Jeremiah 11
King James Version
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying,
2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.
6 Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not.
9 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went 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.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16 The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
17 For the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
18 And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
20 But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
21 Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand:
22 Therefore thus saith 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:
23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
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.”
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