TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
Complete Jewish Bible
ADONAI once called you an olive tree, beautiful, full of leaves and good fruit. Now with the roar of a violent storm, he has set it on fire; and its branches will be consumed.
Berean Standard Bible
The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.
American Standard Version
Jehovah called thy name, A green olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
World English Bible Messianic
The LORD called your name, A green olive tree, beautiful with goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken.
Geneva Bible (1599)
The Lord called thy name, A greene oliue tree, faire, and of goodly fruite: but with noyse and great tumult he hath set fyre vpon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Young's Literal Translation
`An olive, green, fair, of goodly fruit,' Hath Jehovah called thy name, At the noise of a great tumult He hath kindled fire against it, And broken have been its thin branches.
In the KJVVerse 19,243 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Jeremiah 11 verses 11–17
11 ¶ 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.
17 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.
This paragraph, which contains so much of God's wrath, might very well be expected to follow upon that which goes next before, which contained so much of his people's sin. When God found so much evil among them we cannot think it strange if it follows, Therefore I will bring evil upon them (Jer 11:11), the evil of punishment for the evil of sin; and there is no remedy, no relief: the decree has gone forth and the sentence will be executed.
I. They cannot help themselves, but will be found too weak to contest with God's judgments: it is evil which they shall not be able to escape, or to go forth out of, by any evasion whatsoever. Note, Those that will not submit to God's government shall not be able to escape his wrath. There is no fleeing from his justice, no avoiding his cognizance. Evil pursues sinners and entangles them in snares out of which they cannot extricate themselves.
II. Their God will not help them; his providence shall no way favour them: Though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken to them. In their affliction they will seek the God whom before they slighted, and cry to him whom before they would not vouchsafe to speak to. But how can they expect to speed? For he has plainly told us that he that turns away his ears from hearing the law, as they did, for they inclined not their ear (Jer 11:8), even his prayer shall be an abomination to him, as the word of the Lord was now to them a reproach.
III. Their idols shall not help them, Jer 11:12. They shall go, and cry to the gods to whom they now offer incense, and put them in mind of the costly services wherewith they had honoured them, expecting they should now have relief from them, but in vain. They shall be sent to the gods whom they served (Jdg 10:14; Deu 32:37, Deu 32:38), and what the better? They shall not save them at all, shall do nothing towards their salvation, nor give them any prospect of it; they shall not afford them the least comfort, nor relief, nor mitigation of their trouble. It is God only that is a friend at need, a present powerful help in time of trouble. The idols cannot help themselves; how then should they help their worshippers? Those that make idols of the world and the flesh will in vain have recourse to them in a day of distress. If the idols could have done any real kindness to their worshippers, they would have done it for this people, who had renounced the true God to embrace them, had multiplied them according to the number of their cities (Jer 11:13), nay, in Jerusalem, according to the number of their streets. Suspecting both their sufficiency and their readiness to help them, they must have many, lest a few would not serve; they must have them dispersed in every corner, lest they should be out of the way when they had occasion for them. In Jerusalem, the city which God had chosen to put his name there, publicly in the streets of Jerusalem, in every street, they had altars to that shameful thing, that shame, even to Baal, which they ought to have been ashamed of, with which they did reproach the Lord and bring confusion upon themselves. But now in their distress their many gods, and many altars, should stand them in stead. Note, Those that will not be ashamed of their commission of sin as a wicked thing will be ashamed of their expectations from sin as a fruitless thing.
IV. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them, Jer 11:14. What God had said to him before (Jer 7:16) he here says again, Pray not thou for this people. This is not designed for a command to the prophet, so much as for a threatening to the people, that they should have no benefit by the prayers of their friends for them. God would give no encouragement to the prophets to pray for them, would not stir up the spirit of prayer, but cast a damp upon it, would put it into their hearts to pray, not for the body of the people, but for the remnant among them, to pray for their eternal salvation, not for their deliverance from the temporal judgments that were coming upon them; and what other prayers were put up for them should not be heard. Those are in a sad case indeed that are cut off from the benefit of prayer. "I will not hear them when they cry, and therefore to not thou pray for them." Note, Those that have so far thrown themselves out of God's favour that he will not hear their prayers cannot expect benefit by the prayers of others for them.
V. The profession they make of religion shall stand them in no stead, Jer 11:15. They were originally God's beloved, his spouse, he was married to them by the covenant of peculiarity; even the unbelieving Jews are said to be beloved for the fathers' sake, Rom 11:28. As such they had a place in God's house; they were admitted to worship in the courts of his temple; they partook of God's altar; they ate of the flesh of their peace-offerings here called the holy flesh, which God had the honour of and they had the comfort of. This they gloried in, and trusted to. What harm could come to those who were God's beloved, who were under the protection of his house? Even when they did evil yet they rejoiced and gloried in this, made a mighty noise of this. And when their evil was (so the margin reads it), when trouble came upon them, they rejoiced in this, and made this their confidence; but their confidence would deceive them, for God has rejected it, they themselves having forfeited the privileges they so much boasted of. They have wrought lewdness with many, have been guilty of spiritual whoredom, have worshipped many idols; and therefore, 1. God's temple will yield them no protection; it is fit that the adulteress, especially when she has so often repeated her whoredoms and has grown so impudent in them and irreclaimable, should be put away, and turned out of doors: "What has my beloved to do in my house? She is a scandal to it, and therefore it shall no longer be a shelter to her." 2. God's altar will yield them no satisfaction, nor can they expect any comfort from that: "The holy flesh has passed from thee, that is, an end will soon be put to thy sacrifices, when the temple shall be laid in ruins; and where then will the holy flesh be, that thou art so proud of?" A holy heart will be a comfort to us when the holy flesh has passed from us; an inward principle of grace will make up the want of the outward means of grace. But woe unto us if the departure of the holy flesh be accompanied with the departure of the Holy Spirit.
VI. God's former favours to them shall stand them in no stead, Jer 11:16, Jer 11:17. Their remembrance of them shall be no comfort to them under their troubles, and God's remembrance of them shall be no argument for their relief. 1. It is true God had done great things for them; that people had been favourites above any people under the sun; they had been the darlings of heaven. God had called Israel's name a green olive-tree, and had made them so, for he miscalls nothing; he had planted them (Jer 11:17), had formed them into a people, with all the advantages they could have to make them a fruitful and flourishing people, so good was their law and so good was their land. One would think no other than that a people so planted, so watered, so cultivated, should be, as the olive-tree is, ever green, in respect both of piety and prosperity, Psa 52:8. God called them fair and of goodly fruit, both good for food and pleasant to the eye, both amiable and serviceable to God and man, for which the greenness and fatness of the olive both are honoured, Jdg 9:9. 2. It is as true that they have done evil things against God. He had planted them a green olive, a good olive, but they had degenerated into a wild olive, Rom 11:17. Both the house of Israel. and the house of Judah had done evil, had provoked God to anger in burning incense unto Baal, setting up other mediators between them and the supreme God besides the promised Messiah; nay, setting up other gods in competition with the true and living God, for they had gods many, as well as lords many. 3. When they have conducted themselves so ill they can expect no other than that, notwithstanding what good he has done to them and designed for them, he should now bring upon them the evil he has pronounced against them. He that planted this green olive-tree, and expected fruit from it, finding it barren and grown wild, has kindled fire upon it, to burn it as it stands; for, being without fruit, it is twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jde 1:12), it is cut down and cast into the fire, the fittest place for trees that cumber the ground, Mat 3:10. The branches of it, the high and lofty boughs (so the word signifies), are broken are broken down, both princes and priests cut off. And thus it proves that the evil done against God, to provoke him to anger, is really done against themselves; they wrong their own souls; God is out of their reach, but they ruin themselves. See Jer 7:19. Note, Every sin against God is a sin against ourselves, and so it will be found sooner or later.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 11–17. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Vers. 15, 16.) What is it that my beloved has done many wicked deeds in my house? Will the holy flesh take away your malice, in which you have boasted? The Lord called your name a fruitful, beautiful, and pleasant olive tree, but when the great fire of his voice blazed in it, its branches were consumed. He called the people of Judah his beloved and most beloved, who placed idols in his temple and worshiped them, thinking that by offering many sacrifices he could appease God's anger and boasting in the multitude of offerings, which cannot take away the wickedness of sins. But Jerusalem, or rather the whole people of the Jews, is compared to fair and fruitful olive trees, which, exalted by pride, did not act humbly, nor did they understand their Creator and Lord; but, elevated by pride and speaking arrogantly, they were consumed by the fire of the Lord; so that their branches, or rather their orchards, were burned and reduced to nothing, and the entire people of their adversaries were destroyed by the sword. This sense is also found in another place (Chapter II), where it is said to Jerusalem: I planted you as a productive vine, the true vine: how have you turned into a bitter foreign vine? When its walls are destroyed, and a wild boar from the forest devastates it, and all the animals devour its fruits (Psalm 78), let us say this chapter to the princes of the churches: What is it that my beloved has done many crimes in my house? Or surely to the rich, who plunder another's goods and do not take away the malice of their heart, they think they deserve God's mercy: Will holy meats take away your malice from you, in which you have boasted? But now the names of those offering are being publicly recited, and the redemption of sins is turned into praise: they did not remember the widow in the Gospel, who by putting in two small coins surpassed the offerings of all the rich people (Mark 12).
Cyril of AlexandriaAD 444
COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 96
It is probable, therefore, that Jesus compares the synagogue of the Jews with a fig tree, for the sacred Scripture also compares them with various plants: the vine, for instance, and the olive, and even a forest. … Jeremiah says, “The Lord called you a beautiful olive tree, well shaded in appearance. At its pruning time, a fire was kindled in it. Great tribulation came to it. Its branches were destroyed.” And another of the holy prophets, comparing it with Mount Lebanon, thus speaks: “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and the fire shall devour your cedars.” For the forest that was in Jerusalem, even the people there, many as they were and innumerable, were destroyed as by fire.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 11:16 powerfully depicts Judah's tragic departure from its divine purpose. Initially designated by the Lord as a flourishing "green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit," symbolizing prosperity, beauty, and spiritual vitality, the nation's persistent unfaithfulness to the covenant has led to a dramatic reversal. The verse prophesies a devastating judgment, vividly portrayed by the "noise of a great tumult" and consuming "fire" that breaks its branches, signifying the impending destruction and desolation brought about by God's righteous wrath upon a rebellious people.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 11:16 is exceptionally rich in Metaphor, primarily employing the vivid image of the "green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit" to represent the nation of Judah/Israel. This metaphor is deeply symbolic, conveying the nation's initial vitality, beauty, prosperity, and immense potential for fruitfulness under God's abundant blessing. The stark contrast between this vibrant, thriving image and the subsequent portrayal of destruction creates a powerful Juxtaposition, profoundly highlighting the tragic fall from grace due to covenant unfaithfulness. The phrase "noise of a great tumult" is a potent example of Onomatopoeia (evoking the sound of chaos and battle) and Hyperbole, emphasizing the overwhelming and destructive nature of the impending invasion. The "fire" is a profound Symbolism for divine judgment, wrath, and a consuming purification, leading to utter desolation. The breaking of the branches further employs vivid Imagery that powerfully evokes destruction, the cessation of life, and the loss of fruitfulness.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 11:16 profoundly illustrates the fundamental principle of covenant accountability: God's blessings are contingent upon faithfulness, and persistent disobedience inevitably leads to severe judgment. The initial depiction of Israel as a flourishing olive tree underscores their unique and privileged status as God's chosen people, set apart to bear fruit for His glory and to be a radiant light to the nations. However, their persistent idolatry, social injustice, and rejection of His commands led to a dramatic reversal of this blessing, demonstrating God's righteous and holy character which demands justice for sin. This passage serves as a stark and sobering reminder that divine judgment, though severe and painful, is a just response to persistent rebellion and a necessary act to uphold God's holiness and the integrity of His covenant.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 11:16 offers a sobering and deeply relevant reflection on the consequences of spiritual decline and the enduring importance of wholehearted faithfulness to God's covenant. For us today, it serves as a powerful reminder that our identity, vitality, and flourishing are inextricably rooted in our relationship with God. Just as ancient Judah was called to be a fruitful olive tree, believers in Christ are called to bear spiritual fruit, demonstrating a life transformed by the Holy Spirit and reflecting the character of God. This verse challenges us to examine our own lives with honesty: are we truly abiding in Christ, drawing daily nourishment from Him, and producing "goodly fruit" in our character, relationships, and actions? Or have we, like Judah, allowed spiritual apathy, the idols of our age, or persistent disobedience to compromise our spiritual vitality and potentially invite God's disciplinary hand? The "tumult" and "fire" serve as a stark warning that persistent rebellion against God's loving commands ultimately leads to spiritual barrenness and devastating consequences, urging us to humble ourselves, repent sincerely, and return to wholehearted obedience to the Lord, lest we lose our effectiveness and witness in a world desperately in need of genuine faith.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does the "green olive tree" symbolize in the Bible?
Answer: The "green olive tree" (Hebrew: zayith ra'anan') is a rich and multifaceted symbol in the Bible, representing prosperity, vitality, longevity, peace, and divine blessing. Olive trees are renowned for their enduring nature, evergreen leaves, and abundant fruit, which yields valuable oil essential for light, food, and anointing. In Jeremiah 11:16, it symbolizes Israel's initial state of flourishing and God's gracious establishment of them as a beautiful and fruitful nation, intended to be a source of blessing and a witness to the world. Other passages like Psalm 52:8 and Hosea 14:6 also powerfully employ this imagery to depict the righteous or the restored Israel.
What is the "noise of a great tumult" referring to?
Answer: The "noise of a great tumult" (Hebrew: qôwl_ hămullâh _gâdôwl') refers to the clamor, chaos, and overwhelming sound of warfare. In the specific context of Jeremiah's prophecy, it points directly to the impending invasion of Judah by the formidable Babylonian army. This tumultuous sound signifies the immense force and destructive power that God would bring upon His disobedient people as a form of righteous judgment. It underscores the violent, devastating, and inescapable nature of the divine retribution for their persistent covenant unfaithfulness, ultimately leading to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the bitter experience of exile.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 11:16, while a poignant lament over Israel's unfaithfulness and impending judgment, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment not in the final destruction of the old covenant tree, but in the establishment of a new, eternal covenant through Jesus Christ. Israel, initially chosen as the "green olive tree" to bear "goodly fruit," tragically failed in this divine purpose, leading to its branches being broken. However, Jesus declares Himself to be the "true vine" (as seen in John 15:1), inviting all who believe to abide in Him and thereby bear much fruit—a spiritual fruitfulness that Israel largely failed to achieve under the old covenant. The "fire" of judgment that consumed the unfaithful olive tree powerfully foreshadows the righteous judgment that would justly fall upon sin, a judgment ultimately and perfectly borne by Christ on the cross. He became the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), thereby absorbing the full weight of divine wrath that disobedient humanity justly deserved. Furthermore, the rich imagery of the olive tree is profoundly picked up and reinterpreted in Romans 11:17-24, where the Apostle Paul explains how Gentile believers are miraculously "grafted in" to the rich root of Israel, becoming partakers of God's covenant blessings through their union with Christ. This new spiritual Israel, comprised of both believing Jews and Gentiles united in Christ, is now called to be the truly fruitful "tree" that brings enduring glory to God, perfectly fulfilling the original purpose for which Israel was chosen. The broken branches of the old covenant serve as a stark warning, while Christ offers the enduring life, spiritual vitality, and abundant fruitfulness that only He can provide.