Yirmeyah 11:1-8

1 1 The Davar that came to Yirmeyah from Hashem saying,

2 Hear ye the Divrei HaBrit Hazot, and speak unto the Ish Yehudah, and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim;

3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; Arur (cursed) be the ish that obeyeth not the Divrei HaBrit Hazot,

4 Which I commanded Avoteichem in the day that I brought them forth out from Eretz Mitzrayim, from the kur habarzel (the furnace of iron), saying, Obey My voice, and do all which I command you; so shall ye be My people, and I will be your Elohim;

5 That I may perform the shevuah (oath) which I have sworn unto Avoteichem to give them an Eretz zavat cholov udevash as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, Omein, Hashem.

6 Then Hashem said unto me, Proclaim all these Devarim in the towns of Yehudah, and in the streets of Yerushalayim, saying, Hear ye the Divrei HaBrit Hazot, and do them.

7 For I earnestly warned Avoteichem in the day that I brought them up out of Eretz Mitzrayim, even unto this day, rising early and warning, saying, Obey My voice.

8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ozen (ear), but walked every one in the sherirut (stubbornness) of their lev harah; therefore I brought upon them all the Divrei HaBrit Hazot, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

Yirmeyah 11:1-8 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.