

²²Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.

²³I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;

²⁴Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.

²⁵Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;

²⁶And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

²⁸For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.

²⁹Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.

³⁰Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?

³¹For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

³²And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

²Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

³And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

⁷Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

³⁰For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.

³¹For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

¹⁷And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

¹⁸Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

³⁰Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

¹³They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

¹⁵And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

²⁰Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

²¹They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

¹²And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

⁸Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

²³But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

¹⁵Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

²⁴But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

³²Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

¹⁰And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

¹⁴Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.

⁵¹¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁶Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

⁴Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

⁸Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

³From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

⁷Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁵To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;

¹⁹Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.

¹⁴At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

¹⁶As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.

¹⁷Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

³⁸But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

¹⁷And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

²⁹And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

¹HE, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

⁵But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;