Jeremiah 11
11
The Lord’s People Have Broken His Covenant
1A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 2“Listen to the terms of the covenant I made with my people of long ago. Tell Judah the terms still apply to them. Tell those who live in Jerusalem that they must obey them too. 3I am the Lord, the God of Israel. So let the people know what I want them to do. Here is what I want you to tell them. ‘May the person who does not obey the terms of the covenant be under my curse. 4I gave those terms to your people of long ago. That was when I brought them out of Egypt. I saved them out of that furnace that melts down iron and makes it pure.’ I said, ‘Obey me. Do everything I command you to do. Then you will be my people. And I will be your God. 5I raised my hand and made a promise to your people of long ago. I promised them I would give them a land that had plenty of milk and honey.’ It is the land you own today. I kept my promise.”
I replied, “Amen, Lord.”
6The Lord said to me, “Here is what I want you to announce in the towns of Judah. Say it also in the streets of Jerusalem. Tell the people, ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant. Obey them. 7Long ago I brought your people up from Egypt. From that time until today, I warned them again and again. I said, “Obey me.” 8But they did not listen. They did not pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. So I brought down on them all the curses of the covenant. I commanded them to obey it. But they refused.’ ”
9The Lord continued, “The people of Judah have made some evil plans. So have those who live in Jerusalem. 10All of them have returned to the sins their people of long ago committed. Those people refused to listen to what I told them. And now the people of Israel and Judah alike have worshiped other gods and served them. They have broken the covenant I made with their people who lived before them. 11So I say, ‘I will bring trouble on them. They will not be able to escape it. They will cry out to me. But I will not listen to them. 12The people of Jerusalem and of the towns of Judah will cry out. They will cry out to the gods they burn incense to. But those gods will not help them at all when trouble strikes them. 13Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns. And in Jerusalem you have set up as many altars as there are streets. You are burning incense to that shameful god named Baal.’
14“Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. They will call out to me when they are in trouble. But I will not listen to them.
15“I love the people of Judah.
But they are working out their evil plans along with many others.
So what are they doing in my temple?
Can meat that is offered to me keep me from punishing you?
When you do evil things, you get a lot of pleasure from them.”
16People of Judah, the Lord once called you a healthy olive tree.
He thought its fruit was beautiful.
But now he will come with the roar of a mighty storm.
He will set the tree on fire.
And its branches will be broken.
17The Lord who rules over all planted you. But now he has ordered your enemies to destroy you. The people of Israel and Judah have both done what is evil. They have made the Lord very angry by burning incense to Baal.
Jeremiah’s Enemies Make Evil Plans Against Him
18The Lord told me about the evil plans of my enemies. That’s how I knew about them. He showed me what they were doing. 19I had been like a gentle lamb led off to be killed. I didn’t realize they had made plans against me. They had said,
“Let’s destroy the tree and its fruit.
Let’s take away his life.
Then his name won’t be remembered anymore.”
20But Lord, you rule over all.
You always judge fairly.
You test people’s hearts and minds.
So pay them back for what they’ve done.
I’ve committed my cause to you.
21The Lord says, “Jeremiah, here is what I am telling you about the people of Anathoth. They say they’re going to kill you. They are saying, ‘Don’t prophesy in the Lord’s name. If you do, we will kill you with our own hands.’ ” 22So the Lord who rules over all says, “I will punish them. Their young men will be killed by swords. Their sons and daughters will die of hunger. 23Only a few people will be left alive. I will judge the people of Anathoth. I will destroy them when the time comes to punish them.”
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Jeremiah 11
11
The Agreement Is Broken
1These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2“Listen to the words of this agreement. Tell the people of Judah about it. Tell it to those living in Jerusalem. 3Tell them this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Trouble will come to anyone who does not obey this agreement. 4I am talking about the agreement I made with your ancestors. I made it with them when I brought them out of Egypt. Egypt was like a furnace for melting iron!’ I told them, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you. If you do this, you will be my people. And I will be your God. 5Then I will keep the promise I made to your ancestors. I promised to give them a land where much food grows.’ And you are living in that country today!”
I, Jeremiah, answered, “Amen, Lord.”
6The Lord said this to me: “Prophesy this message in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the words of this agreement. Then obey them! 7I warned your ancestors to obey me when I brought them out of Egypt. I have warned them again and again to this very day! 8But your ancestors did not listen to me. They were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted. The agreement says curses will come upon them if they don’t obey it. So I made all those curses come upon them! I commanded them to obey the agreement, but they did not.’”
9Then the Lord said to me, “I know the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem have made secret plans. 10They are doing the same sins their ancestors did! Their ancestors refused to listen to my message. They followed and worshiped other gods. The families of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. 11So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon bring a disaster on the people of Judah. They will not be able to escape! And they will cry to me for help. But I will not listen to them! 12The people living in the towns of Judah and the city of Jerusalem will pray to their idols for help. They will burn incense to their idols. But those idols will not be able to help when that terrible time comes! 13The people of Judah have as many idols as there are towns in Judah. They have built many altars for worshiping that shameful god Baal. There are as many altars as there are streets in Jerusalem!’
14“As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people. Don’t cry out for them or ask anything for them. I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.
15“What is my lover, Judah, doing in my Temple?
She makes many evil plans.
Does she think animal sacrifices will stop her punishment?
When you do your evil, then you are happy.”
16The Lord called you “a leafy olive tree,
with beautiful fruit to look at.”
But with a strong storm
the Lord will set that tree on fire.
And its branches will be burned up.
17The Lord of heaven’s armies planted you. And he has announced that disaster will come to you. This is because the families of Israel and Judah have done evil things. They have made him angry by offering sacrifices to Baal.
Evil Plans Against Jeremiah
18The Lord showed me that men were making plans against me. The Lord showed me what they were doing. So I knew they were against me. 19Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not know they had made plans against me. They said:
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit!
Let’s kill him!
Then people will forget him!”
20But, Lord of heaven’s armies, you are a fair judge.
You know how to test peoples’ hearts and minds.
I will tell you what I have against them.
And I will let you give them the punishment they should have!
21So the Lord speaks about the men from Anathoth who were planning to kill Jeremiah. Those men say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord. If you do, we will kill you!” 22So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I will soon punish the men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive. I will cause a disaster to happen to them that year.”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.