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Jeremiah 7:8

in Jeremiah 7

But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

KJV

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

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This verse in Jeremiah 7

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

If they knew any thing either of the temple of the Lord or of the Lord of the temple, they must think that to plead that, either in excuse of their sin against God or in arrest of God's judgment against them, was the most ridiculous unreasonable thing that could be. [1.] God is a holy God; but this plea made him the patron of sin, of the worst of sins, which even the light of nature condemns,

This site's exposition

trust in lying words, that cannot profit

on Jeremiah 7:8-11

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit turns the indictment plain: the temple itself has become the cover for theft, murder, adultery and false swearing named in verse 9. Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? is the sentence Jesus repeats in all three Synoptic accounts of the temple cleansing, Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17 and Luke 19:46, and the older writers note that a den of robbers is not where robbery happens but where robbers go to feel safe after the crime is done. The charge is not thieves worshipping mixed with the righteous but the temple itself functioning as a hideout for guilt already committed.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 8 and following) Behold, you trust in yourselves with words of falsehood (or lies) which have not benefited you. To steal, to kill, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to offer sacrifices to Baal, and to follow foreign gods that you do not know. And you have come and stood before me in this house, in which my name is invoked, and you have said: We are delivered (or we have ceased): because we have done all these abominations. They vainly have confidence in the temple, as the following sins show.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Behold, ye trust in lying words,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

that cannot profit--MAURER translates, "so that you profit nothing" (see Jer 7:4; "Will ye steal . . . and then come and stand before Me?" whom ye know not--Ye have no grounds of "knowing" that they are gods; but I have manifested My Godhead by My law, by benefits conferred, and by miracles.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הִנֵּ֤הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • אַתֶּם֙you

    ʾatemH859 →1094 times

  • בֹּטְחִ֣ים[are] relying

    botechimH982 →120 times

  • לָכֶ֔םfor <the> yourselves

    lakhem

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • דִּבְרֵ֖י<the> words of

    divreiH1697 →1440 times

  • הַשָּׁ֑קֶר<the> deception

    hashakerH8267 →113 times

  • לְבִלְתִּ֖יto not

    leviltiH1115 →112 times

  • הוֹעִֽיל׃to profit

    hoilH3276 →23 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.6 worksJeremiah 23:32“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.5 works2 Timothy 2:14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.5 worksIsaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”4 worksIsaiah 59:3For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.3 worksJeremiah 7:4Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 4:10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”2 worksJeremiah 14:13–14“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”2 worksJeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?2 worksIsaiah 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.2 worksJeremiah 23:26How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?2 worksEzekiel 13:6–16They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.2 worksJeremiah 8:10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.2 worksJeremiah 23:14–16And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”2 works1 Corinthians 13:3If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.2 worksJeremiah 5:4Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.2 worksJeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.1 worksJames 2:14What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?-2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 23:32

    “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them,…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 29:31

      “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Lamentations 2:14

      The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.

    • Ezekiel 13:7–18

      Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?

    • Zephaniah 3:4

      Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 7:4

    Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

    it leads to

    • Micah 3:11

      Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…

    • Matthew 3:9–10

      And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

    • Zephaniah 3:11

      On that day you will not be put to shame for any of the deeds by which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will remove from among you those who rejoice in…

  • Through

    Isaiah 28:15

    For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 8:7–8

      the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Jeremiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 7 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 7 →