Jeremiah 7:3

Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

Ver. 3. Amend your ways and your doings.] Heb., Make good your ways, sc., by repentance for and from your sins, and by believing the Gospel. Defaecantur enim mores, ubi medullitus excipitur evangelium. Amendment of life is an upright, earnest, and constant endeavour to do all that God commandeth, and to forbear what he forbiddeth.

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.

Jer 7:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel — As creatures, we are all bound to regard the Lord of hosts; as members of the visible church, the God of Israel; what he said to them he says to us; and it is much the same with that which John the Baptist said to those whom he baptized, Mat 3:8-9. Bring forth fruits meet for repentance, and think not to say, within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. Amend your ways and your doings — This implies that there had been much amiss in their ways and doings, but it was a great instance of the goodness of God to them, that he gave them liberty to amend, showed them wherein and how they must amend, and promised to accept them upon their amendment. And I will cause you to dwell in this place — Namely, quietly and peaceably. You shall not go into captivity, but a stop shall be put to that which threatens your expulsion. Observe, reader, reformation is the only way, and a sure way to prevent ruin.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:3-4 Pagans believed that a symbol was identical with what it represented, so in the paganized worship of Jeremiah’s day, the Temple was God’s heavenly house. It would be ridiculous to think that enemies could destroy it. To reinforce that idea, the people vigorously repeated a chant, The Lord’s Temple is here. However, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies needed no earthly house (2 Sam 7:6-7; 1 Kgs 8:27); whatever security the Israelites obtained from the Temple came from the Lord himself, and only on his terms (1 Kgs 6:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

cause you to dwell--permit you still to dwell (Jer 18:11; Jer 26:13).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Make good, he says, your ways and your doings, then will I dwell in this place This promise contains an implied contrast; for the Prophet intimates, that the people would not long survive, unless they sought in another way to pacify God. “I will dwell, “he seems to say, — in this place, when your life is changed.” It then follows on the other hand, “God will drive you into exile, except you change your life: in vain then do you seek a quiet and happy state through offering your sacrifices. God indeed esteems as nothing this external worship, except it be preceded by inward sincerity, unless integrity of life accompanies your profession.” This is one thing.

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.

(3) Your ways and your doings.—“Ways,” as in Zec_1:6, of general habits, “doings” of separate acts.

I will cause you to dwell.—The English suggests the thoughts of something new, but what Jeremiah promises is simply the continuance of the blessings they had hitherto enjoyed. I will let you dwell.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. your ways and your doings] a frequent expression in this Book. See Intr. iii. § 14 (b), note. Cp. Eze_14:22 f., Eze_20:43, Jer_36:17; Zec_1:4; Zec_1:6.

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.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... The Lord of armies above and below in general, and the God of Israel in particular; wherefore they ought to hearken to what he was about to say, and to be obedient to him:

amend your ways and your doings; or, "make them good" (l); which shows that they were bad, and were not agreeable to the law and will of God, to which they ought to have been conformed; and the way to amend them was to act according to the rule of the divine word they were favoured with:

and I will cause you to dwell in this place; to continue to dwell in Jerusalem, and in Judea, the land of their nativity, and in the temple, the house of God, and place of religious worship; but, if not, it is suggested that they should not continue here, but be carried captive into a strange land.

(l) "bonas facite vias vestras", V. L. Munster, Pagninus, Montanus; "efficite", &c. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

If the people repented, instead of being led into captivity, God would maintain their national existence. It is a promise of the continuance of an old blessing.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Dwell. Hebrew, "make you dwell here." (Haydock)

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).

Amend your ways and your doings, i.e. mend your manners. Amending signifies both to turn from our evil works, and make our good better.

I will cause you to dwell in this place; you shall not go into captivity, implying that otherwise they should; he will continue their habitations to them from age to age, as Jer 7:7. The doing of a thing in Scripture often implies the continuance of it: Lev 26:11,

I will set my tabernacle, i.e. I will continue it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Amend your ways and your doings — Habits and particular acts.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues giving Jeremiah his message to the people of Judah.

Yahweh of hosts ... says this

Jeremiah often uses these words to introduce an important message from Yahweh. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 6:6.

Make your ways and practices good, and I will let you continue

"If you improve your ways and your practices, then I will let you continue"

in this place

This means in the land of Judah, not in the temple.

Do not entrust yourself to deceitful words and say

The reflexive pronoun "yourself" emphasizes the personal risk to the Israelites. AT: "Do not trust in deceitful words to protect you, saying" (See: Reflexive Pronouns)

Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh!

It is implied that, since the temple belongs to Yahweh and represents his presence, he will protect it and the people of Judah will be safe. Possible meanings for why "Temple of Yahweh" is repeated three times are 1) it was repeated for emphasis or 2) it was repeated as part of a temple liturgy. AT: "This is the temple of Yahweh so it is absolutely certain that no one will destroy it and we are safe." (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Yahweh of hosts

God

Israel

good

life

deceive

word

temple

Yahweh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.