Jeremiah 7:17
in Jeremiah 7Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
KJV
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
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This verse in Jeremiah 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The proof of the hopeless immorality of the people is this, that they worship pagan deities (1) generally in the cities of Judah, and not in the capital only; and (2) publicly in the streets of Jerusalem. Such public idolatry could have been practiced only in the reign of a king like Jehoiakim.
This site's exposition
do not pray for these people
on Jeremiah 7:16-20
The command “do not pray for these people” comes again at 11:14 and 14:11, three times in the book. At verse 18 the whole household serves the Queen of Heaven, idolatry built into the family's daily labor. The exiles keep the same devotion at 44:17-25, likely to Ishtar or Astarte.
This site's exposition
in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem
The LORD tells the prophet to look. Barnes notes the two settings, idolatry in the country towns and idolatry in the open streets of the capital. Matthew Henry adds that the people did it under the prophet's own eyes and defied his office.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
You will find at least in the book of Jeremiah the words of God censuring by the mouth of the prophet the Jewish people for doing obeisance to such objects and for sacrificing to the queen of heaven and to all the host of heaven. The writings of the Christians, moreover, show, in censuring the sins committed among the Jews, that when God abandoned that people on account of certain sins, these sins of idol worship also were committed by them.
(Verses 17-18) Don't you see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven. They also pour out drink offerings to other gods, provoking me to anger.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This intimates both that the sin was evident and could not be denied and that the sinners were impudent and would not be reclaimed; they committed their wickedness even in the prophet's presence and under his eye; he saw what they did, and yet they did it, which was an affront to his office, and to him whose officer he was, and bade defiance to both.
Seest thou not what they do in the cities Judah,....
He sets before the people that fundamental maxim of religion that "to obey is better than sacrifice" ( 1 Sam. xv. 22 ), and that God would not accept the sacrifices of those that obstinately persisted in disobedience,
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַֽאֵינְךָ֣ | haeinekha | ¿ [are] not you | H369 → | 789 times |
| רֹאֶ֔ה | roeh | seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מָ֛ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הֵ֥מָּה | hemah | [are] they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עֹשִׂ֖ים | ʾosim | doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּעָרֵ֣י | bearei | in [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּבְחֻצ֖וֹת | uvechutzot | and in [the] streets of | H2351 → | 164 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
הַֽאֵינְךָ֣¿ [are] not you
haeinekhaH369 →789 times
רֹאֶ֔הseeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
מָ֛הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
הֵ֥מָּה[are] they
hemahH1992 →553 times
עֹשִׂ֖יםdoing
ʾosimH6213 →2628 times
בְּעָרֵ֣יin [the] cities of
beareiH5892 →1090 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּבְחֻצ֖וֹתand in [the] streets of
uvechutzotH2351 →164 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 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 6:27“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:18
Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of…
- Jeremiah 15:20
Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver…
- Ezekiel 22:2
“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- Jeremiah 1:18
Through
Ezekiel 14:23They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all these things within it,’ declares the Lord…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:8–9
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- Genesis 18:22–33
And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
- Ezekiel 9:8–9
While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”
- Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your…
- Ezekiel 8:6–18
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even…
- Jeremiah 22:8–9
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 5:8.