What evil has the Lord found in his house?

In the first of two judgment speeches, the Lord now describes the evil he has seen. He too sees what Jeremiah has just described. Both prophet and priest are ungodly, even in my house I have found their evil. The word translated as ungodly comes from the Hebrew verb hanap and it means to be defiled. It refers to that which is defiled by sin so that it is no longer fit to be in the Lord’s presence.¹ Under the religious leadership of priest and prophet, the people have done evil in the house of the Lord. The depth and arrogance of their rebellion is such that they commit defiling evil in the temple, the very place that represents the presence of the Lord. The mention of priests here does not change the focus of this section from prophet to priest. However, priest and prophet were very closely associated in leading the people of Judah. Leading the people of Judah into evil would have been a coordinated effort between prophet and priest (and kings) (Jeremiah 21:1–23:8).