Jeremiah 11-12

New International Version

The Covenant Is Broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Listen to the terms of this covenant^(A) and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. ³Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed^(B) is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— ⁴the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,^(C) out of the iron-smelting furnace.^(D)’ I said, ‘Obey^(E) me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,^(F) and I will be your God. ⁵Then I will fulfill the oath I swore^(G) to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’^(H)—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen,^(I) Lord.”

⁶The Lord said to me, “Proclaim^(J) all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow^(K) them. ⁷From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,^(L) saying, “Obey me.” ⁸But they did not listen or pay attention;^(M) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^(N) So I brought on them all the curses^(O) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.^(P)’”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy^(Q) among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,^(R) who refused to listen to my words.^(S) They have followed other gods^(T) to serve them.^(U) Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant^(V) I made with their ancestors. ¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster^(W) they cannot escape.^(X) Although they cry^(Y) out to me, I will not listen^(Z) to them. ¹²The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,^(AA) but they will not help them at all when disaster^(AB) strikes. ¹³You, Judah, have as many gods^(AC) as you have towns;^(AD) and the altars you have set up to burn incense^(AE) to that shameful^(AF) god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

¹⁴“Do not pray^(AG) for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen^(AH) when they call to me in the time of their distress.

¹⁵“What is my beloved doing in my temple
    as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
    Can consecrated meat^(AI) avert your punishment?^(AJ)
When you engage in your wickedness,
    then you rejoice.^[a]”

¹⁶The Lord called you a thriving olive tree^(AK)
    with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
    he will set it on fire,^(AL)
    and its branches will be broken.^(AM)

¹⁷The Lord Almighty, who planted^(AN) you, has decreed disaster^(AO) for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused^(AP) my anger by burning incense to Baal.^(AQ)

Plot Against Jeremiah

¹⁸Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;^(AR) I did not realize that they had plotted^(AS) against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,^(AT)
    that his name be remembered^(AU) no more.”
²⁰But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously^(AV)
    and test the heart^(AW) and mind,^(AX)
let me see your vengeance^(AY) on them,
    for to you I have committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth^(AZ) who are threatening to kill you,^(BA) saying, “Do not prophesy^(BB) in the name of the Lord or you will die^(BC) by our hands”— ²²therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men^(BD) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. ²³Not even a remnant^(BE) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.^(BF)”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,^(BG) Lord,
    when I bring a case^(BH) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:^(BI)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?^(BJ)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?
²You have planted^(BK) them, and they have taken root;
    they grow and bear fruit.^(BL)
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.^(BM)
³Yet you know me, Lord;
    you see me and test^(BN) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep^(BO) to be butchered!
    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!^(BP)
⁴How long will the land lie parched^(BQ)
    and the grass in every field be withered?^(BR)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.^(BS)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot
    and they have worn you out,
    how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble^[b] in safe country,
    how will you manage in the thickets^(BT) by^[c] the Jordan?
⁶Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.^(BU)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.^(BV)

⁷“I will forsake^(BW) my house,
    abandon^(BX) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love^(BY)
    into the hands of her enemies.^(BZ)
⁸My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion^(CA) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.^(CB)
⁹Has not my inheritance become to me
    like a speckled bird of prey
    that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
    bring them to devour.^(CC)
¹⁰Many shepherds^(CD) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.^(CE)
¹¹It will be made a wasteland,^(CF)
    parched and desolate before me;^(CG)
the whole land will be laid waste
    because there is no one who cares.
¹²Over all the barren heights in the desert
    destroyers will swarm,
for the sword^(CH) of the Lord^(CI) will devour^(CJ)
    from one end of the land to the other;^(CK)
    no one will be safe.^(CL)
¹³They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.^(CM)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”^(CN)

¹⁴This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance^(CO) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot^(CP) them from their lands and I will uproot^(CQ) the people of Judah from among them. ¹⁵But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion^(CR) and will bring^(CS) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. ¹⁶And if they learn^(CT) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’^(CU)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal^(CV)—then they will be established among my people.^(CW) ¹⁷But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy^(CX) it,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice
Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of

Psalm 119:73-80

New International Version

י Yodh

⁷³Your hands made me^(A) and formed me;
    give me understanding to learn your commands.
⁷⁴May those who fear you rejoice^(B) when they see me,
    for I have put my hope in your word.^(C)
⁷⁵I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous,^(D)
    and that in faithfulness^(E) you have afflicted me.
⁷⁶May your unfailing love^(F) be my comfort,
    according to your promise^(G) to your servant.
⁷⁷Let your compassion^(H) come to me that I may live,
    for your law is my delight.^(I)
⁷⁸May the arrogant^(J) be put to shame for wronging me without cause;^(K)
    but I will meditate on your precepts.
⁷⁹May those who fear you turn to me,
    those who understand your statutes.^(L)
⁸⁰May I wholeheartedly follow^(M) your decrees,^(N)
    that I may not be put to shame.^(O)

Read full chapter

Revelation 2

New International Version

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus^(A) write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand^(B) and walks among the seven golden lampstands.^(C) ²I know your deeds,^(D) your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested^(E) those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.^(F) ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,^(G) and have not grown weary.

⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.^(H) ⁵Consider how far you have fallen! Repent^(I) and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand^(J) from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,^(K) which I also hate.

⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear^(L) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,^(M) I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,^(N) which is in the paradise^(O) of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸“To the angel of the church in Smyrna^(P) write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last,^(Q) who died and came to life again.^(R) ⁹I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!^(S) I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not,^(T) but are a synagogue of Satan.^(U) ¹⁰Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you,^(V) and you will suffer persecution for ten days.^(W) Be faithful,^(X) even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.^(Y)

¹¹Whoever has ears, let them hear^(Z) what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.^(AA)

To the Church in Pergamum

¹²“To the angel of the church in Pergamum^(AB) write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.^(AC) ¹³I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me,^(AD) not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,^(AE) who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.^(AF)

¹⁴Nevertheless, I have a few things against you:^(AG) There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam,^(AH) who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols^(AI) and committed sexual immorality.^(AJ) ¹⁵Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.^(AK) ¹⁶Repent^(AL) therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.^(AM)

¹⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear^(AN) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,^(AO) I will give some of the hidden manna.^(AP) I will also give that person a white stone with a new name^(AQ) written on it, known only to the one who receives it.^(AR)

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸“To the angel of the church in Thyatira^(AS) write:

These are the words of the Son of God,^(AT) whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.^(AU) ¹⁹I know your deeds,^(AV) your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

²⁰Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel,^(AW) who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.^(AX) ²¹I have given her time^(AY) to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.^(AZ) ²²So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery^(BA) with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,^(BB) and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.^(BC)

²⁴Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,^(BD) ²⁵except to hold on to what you have^(BE) until I come.’^(BF)

²⁶To the one who is victorious^(BG) and does my will to the end,^(BH) I will give authority over the nations^(BI)— ²⁷that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter^(BJ) and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[b]^(BK)—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸I will also give that one the morning star.^(BL) ²⁹Whoever has ears, let them hear^(BM) what the Spirit says to the churches.

Footnotes

Revelation 2:1 Or messenger; also in verses 8, 12 and 18
Revelation 2:27 Psalm 2:9

New International Version (NIV)

Jeremiah 11-12

New International Version

The Covenant Is Broken

Plot Against Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s Complaint

God’s Answer

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 119:73-80

New International Version

י Yodh

Cross references

Revelation 2

New International Version

To the Church in Ephesus

To the Church in Smyrna

To the Church in Pergamum

To the Church in Thyatira

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Bible Gateway Recommends

Jeremiah 11-12 New International Version

The Covenant Is Broken

Plot Against Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s Complaint

God’s Answer

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 119:73-80 New International Version

י Yodh

Cross references

Revelation 2 New International Version

To the Church in Ephesus

To the Church in Smyrna

To the Church in Pergamum

To the Church in Thyatira

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Bible Gateway Recommends

Jeremiah 11-12

New International Version

Psalm 119:73-80

New International Version

Revelation 2

New International Version