The big picture
Jeremiah is sent to recall the covenant God's people have broken. Judah, the southern kingdom, and Jerusalem, its capital, must hear the warning in their streets. Rescue from Egypt, the land where their ancestors were enslaved, began a bond that required obedience. The people have answered with other gods. Even their worship at God's house will not shelter that refusal. The danger then reaches Jeremiah himself when God exposes a plot against his life among people from his own town.
In this chapter
- Rescue Began a Bond Requiring Obedience Jeremiah 11:1-8
Jeremiah must announce the covenant and its curse on disobedience.
- Many Altars Offer No Escape Jeremiah 11:9-14
God identifies a shared return to the ancestors' sins.
- The Planted Olive Tree Is Burned Jeremiah 11:15-17
Calling the people his beloved, God asks what they are doing in his house.
- God Reveals the Plot Against Jeremiah Jeremiah 11:18-23
Jeremiah says God made the hidden plot known to him.
Central truth
God answers persistent covenant betrayal with judgement and reveals that Jeremiah's own neighbours seek to silence his message by killing him.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 23Jeremiah 11:1-8
Rescue Began a Bond Requiring Obedience
Jeremiah must announce the covenant and its curse on disobedience. He recalls bringing the ancestors out of harsh slavery, pictured as an iron furnace. They were to obey his voice and live as his people, with him as their God. He would fulfil his sworn promise of a fertile land. Jeremiah agrees with God's words. The prophet must proclaim them throughout the towns and capital. God has warned the people repeatedly since their rescue. Yet they have followed stubborn, evil desires, so the covenant's stated penalties will now come upon them.
In everyday life
A rescued business owner rereads the agreement that kept her shop open during a crisis. It required fair accounts and repayment, yet she has ignored each reminder. The same document that recorded the rescue now names the consequences of refusal. God's covenant creates a people bound to him; a lender's agreement concerns a business.
Notice
Jeremiah 11:4 The iron furnace describes the severity of their former bondage. God's command comes with a reminder that he first brought the people out of that suffering.
Jeremiah 11:1-8
King James Version1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
7For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.
Jeremiah 11:9-14
Many Altars Offer No Escape
God identifies a shared return to the ancestors' sins. Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah have both broken the bond he made with them. They refused his words and served other gods. Disaster will come without escape, and he will not answer their cries. They can call on the gods receiving their incense, but those gods will not save them. Altars to Baal, a rival deity, crowd the streets. Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people because God will not hear their appeals when the trouble arrives.
In everyday life
A ticket buyer spreads several worthless guarantees across her kitchen table after every promised service collapses. Each stamped card once seemed to add security. Now the numbers lead nowhere, and the pile offers no more help than a single card. Jeremiah describes divine judgement on false worship, not a customer deceived by sellers.
Notice
Jeremiah 11:13 Gods and altars are counted against the towns and streets. Widespread worship has multiplied the people's betrayal without increasing the help available when disaster comes.
Jeremiah 11:9-14
King James Version9And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
Jeremiah 11:15-17
The Planted Olive Tree Is Burned
Calling the people his beloved, God asks what they are doing in his house. Their grave unfaithfulness and delight in evil contradict that presence. Sacred meat from offerings cannot make their conduct acceptable. He had named them a flourishing olive tree with fine fruit. Now fire and broken branches replace that beauty. The Lord who planted the tree announces its disaster. Both kingdoms have brought this harm upon themselves by burning incense to the rival god. The image ties the coming loss to the care and purpose they have rejected.
In everyday life
An orchard keeper stands beside a tree she planted years ago and examines branches ruined by deliberate neglect. Its old prize label still hangs from the trunk, but the label cannot make it healthy. She marks the damaged wood for removal. God judges a people's chosen betrayal; the tree itself has made no moral choice.
Notice
Jeremiah 11:16 God first names the tree as green and fruitful, then announces its burning. The loss is measured against what he planted and intended it to be.
Jeremiah 11:15-17
King James Version15What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
17For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
Jeremiah 11:18-23
God Reveals the Plot Against Jeremiah
Jeremiah says God made the hidden plot known to him. He had been unaware, like an animal being led to slaughter. The plotters wanted to destroy him and erase his name. He entrusts his cause to God, who judges rightly and knows the heart, and asks to see vengeance. Men from Anathoth, Jeremiah's home town, threaten death unless he stops speaking in God's name. God answers with judgement on them: war will kill young men, famine will kill their children, and no remnant of the condemned group will remain.
In everyday life
A threatened witness sits with a protection officer as a hidden message naming her is read aloud. People she trusted have planned to silence her. She hands over the evidence because she cannot safely answer the threat alone. Jeremiah asks God for vengeance, and God's announced punishment includes deaths no protection officer can decree.
Notice
Jeremiah 11:19 Jeremiah did not know the plan against him until God disclosed it. His image of an unsuspecting animal conveys the gap between his trust and their intention.
Jeremiah 11:18-23
King James Version18And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
19But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
20But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
21Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:
22Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:
23And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 11:1 begins with “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 11:12 forms a natural hinge: “Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in…”
The final note
Jeremiah 11:23 leaves the reader with “And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, Judah, evil, words, covenant, house help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- covenant
- The binding relationship God made with his people, including promises and commands.
- reins
- The inward self, including hidden thoughts and motives.
- visitation
- The appointed time when God acts to judge wrongdoing.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
