God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 7:31
31They have built worship sites at Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom in order to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices. I did not ask for this. It never entered my mind.
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
29“Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the bare hills, because in his anger the Lord has rejected and abandoned the people of this generation. 30The people of Judah have done what I consider evil,” declares the Lord. “They set up their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name. They have made it unclean. They have built worship sites at Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom in order to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices. I did not ask for this. It never entered my mind. 32“That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when that place will no longer be known as Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead, it will be known as Slaughter Valley. They will bury ⌞people⌟ at Topheth because no other place will be left. 33The dead bodies of these people will become food for birds and animals, and no one will be there to frighten them away.
Read all of Jeremiah 7Jeremiah 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 worship sites to burn their children as sacrifices to Baal. I didn’t ask them or command them to do this. It never entered my mind.
- Jeremiah 32:35In the valley of Ben Hinnom they built worship sites for Baal to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I didn’t ask them to do this. It never entered my mind. I didn’t make Judah sin.
- 2 Kings 23:20He slaughtered all the priests of the illegal worship sites on their altars and then burned human bones on them. He went back to Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6He burned his son as a sacrifice in the valley of Ben Hinnom, consulted fortunetellers, cast evil spells, practiced witchcraft, and appointed ⌞royal⌟ mediums and psychics. He did many things that made the Lord furious.
- Jeremiah 19:2Go to the valley of Ben Hinnom at the entrance to Potsherd Gate. Announce there the things I plan to do.
- Joshua 15:8It continues up the valley of Ben Hinnom to the south slope of the Jebusite city Jerusalem. It then goes to the top of the mountain that overlooks the valley of Hinnom to the west at the north end of the valley of Rephaim.
- 2 Chronicles 28:3He burned sacrifices in the valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his son by burning him alive, one of the disgusting things done by the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way.
- Deuteronomy 12:31Never worship the Lord your God in the way they worship their gods, because everything they do for their gods is disgusting to the Lord. He hates it! They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
- 2 Kings 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters by burning them alive. They practiced black magic and cast evil spells. They sold themselves by doing what the Lord considered evil, and they made him furious.
- Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
- Ezekiel 16:20“ ‘You took your sons and daughters, who belonged to me, and you sacrificed them as food to idols. Wasn’t your prostitution enough?
- Leviticus 18:21Never give your children as sacrifices to the god Molech ⌞by burning them alive⌟. If you do, you are dishonoring the name of your God. I am the Lord.
- Leviticus 20:1The Lord spoke to Moses,
- Deuteronomy 17:3by worshiping and bowing down to other gods, the sun, the moon, or the whole army of heaven. I have forbidden this.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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