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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
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“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak them to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem!
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Say to them: Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed is the one who does not listen to the words of this covenant,
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which I commanded your fathers in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace, saying: Listen to My voice and do all that I command you, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God,
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so that I may fulfill the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, O LORD!”
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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 and do them!
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For I earnestly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt; even to this day I have warned them again and again, saying: Listen to My voice!
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But they did not listen or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to keep, but they did not keep them.”
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Then the LORD said to me: “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to My words. They have followed other gods and served them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant that I made with their fathers.
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Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am bringing upon them disaster from which they cannot escape; and when they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.
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Though the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn offerings, those gods will by no means save them in the time of their disaster.
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For as many as your cities are, so many are your gods, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are, so many are the altars you have set up to burn offerings to Baal.
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As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a plea or prayer for them, for I will not listen when they cry out to Me because of their disaster.
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Is there still any matter for My beloved in My house,
has she not carried out evil schemes?
Can vows and holy flesh
turn calamity away from you,
so that then you may rejoice?
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A leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit,
the LORD once called your name.
But with the sound of a great tumult
He kindles fire upon it,
so that its branches are broken.
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The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you because of the evil done by the house of Israel and the house of Judah, to provoke Me by burning offerings to Baal.”
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The LORD made it known to me, and I knew it; then You showed me their deeds, O LORD.
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But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not know that they had devised evil plans against me, saying: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit! Let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be remembered no more!”
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But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests the mind and the heart,
let me see Your vengeance upon them,
for to You I have committed my cause.
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Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek my life, saying: “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand!” —
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Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them: their young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;
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none shall remain alive among them, for I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
💔⚖️📜 Summary of Jeremiah 11 – The Covenant Broken, the People’s Betrayal
Jeremiah 11 raises an important theme: the people’s breaking of God’s covenant. The Lord reminds the people of Judah of the holy promise they made from the time they came out of Egypt—to obey His voice and live according to His law. Yet the people have turned aside and worshiped other gods. As a result, the Lord declares that judgment will surely come, and even Jeremiah’s prayers will not change God’s decision. This chapter also records betrayal against Jeremiah himself, as the people of his hometown, Anathoth, plot to kill him because of his unpopular message.
📌 1. A Call to Remember the Covenant (verses 1–5)
“Hear the words of this covenant…”
➡️ The Lord reminds Judah that blessing and life depend on obedience to the covenant spoken since the days of Moses.
🎯 The covenant is not merely history, but a holy bond between God and His people that must be kept.
📌 2. Betrayal of the Covenant (verses 6–10)
“They have broken My covenant…”
➡️ Even though they had been warned, the ancestors and descendants of Judah still turned their backs on the Lord and followed foreign gods.
🎯 A continuing collective sin became the reason for national ruin.
📌 3. The Lord Rejects Prayer for the Nation (verses 11–13)
“I will not listen to them…”
➡️ Because of their ongoing apostasy, the Lord would not answer their cries in distress.
🎯 Prayer without repentance is futile—God cannot be mocked.
📌 4. Hypocrisy in Worship and the Many Idols (verses 14–17)
“Judah… has offered sacrifices to Baal.”
➡️ They called on the Lord, but their hearts were set on Baal. Even the city and the roads were filled with altars to idols.
🎯 The Lord is angered by false religion: lips praise God, but the heart worships something else.
📌 5. A Plot to Kill Jeremiah (verses 18–23)
“They said: ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD…’”
➡️ The people of Anathoth planned to kill Jeremiah in secret because he delivered the hard word of God.
🎯 The servant of God is often hated by those who do not want to be changed—even by his own people.
📖 Main Teaching
- God’s covenant is conditional: obedience brings blessing, rebellion brings punishment
- The Lord is not pleased with outward worship without faithfulness of heart
- Faithfulness to the Lord is tested when a nation rejects the truth
- Prayer cannot replace obedience
- The righteous may be persecuted by those closest to them because of the truth
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 Hebrews 8:10
“I will put My laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts.”
➡️ In the New Testament, God places His law not on stone, but in the human heart — a true transformation from within.
📖 Matthew 15:8
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”
➡️ Jesus echoes the message of Jeremiah 11: the people worship outwardly, yet betray the spiritual covenant.
📖 2 Timothy 3:12
“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
➡️ Like Jeremiah, a servant of truth is not always accepted — suffering can be part of faithfulness.
📖 Galatians 1:10
“Am I now seeking to please people, or God?”
➡️ Jeremiah was not afraid to rebuke sin, even when hated, just as Paul’s calling was to remain faithful to God, not to popularity.
🕊️ “Hear the words of this covenant…” – Jeremiah 11:2
🕊️ “I will not listen to them…” – Jeremiah 11:11
🕊️ “They offered sacrifices to Baal…” – Jeremiah 11:17
🕊️ “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand…” – Jeremiah 11:21
