Jeremiah 11:21

21 This is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the LORD ’s name.”

Jeremiah 11:21 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 11:21

Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth
That is, "unto", or "concerning the men of Anathoth", the townsmen of Jeremiah, and who were the persons that combined together to destroy him; of this place, (See Gill on Jeremiah 1:1) that seek thy life;
or "soul"; that is, to take it away: saying, prophesy not in the name of the Lord;
without their leave, and such hard things as he did, unless he would prophesy smooth things, and then he might go on, otherwise he must expect to die: that thou die not by our hand;
or means; they intimate, that, should he persist in this way of prophesying, they should not stay to carry on a judicial process against him, to bring him and accuse him before a judge, or the sanhedrim, or any court of judicature; but should do as those called zealots in later times did; lay violent hands upon him, and dispatch him themselves at once; perhaps this they said after they found that the prophet had knowledge of their designs against him.

Jeremiah 11:21 In-Context

19 I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.”
20 O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you.
21 This is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the LORD ’s name.”
22 So this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says about them: “I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to death.
23 Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.”
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.