Jeremiah 11:1–13

The Broken Covenant

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

⁶And the Lord said to me, ^g“Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ^hHear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁷For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, ⁱwarning them persistently, even to this day, saying, ^dObey my voice. ^8jYet they did not obey or incline their ear, ^kbut everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all ^hthe words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

⁹Again the Lord said to me, ^l“A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have turned back to ^mthe iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. ^mThey have gone after other gods to serve them. ⁿThe house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. ¹¹Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. ^oThough they cry to me, I will not listen to them. ¹²Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^pwill go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, ^pbut they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. ^13pFor 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, ^qaltars to make offerings to Baal.