Jeremiah 11
11
1 The word that came from the Lord to Jeremiah, saying:
2 "Listen to the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
3 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed is the man who will not listen to the words of this covenant,
4 which I commanded to your fathers in the day when I led them away from the land of Egypt, away from the iron furnace, saying: Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you, and then you will be my people and I will be your God.
5 So shall I uphold the oath which I swore to your fathers, that I would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, just as it is this day." And I answered by saying: "Amen, O Lord."
6 And the Lord said to me: "Shout all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Listen to the words of the covenant, and do them.
7 For when testing, I tested your fathers in the day when I led them away from the land of Egypt, even until this day. Rising early, I tested them, and I said: Listen to my voice.
8 But they did not listen, nor did they incline their ear. Instead, each one of them walked in the depravity of his own evil heart. And so, I brought over them all the words of this covenant, which I instructed them to do. But they would not do them."
9 And the Lord said to me: "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They have returned to the former iniquities of their fathers, who refused to listen to my words. And likewise, they have gone after strange gods, so that they may serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have treated as void my covenant, which I made with their fathers.
11 For this reason, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will lead evils over them, from which they will not be able to escape. And they will cry out to me, and I will not heed them.
12 And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go forth, and they will cry out to the gods, to whom they offer libations, and they will not save them in the time of their affliction.
13 For according to the number of your cities, so were your gods, O Judah. And according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, so did you establish altars of confusion, altars to offer libations to Baal.
14 Therefore, you should not choose to pray for this people, and you should not take up praise and petitioning on their behalf. For I will not heed them in the time of their outcry to me, in the time of their affliction.
15 Why has my beloved wrought great wickedness in my house? How can the holy flesh take away from you your wickedness, in which you have gloried?
16 The Lord has called your name: a beautiful, fruitful, splendid, and productive olive tree. At the voice of a word, a great fire was kindled in it, and its greenery was burned up.
17 And the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced an evil against you, concerning the evils of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have done to themselves so as to provoke me, by offering libations to Baal."
18 But you, O Lord, have revealed this to me, and I have understood. Then you displayed their efforts to me.
19 And I was like a meek lamb, who is being carried to be a victim. And I did not realize that they had devised plans against me, saying: "Let us place wood upon his bread, and let us eradicate him from the land of the living, and let his name no longer be remembered."
20 But you, O Lord of hosts, who judges justly, and who tests the temperament and the heart, let me see your vengeance against them. For I have revealed my case to you.
21 "Because of this, thus says the Lord to the men of Anathoth, who are seeking your life, and who are saying: 'You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, and you shall not die by our hands.'
22 Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will visit upon them. Their young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine.
23 And there will be nothing left of them. For I will lead an evil over the men of Anathoth: the year of their visitation."
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Jeremiah 11
11
Judah has broken the LORD's agreement
1-3The LORD God told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
I, the LORD, am warning you that I will put a curse on anyone who doesn't keep the agreement I made with Israel. So pay attention to what it says. 4My commands haven't changed since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, a nation that seemed like a blazing furnace where iron ore is melted. I told your ancestors that if they obeyed my commands, I would be their God, and they would be my people. 5Then I did what I had promised and gave them this wonderful land, where you now live.
“Yes, LORD,” I replied, “that's true.”
6Then the LORD told me to say to everyone in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah:
Pay attention to the commands in my agreement with you. 7Ever since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I have been telling your people to obey me. But you and your ancestors 8have always been stubborn. You have refused to listen, and instead you have done whatever your sinful hearts have desired.
You have not kept the agreement we made, so I will make you suffer every curse that goes with it.
9The LORD said to me:
Jeremiah, the people of Judah and Jerusalem are plotting against me. 10They have sinned in the same way their ancestors did, by turning from me and worshipping other gods. The northern kingdom of Israel broke the agreement I made with your ancestors, and now the southern kingdom of Judah#11.10 Israel…Judah: See the note at 2.4. has done the same.
11Here is what I've decided to do. I will bring suffering on the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and no one will escape. They will beg me to help, but I won't listen to their prayers. 12-13Then they will offer sacrifices to their other gods and ask them for help. After all, the people of Judah have more gods than towns, and more altars for Baal than there are streets in Jerusalem. But those gods won't be able to rescue the people of Judah from disaster.
14Jeremiah, don't pray for these people or beg me to rescue them. If you do, I won't listen, and I certainly won't listen if they pray!
15Then the LORD told me to say to the people of Judah:
You are my chosen people,
but you have no right
to be here in my temple,
doing such terrible things.
The sacrifices you offer me
won't protect you from disaster,
so stop celebrating.#11.15 celebrating: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 15.
16Once you were like an olive tree
covered with fruit.
But soon I will send a noisy mob
to break off your branches
and set you on fire.
17I am the LORD All-Powerful. You people of Judah were like a tree that I had planted, but you have made me angry by offering sacrifices to Baal, just as the northern kingdom did. And now I'm going to pull you up by the roots.
The plot to kill Jeremiah
18-19Some people plotted to kill me.
And like a lamb
being led to the butcher,
I knew nothing
about their plans.
But then the LORD told me
that they had planned
to chop me down like a tree—
fruit and all—
so that no one would ever
remember me again.
20I prayed, “LORD All-Powerful,
you always do what is right,
and you know every thought.
So I trust you to help me
and to take revenge.”
21Then the LORD said:
Jeremiah, some men from Anathoth#11.21 Anathoth: Jeremiah's home town (see 1.1). say they will kill you, if you keep on speaking for me. 22But I will punish them. Their young men will die in battle, and their children will starve to death. 23And when I have finished, no one from their families will be left alive.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012