Jeremiah 11
11
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4which I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5that I may perform the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”
6And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but every one walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
9Again the Lord said to me, “There is revolt among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. 11Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing evil upon them which they cannot escape; though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to burn incense to Baal.
14“Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows#11.15 Gk: Heb many and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16The Lord once called you, ‘A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil which the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”
18The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then thou didst show me their evil deeds.
19But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I did not know it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
20But, O Lord of hosts, who judgest righteously,
who tries the heart and the mind,
let me see thy vengeance upon them,
for to thee have I committed my cause.
21Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand” — 22therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23and none of them shall be left. For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
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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