Jeremiah 7:9 (DBY)

Passage

What? steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 7:7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers from of old even for ever.

Jeremiah 7:8 Behold, ye confide in words of falsehood that cannot profit.

Jeremiah 7:9 What? steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not

Jeremiah 7:10 then ye come and stand before me, in this house which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered, in order to do all these abominations!

Jeremiah 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold, I have seen it, saith Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "steal", "murder", "commit", "adultery", "swear", "falsely", "burn", and "incense". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "steal" and "murder", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Behold ye confide in words of falsehood..." into verse 10's "then ye come and stand before me...", so "steal" and "murder" 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 "steal" and "murder" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.