Jeremiah 7:8

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Behold, ye trust {H982} in lying {H8267} words {H1697}, that cannot profit {H3276}.

Look! You are relying on deceitful words that can't do you any good.

But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Jeremiah 7:8 serves as a stark warning within Jeremiah's powerful "Temple Sermon," delivered at the gate of the Lord's house. The prophet confronts the people of Judah, who had developed a dangerous complacency and a false sense of security based on their possession of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Context of Jeremiah 7:8

This verse is part of a larger prophetic discourse (Jeremiah 7:1-15) where God, through Jeremiah, calls the people to genuine repentance and moral reform. Despite their corrupt practices, idolatry, and social injustice, they clung to the belief that God would protect them simply because the Temple stood among them. This reliance on the physical structure and outward religious observance, rather than true obedience and faith, is what Jeremiah condemns as "lying words." The phrase directly echoes Jeremiah 7:4, where the people are specifically warned against trusting in the repeated phrase, "The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these."

Key Themes and Messages

  • False Security: The core message is the peril of trusting in empty assurances or superficial religious acts. The people believed that their mere presence in the Temple, or its existence, guaranteed divine protection, regardless of their sinful lifestyle. This illustrates the danger of confusing religious ritual with genuine relationship and obedience to God.
  • The Futility of Deception: Jeremiah emphasizes that such "lying words" – whether from false prophets, self-deception, or empty traditions – "cannot profit." They offer no real advantage, no protection, and no salvation. Ultimately, they lead to destruction and judgment, as seen in the subsequent fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile.
  • Call to True Faith: Implicitly, the verse calls for a shift from a misplaced trust to a sincere and active faith expressed through righteous living and obedience to God's commandments.

Linguistic Insights

The Hebrew phrase for "lying words" is divrei sheqer. Sheqer signifies falsehood, deceit, or emptiness. It's not just an error, but a profound deception, often with an intention to mislead or a deep self-deception that avoids confronting truth. The word for "profit" is ya'al, meaning to be useful, beneficial, or advantageous. The negation here highlights the utter worthlessness and futility of relying on such deceptions; they bring absolutely no positive outcome or spiritual gain.

Practical Application

Jeremiah 7:8 remains highly relevant today. It challenges us to examine what we place our trust in. Do we rely on outward religious observance, church affiliation, wealth, political systems, or human wisdom for our security and salvation? Or do we place our faith solely in God, evidenced by a life of genuine repentance, obedience, and love? The verse warns against any form of spiritual complacency or believing comforting falsehoods that promise peace without true transformation. As Proverbs 10:2 states, "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death." True profit comes only from walking in God's ways.

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Isaiah 28:15

    Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

  • Ezekiel 13:6

    They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made [others] to hope that they would confirm the word.

  • Ezekiel 13:16

    [To wit], the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and [there is] no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

  • Isaiah 30:10

    Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

  • Jeremiah 14:13

    Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

  • Jeremiah 14:14

    Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

  • Jeremiah 23:14

    I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

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