Jeremiah 11:1–35:19

The Covenant Is Broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenantx and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursedy is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant—4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,z out of the iron-smelting furnace.a’ I said, ‘Obeyb me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,c and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swored to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’e—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen,f Lord.”

6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaimg all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and followh them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,i saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention;j instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.k So I brought on them all the cursesl of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.m’ ”

9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracyn among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,o who refused to listen to my words.p They have followed other godsq to serve them.r Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenants I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disastert they cannot escape.u Although they cryv out to me, I will not listenw to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,x but they will not help them at all when disastery strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many godsz as you have towns;a and the altars you have set up to burn incenseb to that shamefulc god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

14 “Do not prayd for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listene 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 meatf avert your punishment?g

When you engage in your wickedness,

then you rejoice.a”

16 The Lord called you a thriving olive treeh

with fruit beautiful in form.

But with the roar of a mighty storm

he will set it on fire,i

and its branches will be broken.j

17 The Lord Almighty, who plantedk you, has decreed disasterl for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and arousedm my anger by burning incense to Baal.n

Plot Against Jeremiah

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

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;

let us cut him off from the land of the living,q

that his name be rememberedr no more.”

20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteouslys

and test the heartt and mind,u

let me see your vengeancev on them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathothw who are threatening to kill you,x saying, “Do not prophesyy in the name of the Lord or you will diez by our hands”—22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young mena will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnantb will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.c”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,d Lord,

when I bring a casee before you.

Yet I would speak with you about your justice:f

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?g

Why do all the faithless live at ease?

2 You have plantedh them, and they have taken root;

they grow and bear fruit.i

You are always on their lips

but far from their hearts.j

3 Yet you know me, Lord;

you see me and testk my thoughts about you.

Drag them off like sheepl to be butchered!

Set them apart for the day of slaughter!m

4 How long will the land lie parchedn

and the grass in every field be withered?o

Because those who live in it are wicked,

the animals and birds have perished.p

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 stumblea in safe country,

how will you manage in the thicketsq byb the Jordan?

6 Your relatives, members of your own family—

even they have betrayed you;

they have raised a loud cry against you.r

Do not trust them,

though they speak well of you.s

7 “I will forsaket my house,

abandonu my inheritance;

I will give the one I lovev

into the hands of her enemies.w

8 My inheritance has become to me

like a lionx in the forest.

She roars at me;

therefore I hate her.y

9 Has 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.z

10 Many shepherdsa will ruin my vineyard

and trample down my field;

they will turn my pleasant field

into a desolate wasteland.b

11 It will be made a wasteland,c

parched and desolate before me;d

the whole land will be laid waste

because there is no one who cares.

12 Over all the barren heights in the desert

destroyers will swarm,

for the sworde of the Lordf will devourg

from one end of the land to the other;h

no one will be safe.i

13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;

they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.j

They will bear the shame of their harvest

because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”k

14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritancel I gave my people Israel, I will uprootm them from their lands and I will uprootn the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassiono and will bringp each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learnq well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’r—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baals—then they will be established among my people.t 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroyu it,” declares the Lord.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:v 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Peratha w and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.x

6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pridey of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listenz to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their heartsa and go after other godsb to serve and worship them,c will be like this belt—completely useless!d 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renowne and praise and honor.f But they have not listened.’g

Wineskins

12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkennessh all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pityi or mercy or compassionj to keep me from destroyingk them.’ ”

Threat of Captivity

15 Hear and pay attention,

do not be arrogant,

for the Lord has spoken.l

16 Give glorym to the Lord your God

before he brings the darkness,

before your feet stumblen

on the darkening hills.

You hope for light,

but he will turn it to utter darkness

and change it to deep gloom.o

17 If you do not listen,p

I will weep in secret

because of your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly,

overflowing with tears,q

because the Lord’s flockr will be taken captive.s

18 Say to the kingt and to the queen mother,u

“Come down from your thrones,

for your glorious crownsv

will fall from your heads.”

19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,

and there will be no one to open them.

All Judahw will be carried into exile,

carried completely away.

20 Look up and see

those who are coming from the north.x

Where is the flocky that was entrusted to you,

the sheep of which you boasted?

21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you

those you cultivated as your special allies?z

Will not pain grip you

like that of a woman in labor?a

22 And if you ask yourself,

“Why has this happened to me?”b—

it is because of your many sinsc

that your skirts have been torn offd

and your body mistreated.e

23 Can an Ethiopianb change his skin

or a leopard its spots?

Neither can you do good

who are accustomed to doing evil.f

24 “I will scatter you like chaffg

driven by the desert wind.h

25 This is your lot,

the portioni I have decreed for you,”

declares the Lord,

“because you have forgottenj me

and trusted in false gods.k

26 I will pull up your skirts over your face

that your shame may be seenl—

27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,

your shameless …