Violence and Corruption in the Land
Jeremiah 7:30-8:3
Jer.7.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נאום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שקוציהם: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3mp
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נקרא: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- לטמאו: PREP+VERB,qal,inf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek.8:6-7 (verbal): Describes elders placing abominations in the house of the Lord to defile it—language and theme closely parallel Jeremiah’s charge of putting detestable things in God’s temple.
- 2 Kings 21:4 (thematic): Records King Manasseh installing idolatrous images in the temple and defiling God’s house, an historical instance of the same offence Jeremiah indicts Judah for.
- Jer.32:34-35 (quotation): A later/parallel Jeremiah passage that repeats the accusation that people put their abominations in the house called by God’s name and profaned it—essentially the same charge restated.
- 2 Chron.36:14-16 (thematic): Describes the people’s continual sins and profaning of the temple, provoking God’s judgment—parallels Jeremiah’s linking of temple defilement with divine displeasure and impending punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the people of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house called by my name to defile it.
- For the people of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the LORD; they have placed their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to profane it.
Jer.7.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- במות: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- התפת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בגיא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לשרף: INF,qal
- את: PRT,acc
- בניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- בנתיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- צויתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- עלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- על: PREP
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 19:5 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about Topheth/the valley of Ben-Hinnom and ‘causing their sons and daughters to pass through the fire,’ with the same divine condemnation—close verbal parallel within Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 32:35 (verbal): Repeats the same charge and phrasing found in 7:31—building high places in the Valley of Ben‑Hinnom to burn children, and the declaration that God did not command or intend this.
- Leviticus 18:21 (thematic): Prohibits giving one’s offspring to Molech (child sacrifice), condemning the practice that Jeremiah denounces; provides the cultic-legal background for the prophetic denunciation.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 (allusion): Forbids imitating the detestable practices of the nations, explicitly mentioning burning sons and daughters in the fire to pagan gods—an earlier stratum that Jeremiah echoes and condemns.
- 2 Kings 21:6 (thematic): Reports King Manasseh ‘causing his son to pass through the fire,’ illustrating the historical occurrence of child sacrifice in Judah that Jeremiah indicts; connects the prophetic rebuke to royal practice.
Alternative generated candidates
- They have built Topheth in the Valley of Ben‑Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
- They have built Topheth in the Valley of Ben‑Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my heart.
Jer.7.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- הנה: PART
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- באים: VERB,qal,part,3,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
- התפת: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וגיא: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- גיא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ההרגה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וקברו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בתפת: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 19:6-7 (quotation): Almost identical prophecy — the place called Topheth/Valley of Ben‑Hinnom will henceforth be called the Valley of Slaughter; repeats the same judgment formula as Jer 7:32.
- 2 Kings 23:10 (allusion): Josiah defiles Topheth to prevent child sacrifice in the Valley of Ben‑Hinnom; historical background for the site named in Jeremiah's judgment.
- 2 Kings 21:6 (verbal): Describes kings (Manasseh) making his son pass through fire — the child‑sacrifice practice associated with Topheth/Ben‑Hinnom that triggers the prophetic curse in Jer 7:32.
- Ezekiel 16:20-21 (thematic): Condemns giving sons and daughters to idols (being sacrificed), connecting Israel’s child‑sacrifice to divine punishment — thematically parallel to Jeremiah’s denunciation of Topheth and impending slaughter.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘Topheth’ and ‘Valley of Ben‑Hinnom,’ but ‘Valley of Slaughter.’ And they will bury in Topheth—there will be no place.
- Therefore behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben‑Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; and they will bury in Topheth until there is no place.
Jer.7.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נבלת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- למאכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg
- לעוף: INF,qal
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ולבהמת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מחריד: VERB,piel,ptc,0,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:26 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel — the curse formula: “your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away,” matching Jeremiah’s imagery of carcasses for birds and beasts.
- Ezekiel 6:5 (verbal): Very close wording and context — God declares the slain of Israel will become food for birds and beasts and that none will scare them off, echoing Jeremiah’s phraseology and judgment motif.
- Ezekiel 39:17-20 (thematic): Uses the same carrion imagery for divine judgment — birds and beasts are summoned to feast on the fallen (Gog’s hosts), reflecting the theme of total desolation and public consumption.
- Jeremiah 19:7 (thematic): Same prophetic context of Jerusalem’s coming horror — extreme depictions of desecration and degradation (including eating flesh in siege/judgment scenes) parallel Jeremiah 7:33’s portrayal of utter devastation.
Alternative generated candidates
- The corpses of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away.
- The carcass of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth; and no one shall frighten them away.
Jer.7.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשבתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,com,sg
- מערי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ומחצות: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ששון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וקול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חתן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וקול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כלה: ADV
- כי: CONJ
- לחרבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Amos 8:10 (verbal): God declares he will turn feasts into mourning and songs into lamentation—closely parallels Jeremiah's silencing of wedding joy and general celebration.
- Amos 5:23 (verbal): “Take away from me the noise of thy songs” echoes the theme of God rejecting and silencing joyful music and celebration, as in Jeremiah 7:34.
- Isaiah 24:8 (thematic): Describes the cessation of mirth and music (the tambourine, joyous noise) when the land is judged—thematically parallels the desolation of celebratory voices in Jeremiah.
- Lamentations 5:15 (thematic): “The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning” — a post-destruction lament that reflects Jeremiah’s prediction that bridal and festive sounds will be silenced.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will banish from the cities of Judah and from the quarters of Jerusalem the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness—the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a desolation.
- I will make cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a desolation.
Jer.8.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יוציאו: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עצמות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ואת: CONJ
- עצמות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- שריו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3m
- ואת: CONJ
- עצמות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- עצמות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- עצמות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- יושבי: PTC,qal,ptc,mp,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מקבריהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Ezekiel 37:1-14 (verbal): Shared imagery of 'bones' laid bare. Jeremiah's threat to expose bones contrasts with Ezekiel's vision of dry bones brought to life, linking death, bones, and God's control over life and death.
- Ezekiel 39:11-16 (thematic): Describes treatment of the dead and their bones after a great defeat (collecting, burning, or burying remains) and cleansing the land—parallels Jeremiah's focus on the fate and public handling of the bones of leaders and inhabitants.
- 2 Kings 23:16 (structural): Narrates exhumation and public disposal of the bones of idolatrous priests during Josiah's reforms—a close structural parallel of removing bones from graves and treating them as a sign of judgment or purification.
- Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (thematic): Law concerning public exposure of a condemned body (hanging on a tree) and the requirement to bury it the same day to avoid defilement—relates to the theme of public disgrace and proper/impure handling of corpses invoked in Jeremiah's prophecy.
Alternative generated candidates
- At that time, declares the LORD, they shall take out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from their graves.
- At that time, says the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.
Jer.8.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושטחום: VERB,hitpael,perf,3,m,pl
- לשמש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולירח: PREP
- ולכל: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צבא: NOUN,m,sg,const
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אהבום: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- עבדום: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- דרשום: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- השתחוו: VERB,hitp,imp,2,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יאספו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יקברו: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,pl
- לדמן: PREP
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Jeremiah 7:33 (verbal): Nearly identical imagery within the same book: the carcasses of the idolaters will be food for birds and no one will gather them for burial (recurring prophetic denunciation).
- Psalm 79:2 (verbal): Speaks of the slain whose bodies are given to birds and beasts and who have no one to bury them—same motif of desolation and disgrace after violent death.
- Ezekiel 39:17-20 (thematic): God summons birds and beasts to eat the flesh of the fallen nations; uses the image of corpses as food to portray divine judgment, paralleling Jeremiah's imagery.
- Isaiah 66:24 (thematic): Describes the exposed corpses of the transgressors as an object of horror to all flesh (worm not dying, fire not quenched), echoing the theme of shameful, unburied death.
- 2 Kings 9:36-37 (thematic): Narrative example of a disgraced, exposed body (Jezebel) consumed by dogs and not properly buried—concrete illustration of the prophetic motif of dishonorable death and lack of burial.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall spread them out before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they loved and served and after which they walked and which they sought and bowed down to; they shall not be gathered or buried, but shall be like refuse on the face of the ground.
- They will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they loved and served and followed and sought and worshiped; they shall not be gathered or buried—they shall be like dung on the surface of the ground.
Jer.8.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונבחר: VERB,niphal,perf,3,ms
- מות: VERB,qal,infabs
- מחיים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לכל: PREP
- השארית: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הנשארים: PART,m,pl,def
- מן: PREP
- המשפחה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המקמות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הנשארים: PART,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הדחתים: VERB,hiphil,perf,2,mp
- שם: ADV
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 8:2 (structural): Immediate context: the preceding verse describes the harvest and the remnant remaining in the land — sets up the same scene of a remnant whose fate (death/exile) is declared by the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 28:64–67 (thematic): Deuteronomic curse language about being scattered among the nations, finding no rest and longing for different times; parallels the motif of exile and desperate suffering of the remnant.
- Amos 5:18–20 (thematic): Warning against desiring the Day of the LORD: the image that people will ‘seek death’ in the face of divine judgment echoes Jeremiah’s statement that the remnant will choose death rather than life.
- Revelation 9:6 (allusion): New Testament echo of the motif — those under divine affliction ‘sought death and did not find it’ — reinforcing the theme of people preferring death amid eschatological judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And death shall be chosen instead of life for all the remnant that remain of this evil family in all the places to which I have driven them, declares the LORD of hosts.
- And I will appoint death instead of life for all the remnant that remain of this evil family, in all the places where I have driven them, says the LORD of hosts.
For the people of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it.
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— a thing I did not command, nor did it come into my heart.
Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, 'Topheth' and 'the Valley of the Son of Hinnom,' but will call it 'the Valley of Slaughter'; and burial in Topheth will cease— there will be no place.
The dead body of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away. And I will make cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall be a desolation.
At that time, declares the LORD, they will take out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they loved and which they served and which they walked after and which they sought and which they bowed down to; they shall not be gathered up nor buried, but shall become a disgrace upon the face of the earth. And death shall be chosen rather than life for all the remnant that remain of this wicked family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the LORD of hosts.