Jeremiah 7:31
in Jeremiah 7They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into my mind.
KJV
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
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This verse in Jeremiah 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd they have built the high places of Tophet,.... Where was the idol Moloch; and which place had its name, as Jarchi thinks, from the beating of drums, that the parents of the children that were burnt might not hear the cry of them: which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom; a valley near Jerusalem, and lay to the south of it, Jos 15:8, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire: which was done, as Jarchi says, by putting them into the arms of the brasen image Moloch, heated hot.
This site's exposition
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away
on Jeremiah 7:29-31
Cut off thine hair is a mourning rite turned into a command, Jerusalem told to grieve for herself as for the dead, because the generation of his wrath already stands under sentence. The high places of Tophet in the valley of the son of Hinnom, where sons and daughters were burned in the fire, is named at verse 31 as a horror the Lord himself denies commanding, neither came it into my heart, a rejection of any claim that Molech worship descended from the Lord's own altar. The valley's later name, Gehenna, carries this scene forward into the New Testament's own word for final judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 30, 31.) Because the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord: they have set up their stumbling blocks in the house where my name is invoked, to defile it. And they have built the high places (or altar) of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in fire: which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. We learn in the beginning of Ezekiel that the sons of Judah put a statue of Baal in the Temple of God.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Surely it was in a way of righteous judgment, because they had changed the glory of God into the similitude of a beast, that God gave them up to such vile affections that changed them into worse than beasts.
5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Tophet - It comes from Toph, a drum, because they beat drums to drown the children's screeches, when they burnt them in sacrifice upon the altars, called here high places, to Moloch. Tophet was situate in a pleasant valley near Jerusalem, a place in the possession of the children of one Hinnom, Josh. xv, 8.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Tophet - in the valley of the son of Hinnom - Tophet was the place in that valley where the continual fires were kept up, in and through which they consecrated their children to Moloch.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָנ֞וּ | uvanu | and they have built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| בָּמ֣וֹת | bamot | [the] high places of | H1116 → | 102 times |
| הַתֹּ֗פֶת | hatofet | <the> Topheth | H8612 → | 9 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּגֵ֣יא | begei' | [is] in [the] valley of | H1516 → | 59 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | Ben | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִנֹּ֔ם | hinom | Hinnom | H2011 → | 13 times |
| לִשְׂרֹ֛ף | lisrof | to burn | H8313 → | 117 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם | beneihem | sons their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֖ם | benoteihem | daughters their | H1323 → | 588 times |
| בָּאֵ֑שׁ | baesh | in the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| צִוִּ֔יתִי | tziviti | I commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָלְתָ֖ה | ʾaltah | it came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לִבִּֽי׃ ס | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
וּבָנ֞וּand they have built
uvanuH1129 →376 times
בָּמ֣וֹת[the] high places of
bamotH1116 →102 times
הַתֹּ֗פֶת<the> Topheth
hatofetH8612 →9 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּגֵ֣יא[is] in [the] valley of
begei'H1516 →59 times
בֶן־Ben
ven-H1121 →4930 times
הִנֹּ֔םHinnom
hinomH2011 →13 times
לִשְׂרֹ֛ףto burn
lisrofH8313 →117 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵיהֶ֥םsons their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֖םdaughters their
benoteihemH1323 →588 times
בָּאֵ֑שׁin the fire
baeshH784 →378 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
צִוִּ֔יתִיI commanded
tzivitiH6680 →494 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
עָלְתָ֖הit came up
ʾaltahH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לִבִּֽי׃ סheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 32:35They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered…
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:21
You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6
He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:21
Through
Leviticus 18:21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:2–5
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:31
You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as…
- Deuteronomy 18:10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
- Leviticus 20:2–5
Through
2 Kings 23:10He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.
it leads to
- Joshua 15:8
From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 15:8
Through
2 Kings 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:6
He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- 2 Kings 16:3
Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the…
- 2 Kings 21:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.