Jeremiah 11
11
Judah’s Broken Covenant
1The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2“Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of my covenant with them. 3Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of my covenant! 4For I said to your ancestors when I brought them out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt, “If you obey me and do whatever I command you, then you will be my people, and I will be your God.” 5I said this so I could keep my promise to your ancestors to give you a land flowing with milk and honey—the land you live in today.’”
Then I replied, “Amen, Lord! May it be so.”
6Then the Lord said, “Broadcast this message in the streets of Jerusalem. Go from town to town throughout the land and say, ‘Remember the ancient covenant, and do everything it requires. 7For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, “Obey me!” I have repeated this warning over and over to this day, 8but your ancestors did not listen or even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in this covenant.’”
9Again the Lord spoke to me and said, “I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10They have returned to the sins of their ancestors. They have refused to listen to me and are worshiping other gods. Israel and Judah have both broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries. 12Then the people of Judah and Jerusalem will pray to their idols and burn incense before them. But the idols will not save them when disaster strikes! 13Look now, people of Judah; you have as many gods as you have towns. You have as many altars of shame—altars for burning incense to your god Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem.
14“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress.
15“What right do my beloved people have to come to my Temple,
when they have done so many immoral things?
Can their vows and sacrifices prevent their destruction?
They actually rejoice in doing evil!
16I, the Lord, once called them a thriving olive tree,
beautiful to see and full of good fruit.
But now I have sent the fury of their enemies
to burn them with fire,
leaving them charred and broken.
17“I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who planted this olive tree, have ordered it destroyed. For the people of Israel and Judah have done evil, arousing my anger by burning incense to Baal.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18Then the Lord told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. 19I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.”
20O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
you make righteous judgments,
and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.
Let me see your vengeance against them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
21This is what the Lord says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the Lord’s name.” 22So this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says about them: “I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to death. 23Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.”
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Jeremiah 11: NLT
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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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