The Meaning of Jeremiah 7:21 Explained

Jeremiah 7:21

KJV: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

YLT: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye flesh.

Darby: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus saith  the LORD  of hosts,  the God  of Israel;  Put  your burnt offerings  unto your sacrifices,  and eat  flesh. 

What does Jeremiah 7:21 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh, the sovereign God of Israel, commanded His people to eat their whole burnt offerings (Heb. "oloth), which should have been burned up completely on the altar, as well as the sacrifices (Heb. zebah) that they only ate part of (cf. Leviticus 3; Leviticus 7:11-18; Leviticus 22:18-23; Leviticus 22:27-30). It mattered little to Him how carefully they observed His instructions about offering animal sacrifices to Him if their hearts were not right.
". . . to affirm that the prophets rejected the whole sacrificial system is to go beyond the evidence. It was not the system as such that was rejected but the operation of the system, which divorced sacrifices from obedience and took them out of the covenantal setting in which they found their whole rationale." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 7

1  Jeremiah is sent to call to true repentance, to prevent the Jews' captivity
8  He rejects their vain confidence,
12  by the example of Shiloh
17  He threatens them for their idolatry
21  He rejects the sacrifices of the disobedient
29  He exhorts to mourn for their abominations in Tophet;
32  and the judgments for the same

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 7:21 mean?

Thus says Yahweh of hosts the God of Israel your burnt offerings Add to your sacrifices and eat meat
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עֹלוֹתֵיכֶ֛ם סְפ֥וּ עַל־ זִבְחֵיכֶ֖ם וְאִכְל֥וּ בָשָֽׂר

כֹּ֥ה  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֛ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֖וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
אֱלֹהֵ֣י  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
עֹלוֹתֵיכֶ֛ם  your  burnt  offerings 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: עֹלָה  
Sense: whole burnt offering.
סְפ֥וּ  Add 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: סָפָה  
Sense: to sweep or snatch away, catch up, destroy, consume.
זִבְחֵיכֶ֖ם  your  sacrifices 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: זֶבַח  
Sense: sacrifice.
וְאִכְל֥וּ  and  eat 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
בָשָֽׂר  meat 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּשָׂר  
Sense: flesh.

What are the major concepts related to Jeremiah 7:21?

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