15 O LORD, You know; Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:15–16 (NKJV) 

15 O Lord, remember me and visit me, and hold me guiltless before those who pursue me, not for forbearance. Know how I received reproach concerning you 16 by those who reject your words. Make an end of them, and your word shall be to me as cheer and delight to my heart, because your name has been invoked upon me, O Lord Almighty. Jeremiah 15:15–16 (LES2) 

The MT has Jeremiah asking God to take vengeance on his persecutors, but the LXX asks God to “hold me guiltless,” but without bearing long with his enemies. The MT applies God’s long-suffering to Jeremiah.

The MT says that Jeremiah suffered rebuke for God’s sake, but the LXX says that Jeremiah suffered reproach from those who rejected God’s words. The MT then says the famous line, “Your words were found, and i ate them,” which I have sung to God. How sad for me that they appear to be contrived by the translators of the MT. The LXX says, “Make an end of them,” meaning those who reject God’s words. 

The MT and LXX agree in the next section, except that the MT calls God the Lord of hosts, while the LXX says he is Lord Almighty.

17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail? Jeremiah 15:17–18 (NKJV) 

17 I did not sit in the assembly of those who mock, but I was reverent at the face of your hand. I was seated by myself because I was filled with bitterness. 18 Why do those who grieve me prevail over me? My wound is severe. How will I be healed? When it came, it came to me like false water without faith. Jeremiah 15:17–18 (LES2) 

19 Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. 21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.” Jeremiah 15:19–21 (NKJV) 

19 Because of this, thus says the Lord: “If you return, then I will restore you, and you will stand before my face. And if you bring out what is valued from the worthy, you will serve as my mouth. And they will turn to you, and you will not turn to them. 20 And I will give you to this people as a fortified bronze wall, and they will fight against you, and they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you 21 and to deliver you from the hand of evildoers, and to redeem you from the hand of the plague.” Jeremiah 15:19–21 (LES2) 

This passage is God’s response to a disconsolate Jeremiah, which sounds very much like what Jesus told Peter before his betrayal. 

31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31–32 (NKJV) 

Apparently Jeremiah was not in a good place and needed to repent and be restored to his prophetic ministry. Bitterness can knock us off track with God. 

The MT has God instructing Jeremiah to separate the precious from the vile, but the LXX tells him to bring what is precious out of what is merely worthy. This reminds me of the old saying that the enemy of what is best is what is merely good. In order to be God’s spokesperson, we need to give ourselves to God’s best and not be satisfied with anything less. 

God forbade Jeremiah from surrendering his calling in order to have peace, promising to preserve him from everyone who wished to persecute and destroy him. I believe God wants to encourage us all in this regard.

11 Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.” 12 He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. 13 When He utters His voice, There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: “And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” Jeremiah 10:11–13 (NKJV) 

11 This is what you will say to them, “Let gods who have not made the sky and the land be destroyed from the land and from beneath this sky. 12 It is the Lord who made the earth with his power, who set up the inhabited world with his wisdom. And he has stretched out the sky with his insight, 13 and a quantity of water was in the sky, and he brought up clouds from the end of the earth. He turned lightning into rain and brought light out from his treasuries. Jeremiah 10:11–13 (LES2) 

14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image; For his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. 15 They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. Jeremiah 10:14–15 (NKJV) 

14 Every person was foolish, without knowledge; every goldsmith was put to shame with respect to his carved images, because he cast false things; there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, works of mockery. At the time of their visitation, they will be utterly destroyed. Jeremiah 10:14–15 (LES2) 

16 The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name. Jeremiah 10:16 (NKJV) 

16 Such is not the portion [meris] of Jacob, because he who formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name.” Jeremiah 10:16 (LES2) 

Here is where it gets interesting or infuriating, depending how you view it. I have already established that I am convinced the MT was produced to counter the claims of Christianity. It deliberately hides or omits clear references to Christ that the church used to prove Jesus is the Messiah. By altering these texts, the MT seeks to eliminate the church from using them and to cast doubt on the trustworthiness of the LXX. It also attempts to elevate Israel, usurping what belongs to Christ. 

In this passage, it is apparent that the translators of the MT altered the text to make it look like what really points to Jesus points to Israel, a favorite tactic.

The MT says, “The portion of Jacob is not like them.” The LXX words it, “Such is not the portion of Jacob.” The Greek word for “portion” is meris, the same word used in Psalm 16:5, which shows us how to interpret this. 

5 The Lord is the portion [meris] of my inheritance and of my cup. You are the one who restores my inheritance to me. Psalm 15:5 (LES2) 

The Lord Jesus is Jacob’s portion (John 5:39), not destruction. Of course, this only applies to those who put their faith in Jesus.

The MT says that “Israel is the tribe of his inheritance.” The LXX, however, says that “he is his inheritance,” referring to the Creator of all things, who we already established is Jesus [John 1:3].

The New Testament specifically calls Jesus the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) and names the church as Christ’s inheritance (Ephesians 1:18). Whatever the church possesses, it has because of being one with Christ, similar to how a bride comes into possession of all her husband owns. In this sense, Christ is both heir and the inheritance. Christ will turn over everything to his Heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 15:28), who by that act will inherit the church because it is in his Son. As I see it, this will make Jesus part of the Father’s inheritance. We who believe have nothing that is outside of Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Next, the MT calls this one the “Lord of hosts,” but the LXX simply calls him “Lord,” a title firmly associated with Jesus. 

23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 9:23–24 (NKJV) 

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let the wise not boast in his wisdom, and let the strong not boast in his strength, and let the wealthy not boast in his riches. 24 Rather let the one who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows that I am the Lord, the one who deals in mercy and judgment and righteousness upon the earth. For my will is in this,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23–24 (LES2) 

This passage is paraphrased by Paul.

31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” 1 Corinthians 1:31 (NKJV) 

Interestingly, Paul says the same thing in another verse in Galatians, where he connects it to circumcision.

14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Galatians 6:14–15 (NKJV) 

The Jews boasted in circumcision being the sign of their special relationship with God, but both Jeremiah and Paul negate this claim.

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.” Jeremiah 9:25–26 (NKJV) 

25 “Look! The day is coming,” says the Lord, “and I will visit upon all the circumcised their foreskins, 26 upon Egypt and upon Idumea and upon Edom and upon the sons of Ammon and upon the sons of Moab and upon everyone who shaves the things along his face, those who dwell in the desert, because every nation is uncircumcised in flesh, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in their heart.” Jeremiah 9:25–26 (LES2) 

The central point in both the MT and LXX is that disobedient and unbelieving Israel is no different from the Gentiles because God looks at the heart, not upon outward things like circumcision. This is why Paul wrote what he did in the quote from Galatians above. In Romans, Paul stated it even more clearly.

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Romans 2:25–29 (NKJV) 

As we study the prophets, we see from where Paul derived his doctrine. In God’s eyes, circumcision is simply an outward sign that was meant to accompany an inward reality.

9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. Romans 4:9–12 (NKJV) 

The inward reality is what really matters to God, whether or not accompanied by outward circumcision. Confessing that Jesus is Lord reveals whether there is a circumcision of the heart that produces a new creation – the born-again person. This applies to all people, both Jew and Gentile, which is the glorious reality of the New Covenant.

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills. 3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders. 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.” Jeremiah 17:1–4 (NKJV) 

5 Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. Jeremiah 17:5–6 (NKJV) 

5 Cursed is the person who has hope in humankind and who will lean the flesh of his arm on him and his heart is removed from the Lord. 6 And he will be like the tamarisk in the desert; he will not see when good things come. And he will encamp by the sea and in the wilderness, in a briny land that is not inhabited. Jeremiah 17:5–6 (LES2) 

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NKJV) 

7 And blessed is the person who trusts the Lord, and the Lord will be his hope. 8 And he will be like a tree flourishing beside the waters, and it will cast its roots into the moisture. It will not fear when heat comes, and there will be wooded branches on it. It will not fear in the year of drought, and it will not cease making fruit. Jeremiah 17:7–8 (LES2) 

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NKJV) 

9 The heart is deeper than all things; a person is also. And who will understand him? 10 I, the Lord, who visits hearts and tests the kidneys to give each according to his ways and according to the fruits of his pursuits. Jeremiah 17:9–10 (LES2) 

This passage is entirely different in the MT, which is what is familiar to most of us. How did the MT get from what the LXX says to its version? Perhaps it is a revelation of the heart of the translators of the MT. The human heart is wicked, without God, but it is also wicked to put words in God’s mouth that he did not say. The LXX makes much more sense in how it segues from verse 9 to 10. Because the heart is deep, only God can understand it. In a similar way, Paul wrote that God’s heart is also unsearchable. (Romans 11:33) We can only know it by revelation from the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:11)

11 “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.” Jeremiah 17:11 (NKJV) 

11 The partridge sang; it collected what it did not bring forth. So is the one who makes his wealth without judgment: at the midpoint of his days, they will forsake him, and at his end he will be crazy. Jeremiah 17:11 (LES2) 

The wording is different here, but the general idea is the same.

12 A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.” Jeremiah 17:12–13 (NKJV) 

12 A throne of glory, highly exalted, is our sanctuary! 13 O endurance of Israel! O Lord! Let all who forsake you be disgraced; let those who have turned away be written upon the earth, because they have forsaken the spring of life, the Lord. Jeremiah 17:12–13 (LES2) 

The MT adds the phrase, ‘from the beginning,” which is unnecessary. The MT calls the Lord, “the hope of Israel” but the LXX calls him, “the steadfastness” of Israel, which contrasts to Israel’s unfaithfulness.

We know that the fountain of life is the Holy Spirit, whom we receive when we believe in Jesus. 

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37–39 (NKJV)

Everyone who rejects Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, judges himself unworthy of eternal life (Acts 13:46) and cuts himself off from the source of life. Rejecting Jesus is the same thing as rejecting God altogether (1 John 2:22-23). Those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus serve a different “god” altogether. In spiritual warfare, there are only two teams: Jesus and all the rest who rally under Satan’s flag. (John 14:6) To claim that modern unbelieving Jews are God’s “chosen people” is to defy the testimony of the Bible. Jesus said that all who are not with him are against him. (Matthew 12:30)

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. 15 Indeed they say to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!” 16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You, Nor have I desired the woeful day; You know what came out of my lips; It was right there before You. 17 Do not be a terror to me; You are my hope in the day of doom. 18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me, But do not let me be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, But do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom, And destroy them with double destruction! Jeremiah 17:14–18 (NKJV) 

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved, because you are my boast. 15 Look! They say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!” 16 But I have not grown weary of following after you, and I have not desired the day of humankind; you understand. What goes out through my lips is before your face. 17 Do not become like an estranged person to me, by sparing me in an evil day. 18 Let those who pursue me be disgraced, and may I not be ashamed. May they be terrified, and may I not be afraid. Bring an evil day upon them; wound them with a double wound! Jeremiah 17:14–18 (LES2) 

In the LXX, Jeremiah makes his boast in the Lord, which Paul also did in 2 Corinthians 10:17, where he quoted Jeremiah 9:24. Verse 17 in the LXX is difficult to translate. The MT seems to conquer this by having it agree with verse 18. The idea of God’s seeming to be estranged from Jeremiah would have been extremely unsettling, as it was to King David when we composed Psalm 51:11. Brenton translates this verse as follows.

Be not to me a stranger, but spare me in the evil day. [Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L.. English Translation of the Greek Septuagint, Including the Apocrypha . E.C. Marsh. Kindle Edition] I believe that is the best way to understand the verse.

My only other comment on this passage is that the Hebrew word chathath, which is translated “dismayed” in the MT, is rendered as “terrified” by the LXX. The word dismay in English can mean to terrify, but also communicates something far less, such as being unsettled or apprehensive. It is important that we know how the LXX translators understood the word.

14 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. Jeremiah 16:14–15 (NKJV) 

14 “Because of this, look, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “and they will no longer say, ‘The Lord lives, he who brought the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but instead, ‘The Lord lives, who brought the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the territories where they had been forced.’ And I will restore them to their land that I gave to their fathers. Jeremiah 16:14–15 (LES2) 

Jeremiah is famous for two amazing prophecies. He told the Jews that they would be deported to Babylon for seventy years and then would return. He even more importantly prophesied the New Covenant more clearly than perhaps anyone else. Both of those grand prophecies are referenced here.

This passage is connected with the restoration of Israel to the land after 70 years. The MT and LXX mostly agree except in the various words used for land and territory.

16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.” Jeremiah 16:16–18 (NKJV) 

16 Look! I am sending many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they will go fishing for them; and after these things, I will send many hunters, and they will hunt them atop every mountain and atop every hill and from the crevices of the rocks; 17 because my eyes are on all their ways, and their wrongs are not hidden before my eyes. 18 And I will repay through all their wickedness and their sins by which they have profaned my land, with the carcasses of their abominations and with their lawlessness by which they have trespassed my inheritance.” Jeremiah 16:16–18 (LES2) 

19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.” 20 Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods? Jeremiah 16:19–20 (NKJV) 

19 O Lord, you are my strength and my help and my refuge in the days of calamity. To you the nations will come, from the ends of the land, and they will say, “How have our fathers acquired false idols?” and “There is no benefit in them. 20 Shall a human make gods for himself?” and “These are not gods!” Jeremiah 16:19–20 (LES2) 

I believe this passage is indirectly connected to the New Covenant. As a result of the promulgation of the gospel throughout the world, multitudes of Gentiles have acknowledged that Jesus is Lord. We, who understand the role of the Jews in God’s great plan to bring the Messiah,  wonder that the Jewish people have abandoned the one true God. When the Jews rejected Christ, they also rejected the Father and became enemies of the truth.

22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:22–23 (NKJV) 

Since that time, unbelieving Jews have not known or served the true God. The Jews have adamantly opposed Christ and Christians ever since, except for the remnant who have come to Christ. We who believe wonder how the people who were once set apart to the one true God could join the opposition? It is a national betrayal. Only those who acknowledge Jesus is Lord are able to escape what Peter called a “perverse” (literally “crooked”) generation. (Acts 2:40)

21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD. Jeremiah 16:21 (NKJV) 

21 Because of this, look, I will make my hand evident to them at this time, and I will make my power known to them, and they will know that my name is the Lord. Jeremiah 16:21 (LES2) 

The MT seeks to limit this revelation of the Lord to “this once,” meaning the return from Babylon, but the LXX, the version used by the apostles and early church, says God will make his hand evident “at this time (Greek – kairos).” I believe this is a reference both to the restoration from Babylon and to an even greater deliverance to come, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

Jesus told us that all scripture points to him. (John 5:39) The prophets prophesied concerning him.

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. 1 Peter 1:10–12 (NKJV) 

Peter added that these men, such as Jeremiah, “spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) I believe that Jeremiah spoke about the coming of the Lord, the risen Jesus the Messiah. Paul wrote:

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1–4 (NKJV) 

If we miss Jesus in the Old Covenant scriptures, we miss the whole point.

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.