God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 7:4
4Do not trust the words of this saying, “This is the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple!” It’s a lie.
Jeremiah 7:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’
Context of Jeremiah 7:4
2“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house, and announce from there this message: ‘Listen to the Lord’s word, all you people of Judah who go through these gates to worship the Lord. 3This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Change the way you live and act, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust the words of this saying, “This is the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple!” It’s a lie. 5“ ‘Suppose you really change the way you live and act and you really treat each other fairly. 6Suppose you do not oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows, or kill anyone in this place. And suppose you do not follow other gods that lead you to your own destruction.
Read all of Jeremiah 7Jeremiah 7:4 word by word
אַל־תִּבְטְח֣וּ לָכֶ֔ם אֶל־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַשֶּׁ֖קֶר לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵיכַ֤ל יְהוָה֙ הֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה הֵיכַ֥ל יְהוָ֖ה הֵֽמָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 7:4
- Jeremiah 7:8“ ‘You are trusting the words of a saying. It’s a lie that cannot help you.
- Jeremiah 6:14They treat my people’s wounds as though they were not serious, saying, ‘Everything is alright! Everything is alright!’ But it’s not alright.
- Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Now listen, Hananiah, the Lord hasn’t sent you. You have made these people believe a lie.
- Jeremiah 29:23They have done shameful things in Israel. They committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and spoke lies in my name. I didn’t command them to do this. I know what they have done. I’m a witness, declares the Lord.
- Ezekiel 13:19You dishonor me in front of my people for a few handfuls of barley and a few pieces of bread. You kill people who shouldn’t die, and you spare the lives of people who shouldn’t live. You lie to my people who are willing to listen.
- Matthew 3:9Don’t think you can say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I can guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.
- Jeremiah 7:9You steal, murder, commit adultery, lie when you take oaths, burn incense as an offering to Baal, and run after other gods that you do not know.
- 1 Samuel 4:3When the troops came back to the camp, the leaders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord used the Philistines to defeat us today? Let’s get the ark of the Lord’s promise from Shiloh so that he may be with us and save us from our enemies.”
- Micah 3:11Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the Lord when they say, “After all, the Lord is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.”
- Zephaniah 3:11On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your rebellious acts against me. Then I will remove your arrogance and never again will you act proud on my holy mountain.
- Luke 3:8Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 7:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The temple of the Lord - In the Chaldee the passage stands thus: - "Do not trust in the words of lying prophets, which say, Before the temple of the Lord ye shall worship; Before the temple of the Lord ye shall sacrifice; Before the temple of the Lord ye shall adore; thrice in the year ye shall appear before it." This the Targumist supposes to have been the reason why the words are here thrice repeated. They rather seem to express the conviction which the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The temple of the Lord - Thrice repeated, to emphasize the rejection of the cry ever upon the lips of the false prophets. In their view the maintenance of the temple-service was a charm sufficient to avert all evil. These - The buildings of the temple, to which Jeremiah is supposed to point. The Jews put their trust in the material buildings.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Pagans believed a symbol was the same as what it represented. In Jeremiah's time, people thought the temple was God's heavenly house. They found it absurd to think enemies could destroy it. To support this belief, they repeatedly chanted, This is the temple of the LORD. However, the Lord of Hosts did not need an earthly house (2 Samuel 7:6–7; 1 Kings 8:27). The Israelites' security from the Temple came from the Lord himself, and only on his terms (1 Kings…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The Jews falsely thought that because their temple had been chosen by Jehovah as His peculiar dwelling, it could never be destroyed. Men think that ceremonial observances will supersede the need of holiness (Is 48:2; Mi 3:11). The triple repetition of "the temple of Jehovah" expresses the intense confidence of the Jews (see Jr 22:29; Is 6:3). these--the temple buildings which the prophet points to with his finger (Jr 7:2).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 7:4
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries