1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord : 2 aver. 6, 8; [2 Kgs. 23:3] “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:bDeut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10 Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,cDeut. 4:20 from the iron furnace, saying,dch. 7:22, 23; Lev. 26:3, 12 Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you.dch. 7:22, 23; Lev. 26:3, 12 So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 eDeut. 7:12, 13; Ps. 105:9, 10 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers,fSee Ex. 3:8 to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. ” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord. ”
6 And the Lord said to me,g[ch. 19:2] “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem:hver. 6, 8; [2 Kgs. 23:3] Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt,ich. 7:25; See 2 Chr. 36:15 warning them persistently, even to this day, saying,d[See ver. 4 above] Obey my voice. 8 jch. 7:26; 32:23 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear,kSee ch. 3:17 but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them allg[See ver. 6 above] the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not. ”
9 Again the Lord said to me,lEzek. 22:25; [Isa. 8:12; Hos. 6:9] “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back tom[ch. 17:23; Ps. 78:8; 79:8; Ezek. 20:18] the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words.m[ch. 17:23; Ps. 78:8; 79:8; Ezek. 20:18] They have gone after other gods to serve them.nDeut. 31:16, 20 The 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.oProv. 1:28; Isa. 1:15; Ezek. 8:18; Mic. 3:4 Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalempch. 2:28; [Acts 17:16] will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings,pch. 2:28; [Acts 17:16] but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 p[See ver. 12 above] For 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,q[Hos. 9:10]; See Judg. 6:25-32 altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 Thereforerch. 7:16; [Heb. 10:26; 1 John 5:16] do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf,o[See ver. 11 above] for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 sIsa. 1:11, 12 What right has my beloved in my house,t[Ezek. 16:25] when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom?uProv. 2:14 Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called youvPs. 52:8; [Hos. 14:6] ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit. ’ Butw[Ps. 83:2] with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, andxRom. 11:17, 20 its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts,ych. 2:21; Isa. 5:2 who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done,zSee ch. 7:18 provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal. ”
18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I wasaIsa. 53:7; [Rev. 5:6] like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I did not knowbch. 18:18; Lam. 3:60, 61 it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
cPs. 83:4; Isa. 53:8 let us cut him off fromdPs. 27:13 the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more. ”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
whoech. 17:10; 20:12; Ps. 7:9; Rev. 2:23 testsfSee 1 Sam. 16:7 the heart and the mind,
gch. 15:15; 17:18; 20:12; Lam. 3:64 let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men ofhJosh. 21:18 Anathoth,i[ch. 12:6; Matt. 13:57] who seek your life, and say,jIsa. 30:10 “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand ” — 22 therefore thus says 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, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men ofkJosh. 21:18 Anathoth,lch. 23:12 the year of their punishment. ”