Judah Has Disobeyed the Terms of the Lord’s Promise
11 This is the message that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Listen to the terms of this promise,[a] and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who doesn’t listen to the terms of this promise. 4 I made this promise to your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, which was an iron smelter. I said, “Obey me, and do everything that I have told you to do. Then you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 I will keep the oath I made to your ancestors and give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the land you still have today.” ’ ”
I answered, “Yes, Lord.”
6 The Lord said to me, “Announce all these things in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Listen to the terms of this promise, and keep them. 7 I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, and the warning still applies to you today. I solemnly warned them to obey me. 8 But they didn’t obey me or pay attention to me. They followed their own stubborn, evil ways. So I punished them, because they did not keep all the terms of the promise, the terms that I commanded them to keep.”
9 The Lord said to me, “Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and among those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They’ve gone back to the evil ways of their ancestors and refused to obey my words. They are following other gods and worshiping them. The nations of Israel and Judah have rejected the promise that I made to their ancestors. 11 This is what the Lord says: I’m going to bring a disaster on them that they can’t escape. Although they will cry out to me, I won’t listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem will cry to the gods to whom they’ve been sacrificing. But these gods will never rescue them when they’re in trouble. 13 Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. You have set up many altars ⌞in Jerusalem⌟ to sacrifice to Baal. You have as many altars as there are streets in Jerusalem. 14 Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people. Don’t cry or pray for them. I won’t listen when they call to me for help in times of trouble.
15 “What right do these people I love have to be in my house
when they do so many devious things?
Can the meat from their sacrifices turn disaster away from them?
They rejoice when they do evil.”
16 The Lord called you a large olive tree
that has beautiful fruit to look at.
He will set fire to you with a mighty storm,
and your branches will be broken.
17 The Lord of Armies planted you.
He has pronounced disaster on you.
This is because of the evil things
that Israel and Judah have done.
They have made him furious by burning incense
as an offering to Baal.
Jeremiah’s Life Is Threatened
18 The Lord revealed their plot to me so that I would understand. He showed me what they were doing. 19 I was like a trusting lamb brought to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they were plotting against me. They were saying, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s cut Jeremiah off from this world of the living so that we won’t be reminded of him anymore.”
20 O Lord of Armies, you judge fairly
and test motives and thoughts.
I want to see you take revenge on them,
because I’ve brought my case to you.
21 This is what the Lord says: The people of Anathoth want to kill you. They say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we’ll kill you.”
22 This is what the Lord of Armies says: I’m going to punish them. The young men will die because of war. Their sons and daughters will die because of famine. 23 I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors.
Footnotes
- 11:2 Or “covenant.”