Jeremiah 11:2-12

2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak ye to the men of Judah, and to the dwellers of Jerusalem; (Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak ye to the people of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;)

3 and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant, (and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Cursed be the person who would not listen to, or obey, the words of this covenant,)

4 which I commanded to your fathers, in the day in which I led them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace; and I said, Hear ye my voice, and do ye all things which I commanded to you, and ye shall be into a people to me, and I shall be into God to you;

5 that I raise (up) the oath which I swore to your fathers, that I should give to them a land flowing with milk and honey, as this day is (as it is this day). And I answered, and said, Amen, Lord.

6 And the Lord said to me, Cry thou [out] all these words in the cities of Judah, and without[forth] Jerusalem, and say thou, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do ye them;

7 for I witnessing have witnessed to your fathers, in the day in which I led them out of the land of Egypt, unto this day; I rose (up) early, and witnessed, and said, Hear ye my voice.

8 And they heard not, neither bowed down their ear, but they went forth each man in the shrewdness of his evil heart (But they would not listen, or obey, nor bowed down their ear, but they went forth each person in the depravity of their own evil heart); and I brought in on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded that they should do, and they did not.

9 And the Lord said to me, Swearing together is found in the men of Judah, and in the dwellers of Jerusalem; (And the Lord said to me, Conspiracy, or plotting together, is found among the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;)

10 they turned again to the former wickednesses of their fathers, that would not hear my words; and therefore these men went after alien gods, for to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah made void my covenant, which I made with the fathers of them. (they returned to the former wickednesses of their forefathers, who would not listen to, or obey, my words; and so these people went after strange, or foreign, gods, to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah made void my covenant, which I had made with their forefathers.)

11 Wherefore the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall bring in on them evils, of which they shall not be able to go out (from which they shall not be able to escape); and they shall cry to me, and I shall not hear them.

12 And the cities of Judah and the dwellers of Jerusalem shall go, and shall cry to them to which they offer sacrifices; and they shall not save them in the time of their torment. (And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go, and shall cry to them to which they offer sacrifices; but they shall not save them in their time of torment.)

Jeremiah 11:2-12 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.