Jeremiah 7:31 (YLT)

Passage

And have built the high places of Tophet, That <FI>are<Fi> in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come up on My heart.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 7:29 Cut off thy crown, and cast <FI>it<Fi> away, And lift up on high places lamentation, For Jehovah hath rejected, And He leaveth the generation of His wrath.

Jeremiah 7:30 For the sons of Judah Have done the evil thing in Mine eyes, An affirmation of Jehovah, They have set their abominations in the house On which My name is called--to defile it,

Jeremiah 7:31 And have built the high places of Tophet, That <FI>are<Fi> in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come up on My heart.

Jeremiah 7:32 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, `The Tophet,' And `Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But `Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet--without place.

Jeremiah 7:33 And the carcase of this people hath been for food To a fowl of the heavens, and to a beast of the earth, And there is none troubling.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "built", "high", "places", "tophet", "valley", "hinnom", "burn", and "sons". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "built" and "high", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "For the sons of Judah Have done..." into verse 32's "Therefore lo days are coming An affirmation...", so "built" and "high" 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 "built" and "high" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.