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Jeremiah 11

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The Broken Covenant and Imminent Judgment 1–17

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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
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Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ​
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And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, ​
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Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: ​
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That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD. ​
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Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
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For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
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Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. ​
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And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ​
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They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went 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.
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Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. ​
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Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. ​
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For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. ​
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Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. ​
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What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. ​
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The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. ​
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For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, 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 unto Baal.

Jeremiah Laments the Plot against Him 18–20

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And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings. ​
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But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. ​
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But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause. ​

Judgment upon the Men of Anathoth 21–23

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Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: ​
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Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:
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And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 11

Verse 2

the words of this covenant — Berith, the covenant bond made with Israel when the LORD brought them out of Egypt (vv.4, 7). The two groups addressed, 'the men of Judah' and 'the inhabitants of Jerusalem', are the same two groups named when the covenant was read in the house of the LORD (2 Kgs 23:2). Hearing is to lead to doing (v.6).

Verse 3

Cursed be the man — Arar, to execrate. The sentence echoes Deut 27:26, 'Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.' Paul cites the same curse against those who rely on works (Gal 3:10) and says 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law' (Gal 3:13).

Verse 4

the iron furnace — Kur barzel, a smelting furnace, Scripture's picture of Egypt (Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51). The obedience asked was joined to the covenant formula of Lev 26:12, here worded 'so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God', and was given 'in the day' of deliverance, not later.

Verse 5

a land flowing with milk and honey — Zub, to flow freely, with chalab (milk) and debash (honey). The land was the content of the oath sworn to the fathers (Ps 105:9–11). Jeremiah's 'So be it' is amen, 'truly'; he says it again at 28:6, 'Amen: the LORD do so.'

Verse 8

imagination of their evil heart — Sherirut, stubbornness, a hardened firmness of will; the same charge with 'nor inclined their ear' stands in Jer 7:24. Because they did not do the covenant's words, the LORD brings upon them 'all the words of this covenant', its threatened curses.

Verse 9

A conspiracy — Qesher, an unlawful alliance, treason. The league here is against the LORD, and it 'is found' among the men of Judah and Jerusalem's inhabitants, as the LORD himself discloses. Ezekiel uses the same word of a later Jerusalem: 'There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof' (Ezek 22:25).

Verse 11

I will not hearken — The verb is shama, to hear and so to obey, the word of vv.3, 4, 7, 8 and 10: those who would not hear are not heard. The sentence is the one Proverbs states, 'Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer' (Prov 1:28), and Zechariah recalls, 'as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear' (Zech 7:13).

Verse 12

the gods unto whom they offer incense — Qatar, to burn incense. The people will 'cry' (za'aq) to the gods they served, as Israel was told in Judg 10:14, 'Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.' Yasha, 'save', is doubled for emphasis: no deliverance at all.

Verse 13

that shameful thing — Bosheth, shame, standing here for the idol itself, Baal, to whom the altars burn incense. The count of gods by cities and altars by streets repeats Jer 2:28, 'according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah'.

Verse 14

pray not thou for this people — Palal, to intercede. The same command is given in Jer 7:16, 'neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee', and in 14:11. It follows from v.11, where the LORD will not hear their own cry; the prophet's prayer is forbidden because the sentence stands.

Verse 15

my beloved — Yedid, a loved one: Judah, treated as one with a place in 'mine house', the temple. 'Holy flesh' (qodesh basar) is the flesh of consecrated offerings, which cannot cover her 'lewdness'; as Prov 21:27 says, 'The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination'. The closing line says she 'rejoicest' in evil.

Verse 16

A green olive tree — Ra'anan, flourishing, with yapheh (fair) and tho'ar (form). The righteous are 'like a green olive tree in the house of God' (Ps 52:8). Here it is burned and its branches broken; Paul uses the same tree for Israel, 'if some of the branches be broken off' (Rom 11:17).

Verse 18

hath given me knowledge — Yada, to know, twice: 'hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it'. The plot was hidden until the LORD disclosed it, as the king of Israel was warned of Syrian movements by the man of God (2 Kgs 6:10). 'Then thou shewedst me' turns to address the LORD directly.

Verse 19

a lamb or an ox — Kebes (lamb) and alluph (a tame ox): animals led without knowing. Isaiah's Servant is 'brought as a lamb to the slaughter' (Isa 53:7) and 'cut off out of the land of the living' (Isa 53:8). 'Fruit' here is lechem, bread; early Christian writers read the plot as foreshadowing the cross.

Verse 20

triest the reins and the heart — Kilyah, the kidneys, the inner self, with bachan, to test as metal is tested. Psalm 7:9 says the same of God, 'the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins'; Christ says it of himself (Rev 2:23). Jeremiah 20:12 repeats this prayer almost word for word. 'Cause' is riv, a legal case.

Verse 21

the men of Anathoth — The threat comes from Jeremiah's own town: 'Prophesy not in the name of the LORD' is the silencing Israel laid on its prophets: 'commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not' (Amos 2:12). Jeremiah's own 'brethren' are later said to deal treacherously with him (Jer 12:6); Christ speaks of Jerusalem as the city that 'killest the prophets' (Luke 13:34).

Verse 23

the year of their visitation — Pequddah, an appointed inspection, in which God comes to call to account. The same phrase closes Jer 23:12. Christ uses the word of Jerusalem: 'thou knewest not the time of thy visitation' (Luke 19:44). She'erit, 'remnant', is the word for what survives; for Anathoth none is left.