The people to whom Jeremiah’s sermon is spoken are described as those who have come to worship.
The Hebrew word used here is hishtaphel. It is used to describe someone who is coming to submit themselves to a superior, such as a vassal coming to their overlord or suzerain.1 The verb originates from the metaphor of bowing down before someone, acknowledging their high place and the allegiance they should be given. It was a word used in the secular world but is appropriate in the temple because when the men of Judah enter these gates to worship the Lord, they acknowledge the Lord’s high status and his complete sovereignty over their lives. They are also acknowledging their complete dependence on the Lord and their need to submit to him. Merely coming to the temple therefore meant that they were accepting once again the obligations of living in obedience to the covenant.2
2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD.