Jeremiah 11:7-17

7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, 1warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, 2Obey my voice.
8 3Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, 4but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all 5the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not."
9 Again the LORD said to me, 6"A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They have turned back to 7the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. 8They have gone after other gods to serve them. 9The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. 10Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them.
12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem 11will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, 12but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble.
13 13For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, 14altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 "Therefore 15do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, 16for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.
15 17What right has my beloved in my house, 18when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? 19Can you then exult?
16 The LORD once called you 20'a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But 21with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and 22its branches will be consumed.
17 The LORD of hosts, 23who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, 24provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal."

Jeremiah 11:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 11

This chapter gives an account of the covenant God had made with the people of the Jews; their breach of it; and the evils threatened them on that account; and particularly against the men of Anathoth, for their ill treatment of the prophet. It begins with the order to Jeremiah to rehearse the words of the covenant in the ears of the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Jer 11:1-3, which covenant is described by the sanction of it; a curse in case of disobedience; and a promise of being their God, and bringing them into the good land, in case of obedience; and by the time when it was made, when the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, Jer 10:3-5, which order, the prophet agreeing to, is repeated, Jer 10:5,6 declaring the earnest protestation and exhortation of God to obey it, which they not observing, were threatened with the curses of it, Jer 11:7,8, the present Jews doing as their forefathers had done, breaking the covenant, particularly by their idolatry, are threatened also with punishment they should not escape, Jer 11:9-11 which is aggravated by a resolution to show no regard to their cries, Jer 11:11, by the impotence of their idols to save them, though so numerous, Jer 11:12,13, by forbidding the prophet to pray for them, Jer 11:14, by their having no longer a place and protection in the house of God, because of their wickedness, Jer 11:15, by comparing their former and present state together, having been as a beautiful and fruitful olive tree, but now burnt, and its branches broken, Jer 11:16, next follows an account of a design of the men of Anathoth against the prophet, to take away his life, which he was ignorant of, till the Lord gave him knowledge of it, Jer 11:17-19, when he imprecates vengeance on them, Jer 11:20, and, under a spirit of prophecy from the Lord, foretells their utter ruin and destruction, Jer 11:21,22.

Cross References 24

  • 1. Jeremiah 7:25; See 2 Chronicles 36:15
  • 2. [See ver. 4 above]
  • 3. Jeremiah 7:26; Jeremiah 32:23
  • 4. See Jeremiah 3:17
  • 5. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 6. Ezekiel 22:25; [Isaiah 8:12; Hosea 6:9]
  • 7. [Jeremiah 17:23; Psalms 78:8; Psalms 79:8; Ezekiel 20:18]
  • 8. [Jeremiah 17:23; Psalms 78:8; Psalms 79:8; Ezekiel 20:18]
  • 9. Deuteronomy 31:16, 20
  • 10. Proverbs 1:28; Isaiah 1:15; Ezekiel 8:18; Micah 3:4
  • 11. Jeremiah 2:28; [Acts 17:16]
  • 12. Jeremiah 2:28; [Acts 17:16]
  • 13. [See ver. 12 above]
  • 14. [Hosea 9:10]; See Judges 6:25-32
  • 15. Jeremiah 7:16; [Hebrews 10:26; 1 John 5:16]
  • 16. [See ver. 11 above]
  • 17. Isaiah 1:11, 12
  • 18. [Ezekiel 16:25]
  • 19. Proverbs 2:14
  • 20. Psalms 52:8; [Hosea 14:6]
  • 21. [Psalms 83:2]
  • 22. Romans 11:17, 20
  • 23. Jeremiah 2:21; Isaiah 5:2
  • 24. See Jeremiah 7:18
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.