Jeremiah 7:20

20 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! my strong vengeance and mine indignation is welled together on this place, on men, and on beasts, and on the tree(s) of the country(side), and on the fruits of [the] earth; and it shall be kindled, and it shall not be quenched.

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 sons gather sticks, and the fathers kindle a fire; and women sprinkle together (the) inner fatness, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, (and) to make sacrifice (of wine) to alien gods, and to stir me to wrathfulness. (The sons gather sticks, and their fathers kindle a fire, and the women altogether sprinkle the inner fatness, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they also offer a wine offering to strange, or foreign, gods, all to stir me to anger.)
19 Whether they stir me to wrathfulness? saith the Lord; whether they stir not themselves into [the] shame of their cheer? (Do they hurt me? saith the Lord; rather, do they not cover themselves with shame?)
20 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! my strong vengeance and mine indignation is welled together on this place, on men, and on beasts, and on the tree(s) of the country(side), and on the fruits of [the] earth; and it shall be kindled, and it shall not be quenched.
21 The Lord of hosts, (the) God of Israel, saith these things, Heap ye your burnt sacrifices (on)to your slain sacrifices, and eat ye fleshes.
22 For I spake not with your fathers, and I commanded not to them of the word of burnt sacrifices, and of slain sacrifices, in the day in which I led them out of the land of Egypt. (For I spoke not to your forefathers, and I commanded not to them about burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, on the day when I led them out of the land of Egypt.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.