Jeremiah 11:1–13:27

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: a“Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, bfrom the iron furnace, saying, c‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may establish the doath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them e‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.” ’ ”

And I answered and said, 1“So be it, Lord.”

6 Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant fand do them. 7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, grising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 hYet they did not obey or incline their ear, but ieveryone 2followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’ ”

9 And the Lord said to me, j“A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to kthe iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to 3escape; and lthough they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and mcry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13 For according to the number of your ncities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “So odo not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.

15 “What phas My beloved to do in My house,

Having qdone lewd deeds with many?

And rthe holy flesh has passed from you.

When you do evil, then you srejoice.

16 The Lord called your name,

tGreen Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.

With the noise of a great tumult

He has kindled fire on it,

And its branches are broken.

17 “For the Lord of hosts, uwho planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.”

Jeremiah’s Life Threatened

18 Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. 19 But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, vand let us cut him off from wthe land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

20 But, O Lord of hosts,

You who judge righteously,

xTesting the 4mind and the heart,

Let me see Your yvengeance on them,

For to You I have revealed my cause.

21 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of zAnathoth who seek your life, saying, a‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand’—22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall bdie by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even cthe year of their punishment.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Question

12 Righteous aare You, O Lord, when I plead with You;

Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.

bWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?

2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;

They grow, yes, they bear fruit.

cYou are near in their mouth

But far from their 1mind.

3 But You, O Lord, dknow me;

You have seen me,

And You have etested my heart toward You.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

And prepare them for fthe day of slaughter.

4 How long will gthe land mourn,

And the herbs of every field wither?

hThe beasts and birds are consumed,

iFor the wickedness of those who dwell there,

Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,

Then how can you contend with horses?

And if in the land of peace,

In which you trusted, they wearied you,

Then how will you do in jthe 2floodplain of the Jordan?

6 For even kyour brothers, the house of your father,

Even they have dealt treacherously with you;

Yes, they have called 3a multitude after you.

lDo not believe them,

Even though they speak 4smooth words to you.

7 “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;

I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.

8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;

It cries out against Me;

Therefore I have mhated it.

9 My 5heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;

The vultures all around are against her.

Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,

nBring them to devour!

10 “Many orulers 6have destroyed pMy vineyard,

They have qtrodden My portion underfoot;

They have made My 7pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made it rdesolate;

Desolate, it mourns to Me;

The whole land is made desolate,

Because sno one takes it to heart.

12 The plunderers have come

On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,

For the sword of the Lord shall devour

From one end of the land to the other end of the land;

No flesh shall have peace.

13 tThey have sown wheat but reaped thorns;

They have 8put themselves to pain but do not profit.

But be ashamed of your harvest

Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

14 Thus says the Lord: “Against all My evil neighbors who utouch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will vpluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 wThen it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them xand bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, yto swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be zestablished in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not aobey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the Lord.

Symbol of the Linen Sash

13 Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it 1around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I got a 2sash according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist.

3 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, 4 “Take the 3sash that you acquired, which is 4around your waist, and arise, go to the 5Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

6 Now it came to pass after many days that the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the 6sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner aI will ruin the pride of Judah and the great bpride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who crefuse to hear My words, who dfollow 7the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that ethey may become My people, ffor renown, for praise, and for gglory; but they would hnot hear.’

Symbol of the Wine Bottles

12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’

“And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—iwith drunkenness! 14 And jI will dash them 8one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the Lord. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ”

Pride Precedes Captivity

15 Hear and give ear:

Do not be proud,

For the Lord has spoken.

16 kGive glory to the Lord your God

Before He causes ldarkness,

And before your feet stumble

On the dark mountains,

And while you are mlooking for light,

He turns it into nthe shadow of death

And makes it dense darkness.

17 But if you will not hear it,

My soul will oweep in secret for your pride;

My eyes will weep bitterly

And run down with tears,

Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18 Say to pthe king and to the queen mother,

“Humble yourselves;

Sit down,

For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”

19 The cities of the South shall be shut up,

And no one shall open them;

Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;

It shall be wholly carried away captive.

20 Lift up your eyes and see

Those who come from the qnorth.

Where is the flock that was given to you,

Your beautiful sheep?

21 What will you say when He punishes you?

For you have taught them

To be chieftains, to be head over you.

Will not rpangs seize you,

Like a woman in 9labor?

22 And if you say in your heart,

s“Why have these things come upon me?”

For the greatness of your iniquity

tYour skirts …