Therefore behold, the days come”, says Yahweh, “that it will no more be called ‘Topheth’ or ‘The valley of the son of Hinnom’, but ‘The valley of Slaughter’; for they will bury in Topheth until there is no place to bury. The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. No one will frighten them away. Then I will cause to 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 will become a waste.”
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Jeremiah 7:32-34 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight,” says Yahweh. “They have set their abominations in the house which 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; which I didn’t command, nor did it come into my mind. Therefore behold, the days come”, says Yahweh, “that it will no more be called ‘Topheth’ or ‘The valley of the son of Hinnom’, but ‘The valley of Slaughter’; for they will bury in Topheth until there is no place to bury. The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. No one will frighten them away. Then I will cause to 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 will become a waste.”
Parallel Translations
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Therefore behold, the days come”, says Yahweh, “that it will no more be called ‘Topheth’ or ‘The valley of the son of Hinnom’, but ‘The valley of Slaughter’; for they will bury in Topheth until there is no place to bury.
The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. No one will frighten them away.
Then I will cause to 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 will become a waste.”
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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
Then will I cause to 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 desolate.
Show all 3 translations
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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, for lack of room.
And the carcasses of this people shall be food for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
Then will I cause to 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 desolate.
Cross-references (33)
- Jeremiah 19:11 (v32) and shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that can’t…
- Deuteronomy 28:26 (v33) Your dead bodies will be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there will be no one to frighten them away.
- Jeremiah 12:9 (v33) Is my heritage to me as a speckled bird of prey? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the animals of the field.…
- Jeremiah 19:6 (v32) Therefore, behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that this place will no more be called ‘Topheth’, nor ‘The Valley of the son of Hinnom’,…
- Ezekiel 26:13 (v34) I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more.
Show all 33 cross-references
- Hosea 2:11 (v34) I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
- Revelation 18:23 (v34) The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for…
- Leviticus 26:33 (v34) I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a…
- Isaiah 1:7 (v34) Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence and it is desolate, as overthrown…
- Isaiah 24:7-8 (v34) The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends.…
- Jeremiah 25:10 (v34) Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the…
- 2 Kings 23:10 (v32) He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the…
- Isaiah 3:26 (v34) Her gates shall lament and mourn. She shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
- Jeremiah 4:27 (v34) For Yahweh says, “The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
- Jeremiah 16:9 (v34) For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the…
- Micah 7:13 (v34) Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
- Revelation 19:17-18 (v33) I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to…
- Leviticus 26:30 (v32) I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul…
- Psalms 79:2-3 (v33) They have given the dead bodies of your servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your saints to the animals of the earth.…
- Isaiah 6:11 (v34) Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,
- Jeremiah 7:31 (v32) 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…
- Jeremiah 8:1-2 (v33) “At that time,” says Yahweh, “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, the…
- Jeremiah 9:22 (v33) Speak, “Yahweh says, “ ‘The dead bodies of men will fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester. No one will…
- Jeremiah 16:4 (v33) “They will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground.…
- Jeremiah 19:7 (v33) “ ‘ “I will make the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem void in this place. I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by…
- Jeremiah 19:13 (v32) The houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on…
- Jeremiah 22:19 (v33) He will be buried with the burial of a donkey, drawn and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
- Jeremiah 25:33 (v33) The slain of Yahweh will be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They won’t be lamented. They won’t be…
- Jeremiah 33:10 (v34) Yahweh says: “Yet again there will be heard in this place, about which you say, ‘It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the…
- Jeremiah 34:20 (v33) I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies will be food for…
- Ezekiel 6:5-7 (v32) I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars. In all your dwelling…
- Ezekiel 39:4 (v33) You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds…
- Ezekiel 39:18-20 (v33) You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv32–34 The Prophet denounces a punishment, though the Jews thought…
The Prophet denounces a punishment, though the Jews thought that they deserved a reward. The case is the same with the Papists at this day, who thoughtlessly boast, when they heap together many abominations; for they think that God is bound as it were by a law, not to overlook so much diligence. But the Prophet shews how grossly deceived they are who worship God superstitiously, without the authority of his word; for he threatens them here with the heaviest judgment, — Called no more, he says, shall it be Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom; but The valley of slaughter shall it be called; for the whole land was to be filled with slaughters.
He adds, Bury shall they there, for elsewhere there will be no place He intimates that so great would be the slaughters, that Jerusalem would not contain the dead: hence, he says, graves will be made in Tophet; and many also will be slain there. A dead body, we know, was unclean by the Law; and it was not lawful to offer sacrifices to God near graves. (Numbers 19:11, 16.) The Prophet then shows, that when the Jews foolishly consecrated that place to God, they committed a dreadful profanation, for that place was to be wholly filled with dead bodies, and polluted also by the slaughter of men. We hence see what the superstitious do when they follow their own devices — that they provoke God’s wrath; for by the grievousness of the punishment we may form a judgment as to the degree in which God abominates all false modes of worship, which men devise without the warrant of his law; for we must ever remember this principle, I commanded it not, nor hath it ever come to my mind It follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv32–34 Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the…
Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Ver. 32. It shall no more be called Tophet.] Unless it be quasi Mophet, i.e., Portentum.
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Nor the valley of the son of Hinnom.] As it had been called from Joshua’s days. {Jos 15:8}
But the valley of slaughter.] Or, Gehaharegah; for the great slaughter that the Chaldees shall make there. Ecce congrua poena peccato, saith Oecolampadius.
For they shall bury in Tophet.] It shall become a polyandrion, or common burial place, till there be no place or room left.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv32–34 It shall no more be called Tophet, nor the…
It shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom: they were called so after this, and are known by those names to this day; but the meaning is, they shall acquire a name from another occasion, that shall suit them as well, viz. for the great slaughter that shall be made there, or rather thereabouts, in and about Jerusalem, and therefore called
the valley of slaughter, from the effect of slaughter; as Judas’s field was called Aceldama, Act 1:19, being a place for burying of the slain, as the next words show.
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They shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place; either there shall be so great a slaughter made upon that spot by the Chaldeans, that they shall bury as many as the place will contain, and the rest of the carcasses they shall throw on heaps, to rot above ground; for to lie unburied is frequently used as a curse on such, the burying of the dead being accounted as a thing sacred, and a significant symbol of the resurrection: or those that are slain in and about Jerusalem, at the siege and taking of it, shall be carried thither to be buried, either because there shall be no burying-places left about Jerusalem, or that valley shall be filled till there be no place for more, that hereby it may be so polluted, that no thoughts of holiness may remain in it; for a dead carcass under the law was unclean; and that which before was a valley of pleasure and great delight, and they had dedicated to God, shall now be a valley of slaughter.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv32–34 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... And…
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... And they were coming on apace; a little longer, and they would be come; for it was but a few years after this ere Jerusalem was besieged and taken by the army of the Chaldeans, and the slaughter made after mentioned:
that it shall no more be called Tophet: no more be used for such barbarous and idolatrous worship; and no more have its name from such a shocking circumstance:
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nor the valley of the son of Hinnom; as it had been from the times of Joshua:
but the valley of slaughter: or, "of the slain"; as the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; because of the multitude of men that should be killed there, or brought there to be buried; as follows:
for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place: till there be no more room to bury there; or, "because there was no place" (a) elsewhere; the number of the slain being so many: this was in righteous judgment, that where they had sacrificed their children, there they should be slain, at least buried.
(a) "quod, vel eo quod nullus (alius. sit) locus", Munster; "ideo quod non (erie) locus", Schmidt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 Verse 32. The valley of slaughter] The place where…
Verse 32. The valley of slaughter] The place where the slaughtered thousands of this rebellious people shall be cast, in order to their being burnt, or becoming food for the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, Jer 7:33. These words are repeated, and their meaning more particularly explained, Jer 19:6-15.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v32 Jer 7:32-34. It shall be no more called Tophet,…
Jer 7:32-34. It shall be no more called Tophet, but The valley of Slaughter — King Josiah first of all defiled this place, as the text speaks, 2Ki 23:10; that is, polluted it by burying dead bodies in it, by casting filth into it, and scattering there the dust and ashes of the idols which he had broken to pieces and burned. And afterward, when great numbers died in the siege of Jerusalem, and the famine that followed upon it, it became a common burying-place of the Jews: see Jer 19:6. Whereby was fulfilled that prophecy of Eze 6:5, I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols. They shall bury in Tophet till there be no place — Till it be entirely filled, and there be no vacant place left. The Vulgate reads this clause, “They shall be buried in Tophet, because there shall be no place,” which reading Houbigant approves. “The time shall come when there shall be so great a slaughter in Jerusalem, that, the graves being insufficient to bury the dead, they shall be forced to throw them into Tophet, and leave them without interment. This prediction received its last and perfect completion in the war of Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, and that of the Romans against the same people. Josephus informs us, that in this latter war an infinite number of dead bodies were thrown over the walls, and left in the valleys round the city; insomuch, that Titus himself, beholding this spectacle, could not help lifting up his hands to heaven, and calling God to witness that he had no part in these inhuman practices.” In chap. 19., Jeremiah “repeats the same threatenings with more latitude and force; declaring that Tophet shall become the lay-stall of Jerusalem, and that Jerusalem herself shall be reduced to the condition of Tophet; that is to say, polluted and filled with dead bodies.” And in Jer 31:40, he calls it the valley of the dead bodies. Then will I cause to cease the voice of mirth, &c. — All kinds and degrees of mirth shall cease, all places shall be filled with lamentation and wo, their singing shall be turned into sighing, and they shall lay aside all things that are for the comfort of human society. The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride — Persons will have no encouragement to marry when they see nothing but ruin and desolation before their eyes.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v34 Silence and desolation are to settle upon the whole…
Silence and desolation are to settle upon the whole land.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 Place, elsewhere. (Haydock) --- This was verified when Nabuchodonosor…
Place, elsewhere. (Haydock) --- This was verified when Nabuchodonosor and Titus besieged the city. (Calmet) --- The latter was quite shocked. (Josephus, Jewish Wars vi. 14.) See chap. xix., and xxxi. 40.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv32–34 valley of slaughter--so named because of the great slaughter…
valley of slaughter--so named because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take place at Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying their children to Moloch in Tophet.
no place--no room, namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans (Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 32. Valley of slaughter — Where they sinned they…
32. Valley of slaughter — Where they sinned they shall die. Where they slaughtered their own children, in blasphemous and cruel idolatry, shall they be slaughtered. This slaughter shall be so fearful that the dead shall remain unburied, and the solitude and desolation shall be so perfect that not even shall the passers by scare away the vultures from the carcasses.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–34 32. “Where they have butchered their children, they shall…
32. “Where they have butchered their children, they shall themselves be butchered, hence the name Valley of Slaughter will replace the older name.” Pe.
till there be no place to bury] mg. because there shall be no place else, is the clear meaning of the MT. (and LXX agrees). But, under the circumstances the scene of the slaughter would be the natural place for burial. Possibly the MT. does not give the original form of the clause. Du. omits it, but it recurs in Jer_19:11. To be left unburied was much dreaded. Cp. Deu_28:26; Isa_18:6.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–34 (32) Till there be no place.—Better, because there is…
(32) Till there be no place.—Better, because there is no room—i.e., for want of space the dead should be buried even in the spot which the worshippers of Molech looked on as sacred, and the worshippers of Jehovah as accursed, and which both therefore would willingly avoid using as a place of sepulture.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv32–34 The valley of slaughter; with reference to the great…
The valley of slaughter; with reference to the great slaughter reserved for the unbelieving Jews. The scene of their sin shall be that of their punishment. Till there be no place; rather, for want of room (elsewhere).
Ver. 32-Rom_6:23)
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2. Shame. The corpses are to be unburied and exposed to the ravages of unclean animals for the Jew a fearful degradation. Sin exposed, confounded, defeated, will reflect burning shame on the sinner.
3. Anguish. "The voice of mirth," etc., will cease; men will prefer death to. (Jer_8:3)
4. A peculiar relation of penalty to offence. Tophet, the scene of horrible wickedness, shall be the spot for retributive slaughter. Where wretched men immolated their children their own dead bodies shall be cast. The sun and moon and stars which they worshipped shall look down on their bones bleaching out in the open.
III THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE MEN THINK OF THE HORRORS OF RETRIBUTION. The language of Jeremiah is explicit and graphic.
1. Details of future retribution should not take the chief place in instruction. They lose their effect by too frequent repetition. By themselves they are not able to produce a better life, but may result in hardness, unbelief, and disgust. The love of God in Christ is the great power to lead to holiness.
2. Nevertheless we must not shun to declare "the whole counsel of God." Thoughts of retribution may be powerful means for rousing convictions of sin, if they are accompanied by appeals to conscience which make men feel the due proportion of guilt to punishment.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v33 carcases See Jer 19:11; 2Ki 23:10; Eze 6:5. Fulfilled…
Marg
carcases See Jer 19:11; 2Ki 23:10; Eze 6:5. Fulfilled in part in all the destructions of Jerusalem, but with a final look toward Rev 19:17-21.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v33 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues to speak of his judgment on the people of Judah.
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The corpses
"The dead bodies"
this people
"the people of Judah"
the birds of the skies
See how you translated "the birds of the heavens" in Jeremiah 4:25.
the beasts of the earth
"the wild animals of the land"
to frighten them away
"to scare them away"
I will put an end to
"I will remove from"
the sound of joy and the sound of gladness
These two phrases mean almost the same thing and are repeated for emphasis. The abstract nouns "joy" and "gladness" can be translated using the verb "rejoicing" and the adjective "glad." AT: "the sounds of people rejoicing and being glad" (See: Doublet and Abstract Nouns)
the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride
This is a metonym for what happens at marriage ceremonies. AT: "and people celebrating marriage" (See: Metonymy)
will become a desolation
The abstract noun "desolation" can be translated using the adjective "desolate." AT: "will become desolate" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
heaven
beast
kingdom of Judah
Jerusalem
bridegroom
bride
desolate
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.