The Meaning of Jeremiah 7:31 Explained

Jeremiah 7:31

KJV: And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

YLT: And have built the high places of Tophet, That are 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.

Darby: And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither did it come up into my mind.

ASV: And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into my mind.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they have built  the high places  of Tophet,  which [is] in the valley  of the son  of Hinnom,  to burn  their sons  and their daughters  in the fire;  which I commanded  [them] not, neither came  it into my heart. 

What does Jeremiah 7:31 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The people had also built a shrine at a site called "Topheth," in the Valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem. The name "Topheth" may come from the Aramaic tephath, meaning "fireplace," "oven," or "hearth." The Hebrews made a play on its name by adding the vowels of bosheth, "shame," a name for Baal, to this word. Hinnom may have been a former owner of the valley. The idol worshipped there was Molech, a fire god. [1] The Israelites had offered their children as human sacrifices at this shrine during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh ( 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6), something that Yahweh neither commanded nor even entertained in His thinking (cf. Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2-5; 2 Kings 23:10; Micah 6:7). King Josiah had attempted to wipe out this horrible practice ( 2 Kings 23:10), but the people revived it after he died in609 B.C. ( Ezekiel 20:25-26). [2] What the Judahites were doing in the Valley of Hinnom was not fundamentally different from some of the forms of abortion that characterize modern life.

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 7:31 mean?

And they have built the high places of Tophet which [is] in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom of the son of Hinnom to burn - their sons and their daughters in the fire which not I did command nor did it come into My heart -
וּבָנ֞וּ בָּמ֣וֹת הַתֹּ֗פֶת אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּגֵ֣יא בֶן־ הִנֹּ֔ם לִשְׂרֹ֛ף אֶת־ בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם וְאֶת־ בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֖ם בָּאֵ֑שׁ אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צִוִּ֔יתִי וְלֹ֥א עָלְתָ֖ה עַל־ לִבִּֽי ס

וּבָנ֞וּ  And  they  have  built 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
בָּמ֣וֹת  the  high  places 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: בָּמָה  
Sense: high place, ridge, height, bamah (technical name for cultic platform).
הַתֹּ֗פֶת  of  Tophet 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּפֶת  
Sense: a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem.
אֲשֶׁר֙  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּגֵ֣יא  in  the  Valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גַּיְא  
Sense: valley, a steep valley, narrow gorge.
בֶן־  of  the  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הִנֹּ֔ם  of  Hinnom 
Parse: Noun, proper
Root: בֶּן־הִנּׄם 
Sense: a valley (deep and narrow ravine) with steep, rocky sides located southwest of Jerusalem, separating Mount Zion to the north from the hill of evil counsel’ and the sloping rocky plateau of the ‘plain of Rephaim’ to the south.
לִשְׂרֹ֛ף  to  burn 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׂרַף  
Sense: to burn.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם  their  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֖ם  their  daughters 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
בָּאֵ֑שׁ  in  the  fire 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
צִוִּ֔יתִי  I  did  command 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: צָוָה  
Sense: to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
עָלְתָ֖ה  did  it  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
עַל־  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
לִבִּֽי  My  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation