Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 7:16

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee." — Jeremiah 7:16 (ASV)

Pray not thou. —The words imply that a prayer of intercession, like that which Moses had offered in ancient times (Exodus 32:10), was rising up in the heart of the prophet. He is told that he must restrain it. Judgment must have its way. The discipline must be left to do its work. A similar impulse met with similar repression is found in Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 14:11. It is obvious that the utterance of the conflict between his human affections and the Divine will made the sentence he pronounced more terrible than ever.