Jeremiah 7:31

Jeremiah 7:31 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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 did not command, nor did it come into My heart.

Context of Jeremiah 7:31

29Now show that you are upset. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Go to the tops of the hills and sing sad songs about death. Realize that today's people have made the Lord very angry. So he has decided to turn away from them and leave them.” ’ 30The Lord says, ‘The people of Judah have done things that I see are evil. They have put their disgusting idols in my temple. That is the place that I chose to be my special home, and they have made it unclean. They have built altars in Topheth, in Ben-Hinnom Valley. On those altars, they light fires to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices. I never commanded them to do that. I never even thought about it. 32So listen to me! The time will soon come when people no longer call those places Topheth or Ben-Hinnom Valley. Instead, they will call it Death Valley. They will bury lots of dead people there. There will be no space left to bury any more people! 33Then the bodies of dead people will lie on the ground. Birds and animals will come and eat them. There will be nobody to chase them away.

Jeremiah 7:31 word by word

וּבָנ֞וּ בָּמ֣וֹת הַתֹּ֗פֶת אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּגֵ֣יא בֶן־הִנֹּ֔ם לִשְׂרֹ֛ף אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם וְאֶת־בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֖ם בָּאֵ֑שׁ אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צִוִּ֔יתִי וְלֹ֥א עָלְתָ֖ה עַל־לִבִּֽי׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they have builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• of Tophetתֹּ֫פֶתtôpheth · TophethH8612
• in the valleyגַּיְאgay' gay · ValleyH1516
• of the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Hinnomהִנֹּםhinnôm · (Topheth of son of) HinnomH2011
• to burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• and their daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• in the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• which I commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• not, neither cameעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• it into my heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Jeremiah 7:31

• Jeremiah 19:5They have built altars here to give honour to Baal. They light fires to give their children to Baal as burnt offerings. I never even thought about it. I never commanded my people to offer those kinds of sacrifices. I never even thought about it.
• Jeremiah 32:35They have built altars in Ben-Hinnom valley to worship Baal. On those altars, they light fires to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to Molech. I never commanded them to do that. I never even thought about it. It has caused Judah's people to be guilty of sin.
• 2 Kings 23:20He punished with death all the priests who served false gods at those altars. He killed them on their own altars. He burned human bones on all the altars. After he had done that, he went back to Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He burnt his own sons with fire as a sacrifice in Ben Hinnom valley. He used magic and false gods to find out what would happen in the future. He took advice from magicians and people who talked to the spirits of dead people. He did many things that the Lord said were very evil. This made the Lord very angry.
• Jeremiah 19:2Go out into Ben-Hinnom Valley, which is near to the “Broken Pots” gate. There you must speak the words that I will tell you.
• Joshua 15:8From there it went through the valley of Hinnom to the south side of a hill beside the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Judah's border then continued to the top of the hill on the west side of the Hinnom valley. This was at the north end of the valley of the Rephaites.
• 2 Chronicles 28:3He offered sacrifices in Ben-Hinnom Valley. He even caused his sons to walk through fire. In this way he copied the terrible sins of the other nations in Canaan. Those were the nations that the Lord had chased out so that the Israelites could live there.
• Deuteronomy 12:31No! You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way that those people worship their gods. When they worship, they do wicked things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children with fire, to make sacrifices to their gods.
• 2 Kings 17:17They burned their sons and their daughters in fire as offerings to Baal. They used magic to find out what would happen in the future. They chose to do things that the Lord said were evil. That made him very angry.
• Psalms 106:37They even killed their sons and their daughters as sacrifices for those idols of demons!
• Ezekiel 16:20You also offered your sons and your daughters as sacrifices to those idols. They were my children too! But you offered them as food to your idols. Like a prostitute, you were not faithful to me.
• Leviticus 18:21Do not offer your child as a sacrifice to the false god, Molech. This would spoil God's honour. He is the Lord.
• Leviticus 20:1The Lord said to Moses,
• Deuteronomy 17:3He may have started to worship false gods that I have commanded you not to worship. Perhaps he worships the sun, the moon or the stars.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 7:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Tophet - 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29-33Verses 29-33 Jeremiah summons the people to lament over the miserable consequences of their rejection of God. In the valley of Hinnom, where lately they offered their innocents, they shall themselves fall before the enemy in such multitudes that burial shall be impossible, and the beasts of the field unmolested shall prey upon their remains. Jeremiah 7:29 The daughter of Zion, defiled by the presence of enemies in her sanctuary, and rejected of God, must…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-34Verses 29-34 In token both of sorrow and of slavery, Jerusalem must be degraded, and separated from God, as she had been separated to him. The heart is the place in which God has chosen to put his name; but if sin has the innermost and uppermost place there, we pollute the temple of the Lord. The destruction of Jerusalem appears here very terrible. The slain shall be many; they having made it the place of their sin. Evil pursues sinners, even after death…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 30-34The valley of Ben-Hinnom started on the west side of Jerusalem and continued around the south side. This narrow, steep valley opened into the Kidron Valley and served as the city's garbage dump and graveyard. The bodies of the poor, whether murdered or dead from disease, were dumped there. Child sacrifice, a practice completely abhorrent to the Lord (see 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6), also took place there. The valley was known as Topheth (2 Kings 23:10…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. high places of Tophet--the altars [Horsley] of Tophet; erected to Moloch, on the heights along the south of the valley facing Zion. burn ... sons--(Psa 106:38). commanded ... not--put for, "I forbade expressly" (De 17:3; 12:31). See on Jr 2:23; Is 30:33.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 7:31

• Backsliders
• Condescension of God
• High Places
• Hinnom
• Idolatry
• Impenitence
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Molech
• Offerings
• Tophet

In the dictionaries

• Gehenna
• Mirth
• Reject
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Fire
• Firstborn; Firstling
• God
• High Place
• Hinnom, Valley of

Commentaries on Jeremiah 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings