Jeremiah 7:5
in Jeremiah 7For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;
KJV
For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
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This verse in Jeremiah 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A summary of the conditions indispensable on man’s part, before he can plead the terms of the covenant in his favor. Jer 7:6 In this place - i. e., in Jerusalem. The prophet refers to innocent blood shed there judicially. Of one such judicial murder Jehoiakim had already been guilty Jer 26:23. Jer 7:7 Why then do not the Jews still possess a land thus eternally given them? Because God never bestows anything unconditionally.
This site's exposition
Do not trust in deceptive words
on Jeremiah 7:4-7
The temple slogan is quoted three times running, “the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD”. Confidence in the building stands in for the obedience the building was built to house. The conditions that follow restate the terms Israel accepted at Sinai.
This site's exposition
if you act justly toward one another
Verses 5 and 6 set out the terms, and verse 7 gives the promise of the land that hangs on them. To act justly toward one another comes first, before the temple and its offerings. Barnes calls these the conditions the people must keep.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Then he infers, "If you make your ways straight and if your thoughts do not follow error, and if you will do justice and refrain from evil, nor shed innocent blood or scandalize the little ones. If you do not walk after alien gods, honoring perverse doctrines that you simulate in your own hearts for evil purposes. I will dwell with you in that place that you call the temple of God and in the land that I gave to your ancestors, who were obviously apostles and apostolic men.
And thus did He send prophets prior to the transmigration to Babylon, and after that event others again in greater number than the former, to seek the fruits, saying thus to them (the Jews): "Thus saith the Lord, Cleanse your ways and your doings, execute just judgment, and look each one with pity and compassion on his brother: oppress not the widow nor the orphan, the proselyte nor the poor, and let none of you treasure up evil against his brother in your hearts, and love not false swearing.
(Verses 5-7) For if you will bless (or direct) your ways and your pursuits, if you will administer justice between a man and his neighbor (or his), if you will not commit injustice (or oppress them) against strangers, orphans, and widows, if you will not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you will not walk after foreign gods to your own harm; then I will dwell with you (or make you dwell) in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers from the age to age. Finally, it brings forth: If you walk in the right paths, and your thoughts do not stray after error, and if you follow justice and do not commit evil, nor shed innocent blood, nor cause the simple to stumble, and if you do not walk after foreign gods and worship perverse doctrines, which you have imagined in your hearts for your own harm; then I will dwell with you in this place, which you call the Temple of God, and in the land that I have given to your fathers, to the Apostles, namely, and to the Apostolic men; or certainly I will make you dwell securely from the beginning to the end. This can apply to those virgins who boast of their chastity and present their chastity with an impudent countenance, when their conscience holds something else and they do not understand the Apostle's definition of virginity: that it should be holy in body and spirit. For what good is the chastity of the body to a mind corrupted, if it does not possess the other virtues described by the prophetic discourse?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They must not shed innocent blood, and with it defile this place and the land wherein they dwelt. [2.] They must keep closely to the worship of the true God only: " Neither walk after other gods; do not hanker after them, nor hearken to those that would draw you into communion with idolaters; for it is, and will be, to your own hurt.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If ye throughly amend your ways - Literally, If in making good ye fully make good your ways. God will no longer admit of half-hearted work. Semblances of piety cannot deceive him; he will not accept partial reformation; there must be a thorough amendment.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| הֵיטֵיב֙ | heiteiv | certainly <to make good> | H3190 → | 117 times |
| תֵּיטִ֔יבוּ | teitivu | you will make good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דַּרְכֵיכֶ֖ם | darkheikhem | ways your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַֽעַלְלֵיכֶ֑ם | maaleikhem | deeds your | H4611 → | 41 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | <if> | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עָשׂ֤וֹ | aso | certainly [if] <to do> | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| תַֽעֲשׂוּ֙ | taasu | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֔ט | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וּבֵ֥ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רֵעֵֽהוּ׃ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
הֵיטֵיב֙certainly <to make good>
heiteivH3190 →117 times
תֵּיטִ֔יבוּyou will make good
teitivuH3190 →117 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דַּרְכֵיכֶ֖םways your
darkheikhemH1870 →707 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַֽעַלְלֵיכֶ֑םdeeds your
maaleikhemH4611 →41 times
אִם־<if>
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
עָשׂ֤וֹcertainly [if] <to do>
asoH6213 →2628 times
תַֽעֲשׂוּ֙you will do
taasuH6213 →2628 times
מִשְׁפָּ֔טjustice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
אִ֖ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וּבֵ֥יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
רֵעֵֽהוּ׃neighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 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
Isaiah 1:19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 30:15–16
See, I have set before you today life and goodness, as well as death and disaster.
- Isaiah 3:10
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Joel 2:26
You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to…
- Hebrews 5:9
And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Deuteronomy 30:15–16
Through
Jeremiah 22:3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:12
O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire…
- Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Jeremiah 21:12
Through
Jeremiah 7:3Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 18:11
Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn…
- Jeremiah 18:11
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Irenaeus, AGAINST HERESIES 4:36.2; Jerome, SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 2:32.2-4; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.