1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’ ” 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’ Jeremiah 7:1–4 (NKJV) 

2 Hear the word of the Lord, all Judea! 3 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Make your ways and your practices straight, and I will establish you in this place. 4 Do not persuade yourselves by lying words, for they will absolutely not help you, saying, ‘It is the temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!’ Jeremiah 7:2–4 (LES2) 

5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Jeremiah 7:5–7 (NKJV) 

5 For if in straightening you straighten your ways and your practices, and when making you make a judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 and you do not oppress the stranger and the orphan and the widow, and you do not pour out innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after foreign gods to your detriment, 7 I will establish you in this place, in the land that I gave your fathers from eternity and until eternity. Jeremiah 7:5–7 (LES2)

The MT and LXX essentially agree in this passage. 

The land was promised to the fathers and given to their “seed” for eternity. The “seed” is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) The land does not belong to faithless Israel of the Old Testament, but to the New Covenant Israel of God, which is the “one new man” in Christ, the church, Christ’s bride, who is composed of Jew and Gentile, between whom God makes no distinction. In addition, the New Covenant “land” includes the entire earth (Romans 4:13), not just a sliver of land east of the Mediterranean Sea.

8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 7:8–11 (NKJV) 

8 But if you are convinced by lying words by which you will not be helped, 9 and you murder, and you commit adultery, and you steal, and you swear oaths on the basis of unrighteousness, and you burn incense to Baal and keep going after foreign gods that you have not known, 10 so that it goes badly for you; yet you have come and stood before me in the house where my name has been called upon it. And you have said, ‘We have removed ourselves to not do all these abominations.’ 11 Is my house [oikos], where my name has been called upon it there a cave spelion] of thieves [lestes] before you? And look, I have seen this,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 7:8–11 (LES2) 

Here is a case of omission in the MT. Verse 10 in the LXX has “so that it goes badly for you,” which the MT omits.

Both agree that the Jews claimed to have turned away from idolatry without doing so. 

Verse 11 was famously quoted by our Lord Jesus, who observed the same sins in his day. 

13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house [oikos] shall be called a house of prayer [proseuke],’ but you have made it a ‘den [spelion] of thieves.[lestes]’ ” Matthew 21:13 (NKJV) 

Jesus combined this verse in Jeremiah with another one in Isaiah, where the temple is called a house of prayer.

7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them be cheerful in my house of prayer. Their whole burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable upon my altar, for my house will be called a house [oikos] of prayer [proseuke] for all the nations,” Isaiah 56:7 (LES2) 

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim. Jeremiah 7:12–15 (NKJV)

12 “Because you went to my place, the one in Shiloh where I settled my name before. You have seen what I did to it because of the face of the evil of my people Israel. 13 And now, because of all these deeds you have done, and I spoke to you and you did not listen to me, and I called you and you did not reply, 14 so I will do to the house which my name has been called upon it, which you have trusted, even the place I gave to you and your fathers, just as I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you off from my face just as I cast off your brothers, all the seed of Ephraim.” Jeremiah 7:12–15 (LES2) 

16 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. Jeremiah 7:16 (NKJV) 

16 “And as for you, do not pray for this people, and do not consider them worthy of being shown mercy. And do not pray and do not come to me about them, because I will not listen. Jeremiah 7:16 (LES2)

17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” Jeremiah 7:17–19 (NKJV) 

17 Or don’t you see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and on the roads of Jerusalem? 18 Their children gather wood, and their fathers kindle a fire, and their women grind flour to make cakes for the host of heaven. And they pour out libations to foreign gods so that they might provoke me to anger. 19 Don’t they provoke me to anger?” says the Lord, “and don’t they also provoke themselves so that their faces are disgraced?” Jeremiah 7:17–19 (LES2) 

20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.” Jeremiah 7:20 (NKJV) 

20 On account of this, thus says the Lord: “Look, my wrath and anger will be poured out upon this place and upon the humans, and upon the livestock, and upon every tree of their field, and upon the fruit of the land. And it will burn, and it will not be quenched.” Jeremiah 7:20 (LES2) 

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Jeremiah 7:21–23 (NKJV) 

21 Thus says the Lord: “Gather your whole burnt offerings with your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt about whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 Instead, I commanded them this word, saying, ‘Hear my voice, and I will be a God for you, and you will be a people for me. And walk in all my ways that I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you.’ Jeremiah 7:21–23 (LES2) 

The MT and LXX essentially agree. Jeremiah takes the Jews back to their beginnings as a nation when God led them out of Egypt. God’s command was simple, but they were not able to keep it.

The psalmist may have had this in mind when he wrote as recorded in the LXX and quoted in Hebrews:

7 You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you restored a body to me. You did not ask for whole burnt offering and an offering concerning sin. 8 Then I said, “Look, I have arrived. In the scroll of the document it has been written concerning me. 9 I wish to do your will, O my God, and your law is in the middle of my heart.” Psalm 39:7–9 (LES2) (Psalm 40:6-8 in the MT, which was corrupted.)

The passage in psalms applies to the Lord who came to fulfill the heart of the law which was to produce an obedient people who listen to God’s voice. (Romans 1:5)

24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27 “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. Jeremiah 7:24–28 (NKJV) 

24 And they did not hear me or pay attention with their ear, but they walked in the thoughts of their wicked heart, and they went backward and not forward 25 from the day that their fathers left the land of Egypt, even to this day. And I sent you all my servants the prophets by day, and I sent them early, 26 and they did not hear me or pay attention with their ear, and they stiffened their neck more than their fathers. 28 And you will say this word to them: ‘As for this nation, which has not heard the voice of the Lord or accepted discipline, faith has come to an end from their mouth.’ ” Jeremiah 7:24–28 (LES2) 

The passage is in agreement until verse 27 in the MT, which is not found in the LXX. Other than that the remainder agrees, except the MT says that truth has been perished and cut off from their mouth.” The LXX says that “faith has come to an end from their mouth.”

This became evident when the Jews of our Lord’s day, for the most part, refused to confess that Jesus is Lord as an evidence of submissive faith in his resurrection glory.

29 Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the LORD. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. Jeremiah 7:29–31 (NKJV) 

29 Cut off your hair and throw it away, and lift a lamentation on your lips, for the Lord has rejected and thrust away the generation that has done these things. 30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil against me,” says the Lord. “They have arranged their abominations in the house upon which my name has been invoked, to defile it. 31 And they have built the altar of Topheth, which is in the ravine of the son of Ennom, to burn their sons and their daughters with fire, which I did not command them, and I did not intend in my heart. Jeremiah 7:29–31 (LES2) —

The MT says to take up a lamentation on the desolate heights, but the LXX says to do so “on your lips.” Instead of calling that generation “of his wrath,” the LXX says it was the one “that has done these things.” The MT says “high places” of Tophet, but the LXX says “altar.” There children were burned alive as sacrifices to Molech. From that point on, the passage is in agreement.

32 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. 33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away. 34 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 shall be desolate. Jeremiah 7:32–34 (NKJV) 

32 On account of this, look, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “and they will no longer say, ‘The altar of Topheth’ and ‘The valley of the son of Ennom,’ but rather, ‘The valley of the slain.’ And they will bury people in Topheth because there is no other place. 33 And the corpses of this people will become food for the birds of heaven and the wild animals of the land. And there will be no one to scare them away. 34 And I will destroy the sound of cheering and the sound of rejoicing from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of the bridegroom and the sound of the bride, because all the land will be a desolation.” Jeremiah 7:32–34 (LES2) 

The wording is different in various places in this passage, but the general idea is the same. God promised the land would  be desolated.