Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] Of ^(B)Asaph.

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ^2 (A)“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³ You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(B)Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant ⁴ that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, ^(C)from the iron furnace, saying, ^(D)Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. ^(E)So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, ^5 (F)that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, ^(G)to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

⁶ And the Lord said to me, ^(H)“Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ^(I)Hear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁷ For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, ^(J)warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, ^(K)Obey my voice. ^8 (L)Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, ^(M)but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all ^(N)the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

⁹ Again the Lord said to me, ^(O)“A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have turned back to ^(P)the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. ^(Q)They have gone after other gods to serve them. ^(R)The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. ¹¹ Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. ^(S)Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. ¹² Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(T)will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, ^(U)but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. ^13 (V)For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, ^(W)altars to make offerings to Baal.

¹⁴ “Therefore ^(X)do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, ^(Y)for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. ^15 (Z)What right has my beloved in my house, ^(AA)when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? ^(AB)Can you then exult? ¹⁶ The Lord once called you ^(AC)‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But ^(AD)with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and ^(AE)its branches will be consumed. ¹⁷ The Lord of hosts, ^(AF)who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, ^(AG)provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

⁸ Finally, all of you, ^(A)have unity of mind, sympathy, ^(B)brotherly love, ^(C)a tender heart, and ^(D)a humble mind. ^9 (E)Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^(F)bless, for ^(G)to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰ For