Text: Jeremiah 7:5
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 5:17
Subject: covenant violations
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Deuteronomy 5:17 states the sixth commandment: "You shall not murder" (לֹא תִרְצָח, lo tirtzach). Jeremiah 7:5-6 invokes this prohibition in his temple sermon, demanding that Judah "truly practice justice between man and his neighbor" and "not shed innocent blood in this place" (דָּם נָקִי אַל תִּשְׁפְּכוּ, dam naqi 'al tishpekhu). Jeremiah's temple sermon functions as an expanded application of the Decalogue: he indicts Judah for coming to the temple while violating the very commandments inscribed in it. The irony is devastating—the people trust in the temple's protection ("the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD") while breaking the commands the temple was built to house, including the prohibition against murder.