Jeremiah 7:16 (DRB)

Passage

Therefore do not thou pray for this people, nor take to thee praise and supplication for them: and do not withstand me: for I will not hear thee.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 7:14 I will do to this house, in which my name is called upon, and in which you trust, and to the place which I have given you and your fathers, as I did to Silo.

Jeremiah 7:15 And I will cast you away from before my face, as I have cast away all your brethren, the whole seed of Ephraim.

Jeremiah 7:16 Therefore do not thou pray for this people, nor take to thee praise and supplication for them: and do not withstand me: for I will not hear thee.

Jeremiah 7:17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to offer libations to strange gods, and to provoke me to anger.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "thou", "pray", "people", "take", "thee", "praise", and "supplication". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And I will cast you away from..." into verse 17's "Seest thou not what they do in...", so "therefore" and "thou" 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 "therefore" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.