Jeremiah 11:1-8
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
Plea to Observe the Covenant.[a][b] 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Listen to the terms of this covenant, and then relate them to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 Say to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not observe the terms of this covenant 4 which I enjoined upon your ancestors when I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, from that iron foundry, saying: If you listen to my voice and do everything I command you, then you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 I will thus fulfill the oath that I swore to your ancestors, when I pledged to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the land you now possess. Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”
6 Then 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 follow them. 7 When I brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt, I solemnly warned them, and continued even to this day to do so persistently, urging them to obey my commands. 8 But they refused to listen and did not pay attention to what I said. Rather, each one followed the inclinations of his stubborn and wicked heart. As a result, I inflicted upon them all the curses I had threatened if they did not obey the covenant in accordance with my commands.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 11:1 In 622 B.C., a “Book of the Law” was discovered in a cupboard in the temple wall during repairs (see 2 Ki 22–23). This codex, which became the nucleus of Deuteronomy (see 2 Chr 34:14f), aided in the national and religious renewal which Josiah promoted after its discovery, for it preached love of God and unity among the Israelites. This renewal meant a genuine restoration of the covenant and would be wholeheartedly pursued by Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 11:1 The editor played an important part in the formulation of these two oracles. The first passage proclaims the discovery of the law (vv. 1-8), but already added to it is a reflection on the failure of this attempt to renew the covenant (vv. 9-14). In fact, the reform was not continued after the death of Josiah.
