Jeremiah 11
Expanded Bible
The Agreement Is Broken
11 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2 “Listen to the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and tell them to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the person who does not ·obey [listen to] the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] 4 that I ·made with [L commanded] your ·ancestors [fathers] when I brought them out of Egypt [Ex. 19–24]. Egypt was like a furnace for melting iron!’ I told them, ‘·Obey me [L Listen to my voice] and do everything I command you. Then you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will ·keep [confirm] the ·promise [oath] I made to your ·ancestors [fathers] to give them a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8].’ ·And you are living in that country today [L …as it is today].”
I answered, “·Amen [So be it], Lord.”
6 The Lord said to me, “·Announce [Proclaim] ·this message [L all these words] in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and ·obey [L do] them. 7 I warned your ·ancestors [fathers] to obey me when I brought them out of Egypt [Ex. 12–15]. I have warned them again and again to this very day: “·Obey me [L Listen to my voice]!” 8 But your ·ancestors [fathers] did not ·listen [obey] or ·pay attention [L bend their ear] to me. They ·were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted [L walked in the stubborness of their evil hearts]. So I made all the ·curses [L words] of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] come upon them [Deut. 28:15–68]. I commanded them to obey the ·agreement [covenant; agreement], but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “I know the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem have made ·secret plans [a conspiracy]. 10 They have ·gone back [returned] to the ·same sins their ancestors did [iniquity of their fathers of old]. ·Their ancestors [L They] refused to listen to my ·message [L words] and ·followed and worshiped [L went after and served] other gods instead [Ex. 20:3]. The ·families [L house] of Israel and [L the house of] Judah have broken the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I ·made [L cut] with their ·ancestors [fathers]. 11 So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon bring ·a disaster [harm; evil] on them [C the people of Judah] which they will not be able to escape. They will cry to me for help, but I will not listen to them. 12 The ·people living in the towns [L towns] of Judah and the ·city [L inhabitants] of Jerusalem will ·pray [L cry for help] to ·their idols [L the gods] to whom they burn incense. But ·those idols [L they] will not be able to ·help [save them] when ·disaster [harm; evil] comes. 13 Look, people of Judah, you have as many ·idols [L gods] as there are towns in Judah. You have built as many altars to burn incense to that shameful god Baal as there are streets in Jerusalem.’
14 “As for you [C Jeremiah], don’t pray for these people or cry out for them or ask anything for them. I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their ·trouble [disaster; harm; evil].
15 “What is my beloved [C Judah; 12:7; Deut. 33:12; Ps. 60:5; 108:6; 127:2; Is. 5:1] doing in my ·Temple [L house]
when she makes many evil plans [C their idolatry cancels their right to be there]?
Do you think ·animal sacrifices [L sacred meat] will stop your ·punishment [disaster; harm; evil]?
Can you then be happy?”
16 The Lord called you “a ·leafy [green] olive tree,
with beautiful fruit and shape [Hos. 14:6].”
But with the roar of a ·strong storm [tempest]
he will set that tree on fire,
and its branches will be burned up.
17 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], who planted you, has announced that ·disaster [harm; evil] will come to you. This is because the ·families [L houses] of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made him angry by burning incense to Baal.
Evil Plans Against Jeremiah
18 The Lord ·showed [L made known to] me that people were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing [C their evil deeds], I knew they were against me. 19 Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be ·butchered [slaughtered; Is. 53:7; John 1:29, 36]. I did not know they had made plans against me, saying:
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit.
Let’s ·kill him [L cut him off from the land of the living] so ·people will forget him [L his name will no longer be remembered].”
20 But, Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], you ·are a fair judge [judge righteously].
You know how to test peoples’ ·hearts and minds [motives and thoughts].
I have ·told you what I have against them [committed my cause to you].
So let me see you give them the ·punishment [revenge] they deserve.
21 So the Lord speaks about the people from Anathoth [C Jeremiah’s hometown; 1:1; 12:6] who ·plan to kill Jeremiah [L seek your life] and say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or ·we will kill you [L you will die by our hand]!” 22 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “I will soon punish the men [C from Anathoth]. Their young men will die ·in war [L by the sword]. Their sons and daughters will die from ·hunger [famine]. 23 ·No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive [L They will have no remnant], because I will cause ·a disaster [harm; evil] to happen to them that year.”
Jeremiah 11
Amplified Bible
The Broken Covenant
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, 2 “Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem. 3 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice and do according to all that I command you. So you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may complete the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land [of plenty] [a]flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered, “Amen (so be it), O Lord.”
6 And 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 [solemn] covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers at the time that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning them persistently, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear [to listen to Me], but everyone walked in the stubborn way of his [own] evil heart. Therefore I brought on them all [the suffering threatened in] the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the people of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the wickedness of their ancestors who refused to hear My words; they have followed other gods [in order] to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My [solemn] covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the [man-made] gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their disaster. 13 For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and [as many as] the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.
14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I shall not listen when they cry to Me in the time of their disaster.
15
“What right has My beloved [to be] in My house
When she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]?
Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness from you and cancel the consequences of your sin,
So that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?”
16
The Lord [acknowledged you once as worthy and] called your name,
“A green olive tree, fair and beautiful in fruit and form”;
But with the roar of a great tempest
He has set fire to it,
And its branches are worthless.(A)
17 For the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil and horror against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me [to anger] by offering sacrifices and burning incense to Baal.
Plots against Jeremiah
18
Then the Lord gave me knowledge [of their plot], and I knew it;
So You [O Lord] revealed their deeds to me.
19
But I was like a gentle and tame lamb brought to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots and schemes against me, 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 longer.”
20
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind),
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord regarding the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die by our hand.” 22 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and their daughters will die by famine; 23 and there will be no remnant [of the conspirators] left, for I will bring disaster and horror on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 11:5 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
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