Jeremiah 7:20

20 "'So this is what the Lord God says: I will pour out my anger on this place, on people and animals, on the trees in the field and the crops in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire that no one can put out.

Jeremiah 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 7:20

Therefore thus saith the Lord God
Since these are their thoughts, and this the fruit of their doings: behold, my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place;
like fire, to consume and destroy it; meaning Jerusalem, which was burned with fire; as an emblem of God's wrath, and an instance of his vengeance upon it, for sins; which came down in great abundance, like a storm or tempest: upon man and upon beast;
upon beasts for the sake of man, they being his property, and for his use; otherwise they are innocent, and do not deserve the wrath of God, nor are they sensible of it: and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of your ground;
which should be blighted by nipping winds, or cut down and trampled upon by the Chaldean army: and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched;
that is, the wrath of God shall burn like fire, and shall not cease until it has executed the whole will of God in the punishment of his people.

Jeremiah 7:20 In-Context

18 The children gather wood, and the fathers use the wood to make a fire. The women make the dough for cakes of bread, and they offer them to the Queen Goddess. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to make me angry.

19 But I am not the one the people of Judah are really hurting, says the Lord. They are only hurting themselves and bringing shame upon themselves.

20 "'So this is what the Lord God says: I will pour out my anger on this place, on people and animals, on the trees in the field and the crops in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire that no one can put out.

21 "'This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Offer burnt offerings along with your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves!

22 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I did not speak to them and give them commands only about burnt offerings and sacrifices.