The People Have Violated Their Covenant with God

11:1 The Lord said to Jeremiah:1 11:2 “Hear2 the terms of the covenant3 I made with Israel4 and pass them on5 to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.6 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.7 11:4 Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors8 to keep9 when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace.10 I said at that time,11 “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement12 exactly as I commanded you. If you do,13 you will be my people and I will be your God.14 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.”15 That is the very land that you still live in today.’ ”16 And I responded, “Amen! Let it be so,17 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 you18 and carry them out! 11:7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors to obey me.19 I warned them again and again,20 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.’ ”21

11:9 The Lord said to me, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have plotted rebellion against me!22 11:10 They have gone back to the evil ways23 of their ancestors of old who refused to obey what I told them. They, too, have paid allegiance to24 other gods and worshiped them. Both the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah25 have violated the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11:11 So I, the Lord, say this:26 ‘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 will27 go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means28 be able to save them when disaster strikes them. 11:13 This is in spite of the fact that29 the people of Judah have as many gods as they have towns30 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!’31 11:14 So, Jeremiah,32 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.33 For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them.”34

11:15 The Lord says to the people of Judah,35

“What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people?36

Many of you have done wicked things.37

Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings38

that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?39

11:16 I, the Lord, once called40 you a thriving olive tree,

one that produced beautiful fruit.

But I will set you41 on fire,

fire that will blaze with a mighty roar.42

Then all your branches will be good for nothing.43

11:17 For though I, the Lord who rules over all,44 planted you in the land,45

I now decree that disaster will come on you46

because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil

and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal.”47

A Plot Against Jeremiah is Revealed and He Complains of Injustice

11:18 The Lord gave me knowledge, that I might have understanding.48

Then he showed me what the people were doing.49

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.50

I did not know they were saying,51

“Let’s destroy the tree along with its fruit!52

Let’s remove Jeremiah53 from the world of the living

so people will not even be reminded of him any more.”54

11:20 So I said to the Lord,55

“O Lord who rules over all,56 you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds.57

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

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”58

11:21 Then the Lord told me about59 some men from Anathoth60 who were threatening to kill me.61 They had threatened,62 “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!”63 11:22 So the Lord who rules over all64 said, “I will surely65 punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle.66 Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive.67 I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you.68 A day of reckoning is coming for them.”69

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you.1

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice.2

Why are wicked people successful?3

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots.4

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful.5

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you.6

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

You watch me and test my devotion to you.7

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed!8

12:4 How long must the land be parched9

and the grass in every field be withered?

How long10 must the animals and the birds die

because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land?11

For these people boast,

“God12 will not see what happens to us.”13

12:5 The Lord answered,14

“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 only15 in safe and open country,16

how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River?17

12:6 As a matter of fact,18 even your own brothers

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

Even they have plotted to do away with you.19

So do not trust them even when they say kind things20 to you.

12:7 “I will abandon my nation.21

I will forsake the people I call my own.22

I will turn my beloved people23

over to the power24 of their enemies.

12:8 The people I call my own25 have turned on me

like a lion26 in the forest.

They have roared defiantly27 at me.

So I will treat them as though I hate them.28

12:9 The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas.29

But other birds of prey are all around them.30

Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts.

Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.31

12:10 Many foreign rulers32 will ruin the land where I planted my people.33

They will trample all over my chosen land.34

They will turn my beautiful land

into a desolate wasteland.

12:11 They will lay it waste.

It will lie parched35 and empty before me.

The whole land will be laid waste.

But no one living in it will pay any heed.36

12:12 A destructive army37 will come marching

over the hilltops in the desert.

For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon38

against39 everyone from one end of the land to the other.

No one will be safe.40

12:13 My people will sow wheat, but will harvest weeds.41

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

They will be disappointed in their harvests42

because the Lord will take them away in his fierce anger.43

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning44 the wicked nations who surround my land45 and have attacked and plundered46 the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession.47 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.48 12:15 But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent49 and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands50 and to their own country. 12:16 But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people.51 Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal.52 But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.”53 If they do these things,54 then they will be included among the people I call my own.55 12:17 But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’ ”56 says the Lord.

An Object Lesson from Ruined Linen Shorts

13:1 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy some linen shorts1 and put them on.2 Do not put them in water.”3 13:2 So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do4 and put them on.5 13:3 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said,6 13:4 “Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing7 and go at once8 to Perath.9 Bury the shorts there10 in a crack in the rocks.” 13:5 So I went and buried them at Perath11 as the Lord had ordered me to do. 13:6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to Perath and get12 the shorts I ordered you to bury there.” 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up13 the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found14 that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

13:8 Then the Lord said to me,15 13:9 “I, the Lord, say:16 ‘This shows how17 I will ruin the highly exalted position18 in which Judah and Jerusalem19 take pride. 13:10 These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said.20 They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance21 to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So22 they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. 13:11 For,’ I say,23 ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah24 tightly25 to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise.26 But they would not obey me.

13:12 “So tell them,27 ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every wine jar is made to be filled with wine.” ’28 And they will probably say to you, ‘Do you not think we know29 that every wine jar is supposed to be filled with wine?’ 13:13 Then30 tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor.31 I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty,32 the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor.33 13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike.34 I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’35 says the Lord.”

13:15 Then I said to the people of Judah,36

“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.37

Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster.38

Do it before you stumble39 into distress

like a traveler on the mountains at twilight.40

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

into the darkness and gloom of exile.41

13:17 But if you will not pay attention to this warning,42

I will weep alone because of your arrogant pride.

I will weep bitterly and my eyes will overflow with tears43

because you, the Lord’s flock,44 will be carried45 into exile.”

13:18 The Lord told me,46

“Tell the king and the queen mother,

‘Surrender your thrones,47

for your glorious crowns

will be removed48 from your heads.49

13:19 The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight.50

No one will be able to go in or out of them.51

All Judah will be carried off into exile.

They will be completely carried off into exile.’ ”52

13:20 Then I said,53

“Look up, Jerusalem,54 and see

the enemy55 that is coming from the north.

Where now is the flock of people that were entrusted to your care?56

Where now are the ‘sheep’ that you take such pride in?57

13:21 What will you say58 when the Lord59 appoints as rulers over you those allies

that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such?60

Then anguish and agony will grip you

like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.61

13:22 You will probably ask yourself,62

‘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?’63

It is because you have sinned so much.64

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

you who are so accustomed to doing evil.

Can an Ethiopian65 change the color of his skin?

Can a leopard remove its spots?66

13:24 “The Lord says,67

‘That is why I will scatter your people68 like chaff

that is blown away by a desert wind.69

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!70

13:27 People of Jerusalem,71 I have seen your adulterous worship,

your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods.72

I have seen your disgusting acts of worship73

on the hills throughout the countryside.

You are doomed to destruction!74

How long will you continue to be unclean?’ ”