Jeremiah 7:22 (ASV)

Passage

For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices:

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Jeremiah 7:21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh.

Jeremiah 7:22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices:

Jeremiah 7:23 but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.

Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in [their own] counsels [and] in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "spake", "fathers", "commanded", "brought", "land", "egypt", "concerning", and "burnt-offerings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "spake" and "fathers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts the God..." into verse 23's "but this thing I commanded them saying...", so "spake" and "fathers" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "spake" and "fathers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.