Jeremiah 11:1--15:9

The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 11:2 “Hear the terms of the covenant I made with Israel and pass them on to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. 11:3 Tell them that the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Anyone who does not keep the terms of the covenant will be under a curse. 11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors to keep when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. I said at that time, “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement exactly as I commanded you. If you do, you will be my people and I will be your God. 11:5 Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” That is the very land that you still live in today.’” And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so, Lord!”

11:6 The Lord said to me, “Announce all the following words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant with you and carry them out! 11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me. I warned them again and again, ever since I delivered them out of Egypt until this very day. 11:8 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me! Each one of them followed the stubborn inclinations of his own wicked heart. So I brought on them all the punishments threatened in the covenant because they did not carry out its terms as I commanded them to do.’”

11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me! 11:10 They have gone back to the evil ways of their ancestors of old who refused to obey what I told them. They, too, have paid allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. Both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah have violated the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11:11 So I, the Lord, say this: ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them. 11:12 Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them. 11:13 This is in spite of the fact that the people of Judah have as many gods as they have towns and the citizens of Jerusalem have set up as many altars to sacrifice to that disgusting god, Baal, as they have streets in the city!’ 11:14 So, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.”

11:15 The Lord says to the people of Judah,

“What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people?

Many of you have done wicked things.

Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings

that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?

11:16 I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree,

one that produced beautiful fruit.

But I will set you on fire,

fire that will blaze with a mighty roar.

Then all your branches will be good for nothing.

11:17 For though I, the Lord who rules over all, planted you in the land,

I now decree that disaster will come on you

because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil

and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal.”

A Plot Against Jeremiah is Revealed and He Complains of Injustice

11:18 The Lord gave me knowledge, that I might have understanding.

Then he showed me what the people were doing.

11:19 Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter.

I did not know they were making plans to kill me.

I did not know they were saying,

“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit!

Let’s remove Jeremiah from the world of the living

so people will not even be reminded of him any more.”

11:20 So I said to the Lord,

“O Lord who rules over all, you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds.

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”

11:21 Then the Lord told me about some men from Anathoth who were threatening to kill me. They had threatened, “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” 11:22 So the Lord who rules over all said, “I will surely punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive. I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. A day of reckoning is coming for them.”

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you.

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice.

Why are wicked people successful?

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots.

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful.

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you.

12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.

You watch me and test my devotion to you.

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed!

12:4 How long must the land be parched

and the grass in every field be withered?

How long must the animals and the birds die

because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land?

For these people boast,

“God will not see what happens to us.”

12:5 The Lord answered,

“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,

how will you be able to compete with horses?

And if you feel secure only in safe and open country,

how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River?

12:6 As a matter of fact, even your own brothers

and the members of your own family have betrayed you too.

Even they have plotted to do away with you.

So do not trust them even when they say kind things to you.

12:7 “I will abandon my nation.

I will forsake the people I call my own.

I will turn my beloved people

over to the power of their enemies.

12:8 The people I call my own have turned on me

like a lion in the forest.

They have roared defiantly at me.

So I will treat them as though I hate them.

12:9 The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas.

But other birds of prey are all around them.

Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts.

Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

12:10 Many foreign rulers will ruin the land where I planted my people.

They will trample all over my chosen land.

They will turn my beautiful land

into a desolate wasteland.

12:11 They will lay it waste.

It will lie parched and empty before me.

The whole land will be laid waste.

But no one living in it will pay any heed.

12:12 A destructive army will come marching

over the hilltops in the desert.

For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon

against everyone from one end of the land to the other.

No one will be safe.

12:13 My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds.

They will work until they are exhausted, but will get nothing from it.

They will be disappointed in their harvests

because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger.

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning the wicked nations who surround my land and have attacked and plundered the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands and to their own country. 12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own. 12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” says the Lord.

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water.” 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do and put them on. 13:3 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath as the Lord had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

13:8 Then the Lord said to me, 13:9 “I, the Lord, say: ‘This shows how I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,’ I say, ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me.

13:12 “So tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.”’ And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13:13 Then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor. 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ says the Lord.”

13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah,

“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant!

For the Lord has spoken.

13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him.

Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster.

Do it before you stumble into distress

like a traveler on the mountains at twilight.

Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for

into the darkness and gloom of exile.

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning,

I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.

I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears

because you, the Lord’s flock, will be carried into exile.”

13:18 The Lord told me,

“Tell the king and the queen mother,

‘Surrender your thrones,

for your glorious crowns

will be removed from your heads.

13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight.

No one will be able to go in or out of them.

All Judah will be carried off into exile.

They will be completely carried off into exile.’”

13:20 Then I said,

“Look up, Jerusalem, and see

the enemy that is coming from the north.

Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care?

Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in?

13:21 What will you say when the Lord appoints as rulers over you those allies

that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such?

Then anguish and agony will grip you

like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.

13:22 You will probably ask yourself,

‘Why have these things happened to me?

Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress

whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’

It is because you have sinned so much.

13:23 But there is little hope for you ever doing good,

you who are so accustomed to doing evil.

Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin?

Can a leopard remove its spots?

13:24 “The Lord says,

‘That is why I will scatter your people like chaff

that is blown away by a desert wind.

13:25 This is your fate,

the destiny to which I have appointed you,

because you have forgotten me

and have trusted in false gods.

13:26 So I will pull your skirt up over your face

and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress!

13:27 People of Jerusalem, I have seen your adulterous worship,

your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods.

I have seen your disgusting acts of worship

on the hills throughout the countryside.

You are doomed to destruction!

How long will you continue to be unclean?’”

A Lament over the Ravages of Drought

14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the drought.

14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.

The people in her cities are pining away.

They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow.

Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.

They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there.

They return with their containers empty.

Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.

14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked

because there has been no rain in the land.

The farmers, too, are dismayed

and bury their faces in their hands.

14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field

because there is no grass.

14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops

and pant for breath like jackals.

Their eyes are strained looking for food,

because there is none to be found.”

14:7 Then I said,

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name

even though our sins speak out against us.

Indeed, we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.

You have saved them when they were in trouble.

Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land?

Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless,

like a champion who cannot save anyone?

You are indeed with us,

and we belong to you.

Do not abandon us!”

14:10 Then the Lord spoke about these people.

“They truly love to go astray.

They cannot keep from running away from me.

So I am not pleased with them.

I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done

and punish them for their sins.”

Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets

14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people! 14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”

14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, look! The prophets are telling them that you said, ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’”

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! I did not send them. I did not commission them. I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own mind. 14:15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ 14:16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.”

Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come

14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah:

‘My eyes overflow with tears

day and night without ceasing.

For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow.

They have suffered a serious wound.

14:18 If I go out into the countryside,

I see those who have been killed in battle.

If I go into the city,

I see those who are sick because of starvation.

For both prophet and priest go about their own business

in the land without having any real understanding.’”

14:19 Then I said,

“Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?

Do you despise the city of Zion?

Why have you struck us with such force

that we are beyond recovery?

We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.

We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

14:20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.

We confess that our ancestors have done wrong.

We have indeed sinned against you.

14:21 For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt.

Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits.

Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!

14:22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall?

Do the skies themselves send showers?

Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this?

So we put our hopes in you

because you alone do all this.”

15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away! 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:

“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.

Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.

Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.

Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”

15:3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses. 15:4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”

15:5 The Lord cried out,

“Who in the world will have pity on you, Jerusalem?

Who will grieve over you?

Who will stop long enough

to inquire about how you are doing?

15:6 I, the Lord, say: ‘You people have deserted me!

You keep turning your back on me.’

So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you.

I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”

15:7 The Lord continued,

“In every town in the land I will purge them

like straw blown away by the wind.

I will destroy my people.

I will kill off their children.

I will do so because they did not change their behavior.

15:8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous

than the grains of sand on the seashores.

At noontime I will bring a destroyer

against the mothers of their young men.

I will cause anguish and terror

to fall suddenly upon them.

15:9 The mother who had seven children will grow faint.

All the breath will go out of her.

Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.

It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day.

She will suffer shame and humiliation.

I will cause any of them who are still left alive

to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,”

says the Lord.