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

29So, mourn, you people of this nation. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” 30The Lord says, “I have rejected them because the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own and have defiled it. They have also built places of worship in a place called Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! 32So, watch out!” says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. 33Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. There will not be any survivors to scare 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 places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind!
• Jeremiah 32:35They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’
• 2 Kings 23:20He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He passed his sons through the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and angered him.
• Jeremiah 19:2Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Announce there what I tell you.
• Joshua 15:8It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem), going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north.
• 2 Chronicles 28:3He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
• Deuteronomy 12:31You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!
• 2 Kings 17:17They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry.
• Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
• Ezekiel 16:20“‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,
• Leviticus 18:21You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord!
• Leviticus 20:1The Lord spoke to Moses:
• Deuteronomy 17:3by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship.

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